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For Newcomers
The Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the
Oglala Lakota (Sioux), is a land of contradictions, a place as
poor in resources as it is rich in culture and history. I first
became enamored with the Lakota people over thirty years ago,
when I attended the wedding of a friend who was marrying a
man from Pine Ridge.
The terrain is stunning enough to bring tears to ones eyes. The
sunlit prairies with their grasses and wildflowers, the mesas,
hills and cliffs, the picturesque valleys dotted with red cedar-- all of
these take your breath away. Yet as one travels the Pine Ridge
Reservation and meets with people there, a heart-piercing truth is
revealed -- the scenic beauty of South Dakota is home to the poorest
people in America.
The people of Pine Ridge entered my heart three decades ago and
they have never left. Since then, I have worked with many charities
and organizations who had a mission to help the people of Pine
Ridge. I have participated in numerous fundraisers, blanket drives,
and the like. I have served on boards and committees and have made
numerous trips out there to help with various projects.
And yet, during my last visit out there, as I encountered hungry
elders, unheated homes and kids kept out of school because they
didn’t have shoes, I had to face the heart-breaking fact that not much
has changed for Lakota people since I first encountered them thirty
years ago. In fact, in many ways, things seem worse.
Why? With so many Native American charities out there, how can
there be no improvement in the quality of life for Lakota people after
all of these years? This is a question that my best friend, Jeanne
Palagonia, and I have spent the last few years looking at from every
angle that we could think of. Our conversations with each other, with
Lakota friends and with compassionate people from our community
became the seeds from which Ahopa began to grow.
It is our deepest hope that you will want to grow with us. We hope
that you will explore the information we have made available to you
on this site - the statistics about Pine Ridge, our programs and
philosophies--and decide to get involved.
