Sie erhalten die Möglichkeit, sich über aktuelle Situationen bei den Indianern Nordamerikas in Englisch zu Informieren und an entsprechenden Hilfsaktionen teilzunehmen.
Evelin Červenková
Begründerin der Lakota Oyate Information
You have the possibility to inform yourself about the current life of Native Americans and you can take part in helping actions.
Evelin Červenková
Founder of the Lakota Oyate Information in East-Germany
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Sa., 21. März 2026
Subject: Achieving Food Security on Pine Ridge Reservation
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Achieving Long-Term Food Security
As we ask for donations to help us get through this month and the months to come, we wanted to share how your support impacts the Oglala Lakota people.
Here's one of those stories, from Bamm Brewer, who manages the Charging Buffalo Meat House on the Pine Ridge Reservation. One Spirit worked with Bamm to create the Meat House and continues to fund and support it as it strives for independence and sustainability.
Our financial situation is dire. Please donate so we can continue these vital programs on the Reservation.
There was a time when all our food came from off the reservation. However, thanks to One Spirit and the sponsorship of many donors, this has changed.
The Oglala Lakota Tribal Commodity Program is where all those in need go to get food. It's one of the most important food systems here locally. Right now, our One Spirit-built, Charging Buffalo Meat House is supplying the Commodity Program with local meat.
This means our past One Spirit Food Program has, in a way, evolved too. We used to make those food boxes each month. Well, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the food boxes stopped. The Buffalo House would still pass out meat boxes and keep the assistance going. Then, we started helping supply the Commodity Program for the last two years, thanks to a grant the Commodity Program received. Sadly, most of that grant was taken away by the Trump administration.
Buffalo, the Healthiest Meat, Returns
Even though the Commodity Program's grant is ending, we can still supply meat to the Commodity Program if we can get our expansion finished. Once we get the building finished, we can move towards being a USDA-inspected facility. So, how far are we from being fully inspected? For us, it's just one more jump, and that jump is getting the expansion done. Once we become inspected, we would be able to have more than one customer. We could sell the meat to more than the Commodity Program.
USDA–Inspected Is Not Far
Our current state inspector informed us that our current "custom exempt" status means we're close to be USDA–inspected. We just need to finish the expansion and contact the USDA to get started.
The Charging Buffalo Meat House has 8 employees. Some have been with us for more than a year. We output about 5 buffalo or beef per week. After the expansion, we should double our output and double our number of employees.
Some of this is food security, and some is job security. One thing for sure is it's all positive movement for food security for the Lakota People. The Oglala Lakota County is considered the poorest county in the USA. We may be the poorest county, but we are about to have the healthiest meat.
–Bamm Brewer
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: Judith LeBlanc, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund info @ nativeorganizing.org
Date: Sa., 7. März 2026
Subject: Urgent: sacred site in danger
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Evelin,
Despite community outcry to stop the project, the Black Hills National Forest just issued a permit to drill for graphite at Pe'sla — a Lakota sacred place within the Ȟe Sápa, known in English as the Black Hills, and a place of ceremony and prayer for thousands of years.
This violates the treaty rights and religious freedom of the Oceti Shakowin, the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota peoples.
We can't let corporations or the U.S. government destroy Indigenous culture, ceremony, and ancestral connections! So we're joining our relatives at NDN Collective and the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, who’ve been advocating and organizing to protect Pe'sla for years.
Back in 2014, four Tribes raised $9 million to purchase back the land for Pe'sla.
To recognize the religious and cultural significance of the area and therefore protect it from harmful mining activity, they worked with the federal government to put the central prayer site, and a two–mile buffer zone around it, into federal trust.
Even though Pe'sla is a sacred place with federal Indian trust status, mining companies and governmental leaders want to undo sacred place protections there and across Turtle Island.
The Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project (RMEDP), a project of Rapid City mining company Pete Lien & Sons, could contaminate drinking water, damage the ecosystem, and degrade the land.
Click here to send your message now.
Hawwih (thank you) for defending our treaty rights, Tribal sovereignty, sacred places, and Mother Earth.
Judith LeBlanc (Caddo)
Executive Director
Sent via ActionNetwork.org.
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Sa., 21. Feb. 2026
Subject: We did it. You did it. Thank you.
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
You Did It! You Hit Our Goal!
Thanks to you, we raised $40,000 in donations and pledges towards keeping buffalo on the reservation and getting them to the Charging Buffalo Meat House. You are the best supporters a nonprofit could ever ask for. Thank yo!
Last week, we made a miracle happen! We wanted to purchase some of the buffalo that Parks and Recreation had to sell to pay for their operational costs. You all made that happen in only 3 days. Wow, amazing! I am still smiling and in shock. I couldn't believe how fast the funds were raised. And it's a good thing it happened that quickly. The buffalo were in the corral, ready to go to another buyer.
We kept these buffalo home, and it was a beautiful thing. Thank you one and all! It was a great example of what can be done when everyone joins in. It may have been a small part of what is being sold, but it is a big move in the evolution of the OST Buffalo Program in my view. The Parks board made a historical decision for the people. Not to mention a big move for the Charging Buffalo Meat House.
It also reminds me of a story from my younger years. It was years ago that I was working with buffalo and needed help. It was always tough to find help around the reservation; everyone seemed to be in their own worlds.
