| Farewell Dear Friend |
 |
|
This past October, as we were entertaining our last groups of 2008, all of us at Re-Member were deeply saddened when we learned of the passing of Dulane No Neck. Dulane was one of the fixtures of Pine Ridge, and a dear friend of Re-Member. Dulane was quick with a hug, a hand shake, and was very "fond" of our volunteers, to put it mildly. Once he saw our logo on our volunteers or staff, he would run over to us and hug everyone. Dulane had a huge heart.
In October, Dulane apparently suffered a seizure and was rushed to Pine Ridge Hospital. A helicopter was called but before it arrived, he passed away.
Dulane was buried in the cemetery across our road from Kiksuya, one of our bunk houses. We are in touch with his family to place a granite marker on his grave. Please keep Dulane, and his extended family in your prayers.
My fondest memory of Dulane is the exchange we had whenever we saw each other. I would always say "Dulane! It's good to see you!" and he would always reply: "I Know!"
Farewell, dear friend.
Tom
McCann
|
 |
Wisdom of the Elders
|
You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.
|
Sir Winston Churchill
|
|
Help Support Re-Member!
|
|
Board of Directors
Ted Skantze, President
Barry Karlson, Vice President
Greg Slenk, Treasurer
Dianne Roberts, Secretary
Kathy Alles
Rev. Tracy Huffman
Nicole Hultgren
Jim Mays
Phil Pratt
John Swanson
Staff
Tom McCann, Exec. Director
Vicki Karlson, Volunteer Trip Coordinator
Jennifer Sklener, Financial Manager
Mike Shelhamer Construction Manager
Jerry Bottger
Corbin Conroy, Construction Supervisors
John Her Many Horses, Tour Guide
LaDonna No Neck,
Office Manager
Stephanie Palmier
Cook
|
|
Contact Us
P.O. Box 5054
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
www.re-member.org
605-867-2282 phone
877-205-2105 toll free
605-867-2285 fax
contact@re-member.org
|
|
|
Stronger Relationships and a Deeper Impact on Pine Ridge
Re-Member is having a greater impact on the lives of the the Lakota People of Pine Ridge than ever before. We have helped more than 150 families so far in 2009 renovating their homes. And while we are moved each and every day, none of us were prepared for what we found at the home of the Wounded Head family in the Potato Creek community on Pine Ridge. On Easter Sunday Morning, a fire destroyed one of their four trailers, killing two young adults and family members. The couple's two-year-old survived, only because he fell asleep at Grandma's trailer that night. In the photo above, the children survey the damage.
So often on Pine Ridge, families have no resources at all and there are no services to help. The Wounded Head family had been trying to get assistance on their trailers for several years, and received nothing. Re-Member was on the scene within five days of the fire. Our volunteers cleaned away the burned trailer so the family wouldn't have to constantly look at it. We skirted and insulated all the trailers so that next winter, they won't have to burn as much wood. And, we properly vented all the remaining trailers, installing new stove pipes to insure that no other trailer will catch fire like this one did.
This is just one of more than 150 stories of families Re-Member has helped this year. Now that our home renovation project is in full operation, we are traveling across Pine Ridge, making homes safer, more secure, more energy efficient and making a difference in the lives of all the families we work with.
Re-Member volunteers do make a difference. We are truly Working With the Lakota people on Pine Ridge. With each place we go, with each project we take on, with each family we touch; we're improving lives on Pine Ridge and the Lakota people. The relationships we build are stronger and the impact we have on people's lives is deeper.
Come be a part of it. | |
|
Mitakuye Oyasin - Simple Wisdom with Profound Consequences
by Robin Lober
 As a volunteer and chaperone during my first week at Re-Member last year, I fell in love with the beliefs, philosophy, words, and culture that constitute the essence of the Oglala Lakota. I was fortunate to meet individuals on Pine Ridge who were willing to open my eyes to a mode of living that makes sense to me. Considering the facet of materialism and self-centeredness in contemporary American culture, the wisdom and dignity embodied by the Lakota culture is honest, sacred, and inspiring.
I was fortunate to witness my students open their hearts and minds to the past--and present--struggles of the Lakota, while also attempting to process the extent to which the Lakota have been tragically wronged. Re-Member's program offered my students more than any classroom could. High school students study the factors that made the U.S. a world economic, industrial, and military superpower. High school students who experience Re-Member and Pine Ridge understand the impact those factors and decisions had on those we displaced for our own gain.
Though I at first came out with my students, I returned on my own as an intern for several weeks. While working at Re-Member last summer the days were hot, the nights were long and the mornings came too soon for my legs, arms, and sometimes my brain. But something about what lie ahead each day made it so easy for me to get right up out of bed. Every morning, I looked forward to being a face the volunteers recognized, and I looked forward to answering questions, teaching, and motivating in the middle of a hot summer day. The days never disappointed and I hope I never did either.
From 4 weeks on the Rez, 1,000 fly bites, 20 lunchmeat sandwiches, 10,000 conversations, 3 summer storms, 30 sunsets, 3 double rainbows, 10 work sites, 5 pow wows, 4 community dinners, and 15 new friends for life came 1 realization. Complexity is synthetic, but simplicity is natural. The questions that haunted me after my first experience on the Rez thankfully remain unanswered - for to have found answers would mean to have found justification. Instead I seek significance.
The sign Mitakuye Oyasin hangs in the main building at Re-Member. It means simple wisdom with profound consequence. For it is only when we acknowledge and embrace the common relation of all God's creatures that we can open our hearts enough to make another's problems our own. Mitakuye Oyasin is a simple wisdom I have been called to embrace and its profound consequence draws me back again and again to an inspiring landscape and a wise people. I hope to continue to have the opportunity to serve those who have given me so much and whose problems I have learned to make my own. |
|
Become a Member of Re-Member
One of the best ways you can help Re-Member grow is to become a member. It's easy and can make a huge difference in the success of our work on Pine Ridge. When you become a Member of Re-Member, you will become a member of our tiospaye, our "extended family." You may choose from five levels of annual membership, at different levels of participation. Our goal is to reach 500 members within the next year! Won't you join us?
Learn more about membership here.
|
|
Find Us on Facebook
 Check out our page on Facebook to keep up with Re-Member happenings, connect with other volunteers, upload your trip photos and videos, and much more. Be sure to join and invite your friends! You can view our page here. |
|
"Kiksuya" is a Lakota word meaning "Remember." To Re-Member means to put back together that which is broken apart. "Re-Member" reminds us to recall the unfortunate history of the treatment of the Native Peoples of our country, and in particular, that of the Lakota People of Pine Ridge Reservation, and to reconstruct the broken pieces of that relationship.
| |
|
|
|
