I believe part of my purpose in life is to spread awareness of the plight of today's Native Americans and the struggles they face every day. I also believe that there are strong spiritual messages we often receive that guide us to the right path and bring certain people into our lives to help us on our mission. There is one such person who has reached out to me and the people in my forum for help - Cynthia Day Getchell, from Lakota Educational Initiatives.

We, as a country and individuals, help people all over the world. There are people right here in our own country that are screaming for help in many different ways. These are silent screams, but send messages out in a profound way, loud enough to be heard if only we listen and become aware. By way of signals these screams come to us, signals such as depression, lack of financial means, lack of jobs, lack of education and educational materials, poor health and even unnecessary deaths - suicide.

With kind permission, I have been given freedom to copy and reprint the following message from Cynthia:

The Lakota (Sioux) children on Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota read less than one book a year while their counterparts in the rest of the Nation read more than six books outside the school context. The Lakota children are reading, on average, two years below grade level and ultimately 50% dropout of school by 8th grade. They have NO books, NO access to books (No libraries) and virtually NO funding for books.

In the interest of fostering literacy, promoting education and self-esteem, we have been asked by the Curriculum Coordinator for Todd County (Rosebud) to help find ways to put books into the hands of all families with pre-school children. Currently we are working toward that end with a Lakota Doctor who distributes books through the WIC*(Women Infants and Children) Program on Rosebud.

Our website paints the picture of the urgent need for all the support we can muster. If anyone has questions about ways to become involved,we would love to hear from you. We began a scholarship in the name of a Spiritual leader and dear family friend from Pine Ridge, JOHN AROUND HIM. John touched many many people and his loss will be deeply felt for years to come. We have made provisions to earmark funds specifically for the JAH Scholarship. Donations made in his name are fully awarded to the recipient. [Our website spells out the criteria]. In our first (short) year, we were thrilled to be able to award two scholarships in the amount of $500. We were able to award $1000. to another young man this year who also exemplifies the Lakota way of being and who is sure to lend a hand to the Oyate (his People). The Committee makes their choice based on the criteria we developed and not on a political basis.

Relative to the JAH scholarship I wrote of, we award the money upon the successful completion of the first term. Monies are sent directly to the school. On occasion, if an individual chooses to send a bit of an "allowance" for personal use (food, travel etc) or a "care package" during exams then that would be between that individual and the student. I do know how much something like that is appreciated and we encourage it. Hands on support is extremely important to these youths who are away from their Tiyospaye (extended family) perhaps for the first time.

Friends, these past eighteen months have been especially difficult ones on Rosebud (Lakota/Sioux) Reservations in South Dakota. Suicide rates, which were already more than 150% of that in the "other" America, have escalated dramatically recording 265 suicides and attempted suicides among the Reservations youth; more recently the youngest being just 12 years old! Why? In the words of a young mother, a recovering Crystal Meth addict I met last summer, “there is no future for us, no hope.” Those thoughts were mirrored in the sad faces of many youngsters who were often seen wearing T-shirts bearing the images of lost ones. Shirts which also bore the dates marking the lost ones birth and death. Tragic and sad and very depleting.

The Reservation environment, its isolation from the rest of the Nation, together with the governmental and public indifference of the dominant culture have produced psychological, political and economic pressures which have systematically removed all sense of self, community, value and worth. Living as second class citizens amidst extreme poverty and often homelessness, these destructive pressures create systemic frustrations and feelings of hopelessness, which have produced a climate that fosters self-destruction, an underlying condition contributing to the destruction of an entire race of people.

What is making the difference for the mother recovering from her years of addiction? Education. Through her new treatment facility, she had begun to learn who she was and to finally understand “that it is okay to be Indian.” Self-esteem is a powerful tool. It is with this in mind that we dedicate our efforts to support literacy and education. As it stands now, over fifty percent of American Indian youth drop out of school. e.g. Of the students who enter the ninth grade,, only about five percent graduate; the many who never return to school, as in the case of the recovering Meth addict, face a lifetime of enormous challenges in a desperate uphill battle to survive. There are, however, those few who have come to recognize education as a path not only to their own healing and identity as Lakota People but also as a way to preserve the culture for the generations to come. On many levels, there is an urgent need to support these youngsters who desire to further their education.

Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related = we are all one).

This message is taken from a series of posts in my Native American Forum at BellaOnline. Please join us in the forum for discussions on this and other Native American issues.

This is just one of the many Native American Reservations across our country that need help and hope for their youth. Your thoughts, opinions and advice are always greatly appreciated in our forum.

The website for Lakota Educational Initiatives is www.lakota-educational-initiatives.org

Pilamaya, (thanks)
Phyllis
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