Updates and Observations from Pine Ridge
Featured
I am so proud of the work that so many have been a part of over 25+ years of service on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Thousands of projects completed, impacting countless lives. I also understand that our journey has only just begun.
It feels good to get the volunteer season back underway. To get people back out here on the Rez. To talk with them, share our story, and to hear some of theirs. To connect and build new relationships.
With your support, we have delivered more than 600 loads of firewood this winter. We have assisted more than 160 households with home heating expenses such as heating oil, propane, and electric bills.
For more than twenty years, a stop at Bette’s Kitchen in Manderson was part of the regular Re-Member weekly program. Betty made her journey to the Spirit World on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.
Another season has begun at Re-Member, and we are so happy to welcome back volunteer groups from all over the country as well as individuals from around the world.
Truck 1 was a good truck. When you find a good truck, you learn to appreciate it. You build a relationship, mile after mile. It’s good to have something you can depend on when the days are long, and the work is hard.
The first month of the new year was bitterly cold here on the reservation. Temperatures dropped as low as -35° and “felt like” -52°. During one exceptionally frigid stretch the temperature did not rise above 0° for nearly 124 hours.
I want to take this opportunity early in the new year to introduce myself and to thank you for your continued support of Re-Member and the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation. My name is Will Paese, and it is with incredible gratitude and excitement that I step into my new role as the Executive Director of Re-Member.
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.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have served alongside so many of you. To have learned with you. To endure a pandemic with you. To steward your generously donated dollars. And to share our vision of a better today, and tomorrow here on Pine Ridge with you.
Just a few weeks ago, we were still building steps and ramps, and harvesting produce from the Feather II gardens. All of that ended abruptly as temperatures plummeted, and snow began to fly. We have quickly transitioned into our winter heating season, providing much-needed firewood to families across the reservation. In just the first week of the program, we have more than 70 requests that have been called in.
We are honored to introduce our refreshed logo. It is inspired by a design that has represented Re-Member’s commitment to Pine Ridge since our founding in 1998.
During a typical winter, we cut, split, and deliver more than 500 truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.
Increasingly, states and municipalities are adopting Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to, or in place of Columbus Day. By Presidential Proclamation, the United States is observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day on Monday.
With just one month to go in our 2023 volunteer season, the arrival of September brings a moment to reflect as we transition from hosting volunteers to preparing for the winter months ahead.
It is hard to believe that August is upon us, and more than 20 weeks of our volunteer season have come and gone. We have accomplished much in the Feather II gardens and at dozens of worksites across the reservation this year with the support of hundreds of volunteers.
Our 25th anniversary season continues, and we invite you to be part of the excitement. Drop by our website today to make your trip request for August or September – there is still space available for individuals and groups. We also invite you to join us in Minnesota this fall as we celebrate the past and look to the future.
On June 2, our Operations Manager and incoming Executive Director, Will Paese, plans to run 30+ miles in support of Re-Member to raise funds for our construction materials budget. His goal is to raise $100 per mile, for a total of $3,000. As Will travels from Rushville to Gordon and back to Rushville in the beautiful panhandle of Nebraska, he will have plenty of time to think about the productive start to our season.
It was a storm that those in West Michigan still talk about 25 years later. In the aftermath of the storm, Re-Member co-founder Keith Titus found himself thinking about the people of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation, a community that he had been introduced to just weeks earlier alongside his wife, Ginny, and co-founder Mike Alles.
After a long winter, there is something so tangible about the hope of the warm sun pouring down as the first sprouts of the season emerge from the soil. Those sprouts, so determined to grow, remind us to be hopeful too. The growing season, now underway, is a time of renewal and anticipation, and a time to discover the good things that can happen when sunshine and generosity are combined.
Now we again turn our attention to fulfilling requests from residents who live in all corners of the reservation, and who are asking for our help to improve their quality of life. Our volunteers are here, and anxiously await their assignments each morning as we head out to help build a better today across Pine Ridge.
We look forward to sharing memories of the past, and aspirations of Re-Member’s future in the year ahead. We look forward to celebrating your first Pine Ridge experience – whether it was years ago, or will happen later this summer. Join us this year – our 25th – to Re-Member the past as we build a better tomorrow with the Oglala Lakota Nation.
After five fun, challenging, and at times unimaginable years as Executive Director, I will be stepping down at the end of this year in order to pursue other personal and professional opportunities. When I do, I am thrilled to announce that William Paese, my colleague and friend, has been chosen as Re-Member’s next Executive Director.
We look forward to sharing memories of the past, and aspirations of Re-Member’s future in the year ahead. We look forward to celebrating your first Pine Ridge experience – whether it was years ago, or will happen later this summer. Join us this year – our 25th – to Re-Member the past as we build a better tomorrow with the Oglala Lakota Nation.
A four-day, region-wide blizzard last week has now evolved into a days-long bout of extreme cold. Temperatures have plummeted into the negative 30s — with wind chills dipping into the negative 50s. We know of many homes that have resorted to burning trash, clothing, and even furniture to produce heat.
As we move into our 25th anniversary year in 2023, we remain mindful that the work we do is possible only because of volunteers and donors. We close this volunteer season with a brief report on our efforts to date and our sincere hope that you will continue to support our work.
During the first week of our winter heating season last month, the staff provided 45 deliveries of wood and drove 1,041 miles over the course of our four-day work week. It is a team effort rooted in compassion and determination to support hundreds of families over the course of the months-long heating season.
During a typical winter, we cut, split, and deliver more than 500 truckloads of firewood to homes across the reservation and provide emergency electric assistance and propane assistance, paid directly to utility companies.
Increasingly, states and municipalities are adopting Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to, or in place of Columbus Day. By Presidential Proclamation, the United States is observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day on Monday.
Keith Titus, Re-Member’s founding director, has made his journey to the Spirit World after 83 years of Earthly life. With his passing, Keith rejoins his beloved “Ginny,” the late Virginia Titus.