Year-End Report To Donors
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the progress of the past months – and the last quarter-century.
We are honored to introduce Re-Member’s refreshed logo, depicted here. It is inspired by a design that has represented our commitment to Pine Ridge since 1998. In many Indigenous communities, the eagle feather is associated with what is highest, bravest, and strongest, and is held with the utmost pride and respect. Evoking the dignity and power of its real-world likeness, this design reinforces the unwavering promise of Re-Member to the Oglala Lakota Nation.
Twenty-five years ago, a visionary group of staff and passionate volunteers took the first steps in a simple yet worthy endeavor: to acknowledge the past, to promote understanding across cultures, and to stand with the Oglala Lakota people. We continue our commitment to build a better today, and work towards a brighter tomorrow here on Pine Ridge, and around the world.
We have been listening, learning and serving, ever since.
Our efforts have grown from humble beginnings. There were no volunteer quarters, no workshop, and no fleet of vehicles to move the dozens of staff and volunteers that we hosted in those early years. There was not a garden program, nor a winter heating initiative.
Today, we host several hundred volunteers annually. We build relationships, and we build things. We grow vegetables to support our local community, while producing meaningful experiences for both our volunteers and the people of Pine Ridge. Continue reading for an update on what has been accomplished this year, under the leadership of our colleagues, listed below.
With gratitude for all that has been achieved, we know that the need is as great as ever. We ask for your consideration in making a year-end gift as we plan for another successful year ahead. Thank you for your continued and generous support of Re-Member, and the Oglala Lakota people.
YOU are Re-Member!
Building A Better Today, Every Day
Your contributions make an immediate impact across Pine Ridge. You can help us accomplish even more in the year ahead with a gift in support of our work.
2023 volunteers hosted: 560
Projects completed: 366 jobs from 189 requests
190 beds
73 sets of deck/steps
42 outhouses
33 handicap ramps
28 trailer skirts
Fresh From Our Feather II Gardens
More than 1,000 pounds of produce was grown and distributed to the community in 2023.
Crops included: Chokecherries (pictured), cucumbers, garlic, herbs, peppers, squash, tomatoes and zucchini.
A Record-Breaking Winter Heating Season
During the cold, windy prairie winters — when temperatures can drop below zero for days at a time — many families on the Pine Ridge Reservation struggle to keep their homes heated.
Each winter, we cut, split, and deliver hundreds of truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.
Firewood: 785 loads delivered
Miles driven by our delivery trucks: 16,284
Propane and home heating oil purchased: 15,400 gallons
Electric accounts assisted: 73
From left: Bill Bass, Lane Miller, Sidney Jealous Of Him, Wyatt Elwess
Our New Executive Director
Will begins a new role in January, while continuing his service – seven years and counting – to Re-Member, and the Oglala Lakota Nation.
He first visited Pine Ridge in 2015, and returned to serve as a Program Supervisor several times thereafter.
In the spring of 2020, he assumed the role of Operations Manager. In this role, Will has developed relationships with the community, led volunteer groups on construction projects, coordinated various administrative needs of the organization, and participated in a half-marathon and 30-mile benefit run for Re-Member.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, WI.
2023 Leadership Staff
William Bass
Senior Construction Supervisor
Kimberly Black Elk*
Office Manager & Donation Coordinator
Wyatt Elwess*
Construction Assistant
Sidney Jealous of Him*
Construction Assistant
Lane Miller*
Construction Assistant
Devorah Mlotkowski
Garden Coordinator
William Paese
Operations Manager & Asst. Executive Director
Nyla Red Cloud Frazier*
Kitchen Manager
Michelle Roberts
Program Manager
Paula Sibal
Trip Coordinator
Jennifer Sklener
Director of Finance
Cory True
Executive Director
*Indicates enrolled tribal member