Some moments in life change everything. Not because they arrive with fanfare, but because they quietly remind us of what matters. My first trip to Pine Ridge was one of those moments. I didn’t go expecting transformation. In fact, I went mostly because two friends kept asking me time and again “When ya comin’?” I finally said yes, unaware that the visit to South Dakota, to the home of the Oglala Lakota people, would reshape my understanding of the world and myself.

Before that first visit, I was a dentist dealing with a traumatic wrist injury, one that would permanently end my ability to practice the profession which meant everything to me. To say my future felt uncertain would be an understatement. I did not expect to meet and learn from people who live with uncertainty daily, not as a major disruption in a life plan, but as a living reality.

On that first trip I met Cornell, a veteran who shared his story with honesty and grace. He spoke of challenges and loss, but also of pride in his heritage and hope for the generations ahead. He didn’t greet me as a disabled dentist from Michigan or just another outsider passing through. He saw me as a fellow human, sitting beside him, in shared conversation. That simple act of welcome, and Cornell’s honesty about his life, has stayed with me ever since.

There are other moments, too. One I will never forget was delivering beds to a family whose children had been sleeping outside on an old trampoline. To carry the beds inside, we laid wooden boards across a pool of raw sewage, building a temporary bridge just to reach the doorway. When the top bunk was assembled, a young girl climbed up, hugged her new comforter, and looked content, as if she had just been handed the world.

In that instant I understood: the work of Re-Member is not about charity. It is about dignity.

Those moments are the reason I keep returning. Each time I come back, I see glimpses of progress. High tunnels (hoop houses) standing in a place where it’s incredibly hard to grow food. A ramp to allow an elder to access her home. A volunteer who comes once and chooses to return. Lakota staff like Kim, Nyla, and others who work alongside us because they share a belief that progress is possible. On Pine Ridge, that progress is not fast or loud. It’s simply real.

This year, Re-Member enters its 27th year on the Reservation. What began as an ambitious idea has evolved into a community-led effort grounded in mutual respect. Our board has welcomed members whose skills and passion will help shape the organization’s next chapter. And as we look boldly ahead, we do so with gratitude. Not simply for learning the story of the Oglala Lakota, but for being trusted to become a part of it.

I am especially proud of the work taking place at Feather II. Expanding the gardens means we can do more to address food insecurity. Every time I see the veggie wagon headed out on the road filled with fresh produce, I am reminded that change often begins with small steps: the simple sharing of a squash, a tomato, a sack of potatoes, grown and delivered by people who believe that everyone deserves nourishment.

I am grateful to our donors, volunteers, partners in this work, and especially our small but extraordinary staff led by executive director, Will Paese. This team of tribal members and those they’ve welcomed as neighbors work in an incredibly difficult, yet beautiful place. Together, day by day, we prove that every person deserves basic human dignity – warmth in winter, healthy food to eat, a private safe place to go to the bathroom. It doesn’t sound like much and yet, it’s everything.

To each volunteer and supporter who has come to Pine Ridge, and to those who return often, thank you.

Thank you for standing with Re-Member, for believing we need to keep building those bridges over the challenges we see, especially the ones that are hard to look at.

Wishing you and your loved ones a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving.

And to those who have not yet visited, “When ya comin’?”

Warmly,

Dan Peters
Board Chair, Re-Member