However, one time I picked up an old friend. He was a Lakota man who couldn't use his right side very much after being a beat-up, old cowboy all his life. He was a great guy. I loved to hear him speak the Lakota language as we worked. He could still work, and he refused to be disadvantaged. So, he came with us and we worked all day. We set up a tipi camp for a winter camp we were doing, and then we went out and hunted a buffalo. We finally got that buffalo down after it eluded us up a canyon. Then we field dressed the buffalo, and we all enjoyed a bite of the blood-dripping liver and said a prayer of thanks to our relatives in the spirit world.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, and it was time to take all the workers home. I drove my old friend into town. When he got out of the truck, he turned and said something that stuck in my mind a long time. He said, "Thanks Bamm. That was a Lakota Day."
In this modern, new world, our people don't get to experience these parts of our culture anymore. The days of yesterday may be a long way away. However, with all your help, we are making the past a part of the present. We are more than grateful; it is a new day. It really is a beautiful world here when we get to embrace our culture and heritage.
This story kind of also fits our week. Febuary 18, 2026, we went after the buffalo, and we got to see our culture through the purchase of these buffalo. We went there with an empty trailer and came back with a trailer full of buffalo. It even took two trips to haul all 22 buffalo in our trailer. They didn't have to leave our reservation.
We would like to thank all of you, our sponsors and supporters, and we would also like to thank the Parks and Recreation for agreeing that selling these Tribal buffalo "on reservation" is important. The circle is closer to being complete in the buffalo world of the Lakota Nation.
Thanks again, everyone! That was truly "a Lakota Day" in Lakota Country.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: International Indian Treaty Council International_Indian_Treaty_Coun @ mail.vresp.com
Date: Sa., 14. Feb. 2026
Subject: The US Government Decides to Halt the use of Mercury-Based Dental Amalgams in Indian Health
Service
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Click to view this email in a browser
A Major Victory for Indigenous Peoples Advocacy: The US Government Decides to Halt the use of Mercury-Based Dental Amalgams in Indian Health Service
For Immediate Release
Minimata photo
IITC representative Morning Star Gali, Pit River Nation, California, addresses the 6th Conference of the Parties of
the UN Minamata Convention, November 4, 2025 Geneva, calls for clean–up of contaminated sites
February 13, 2026: In a monumental, long–awaited win for Indigenous Peoples, Nations and future generations, the United States (US) Government Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced that they would halt the use of mercury–based dental amalgams in all Indian Health Service (IHS) programs and facilities by 2027. Dental amalgam, often called "silver fillings", contains up to 50% mercury and continues to release mercury into the human body long after it is implanted in the teeth of children and adults, including expectant mothers.
Mercury is a neurotoxin with well–documented negative health impacts. The most serious are to the brain, kidneys and nervous systems of unborn and nursing babies and young children, including learning disabilities and other developmental impacts. Mercury enters the environment from former and current gold mining, coal burning power plants and dental practices that use mercury–based fillings. Consuming contaminated fish, the primary traditional subsistence food for many Indigenous Peoples, is a significant source of exposure.
The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) has been participating actively in the development of the United Nations Minamata Convention focused on phasing our sources of exposure, including in the use of dental amalgam, and the clean-up of contaminated sites since the 1st Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) met in June 2010. At the first INC, the IITC was one of the four participating Indigenous Peoples organizations that made a joint statement affirming that "Mercury is a very real and urgent threat to our People's food security, our quality of life, our cultural integrity and is a threat to our very existence as Peoples. Due to the well–known impacts of mercury to the environment and human health, including effects on learning and development, we are concerned that this negatively affects our future generations' ability to maintain our languages, songs and oral traditions." They called for recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples as affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the development of the Convention.
The Minamata Convention went into effect in 2017 and IITC has continued to play a key role in amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples to assert the rights and full and effective participation of those most impacted, including the use of mercury–based dental amalgam by Indian Health Services in the US. The US has ratified this important treaty and has obligations under international law to reduce the use, import/export and storage of this harmful heavy metal.
IITC discovered ten years ago that the use of dental amalgams was already being phased out of dentistry provided to the general public in the US and were already prohibited in many European countries. However, they continued to be used extensively and disproportionally by Indian Health Service Dentistry on reservations and in Alaska Native Villages up to the present. In March 2016, the head of Indian Health Services Dentistry informed IITC and "Mercury Free Dentistry", at a meeting in his office, that IHS continued to use mercury–based dental fillings because they "cost less" than mercury-free alternatives.
IITC has worked for many years to inform Indigenous Peoples and Tribal leaders about the provisions of the Minamata Convention as well as mercury 's threats to our health, food systems, and cultures. Based on Indigenous Peoples' right to Free Prior and Informed Consent, IITC has worked to build support for the implementation of the Minamata Conventions' commitments to phase out the use of mercury–based dental amalgam and to clean up contaminated sites such as those left from past gold mining using mercury in California, South Dakota and Alaska. IITC worked with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in 2013 and 2017 to adopt unanimous resolutions calling for US Ratification of the Minamata Convention on Mercury and "Calling for United States (US) government to uphold its international obligations under the United Nation Minamata Convention on Mercury" by reducing mercury contamination impacting the health and environment of Tribal Nations.
IITC s UN Environmental Treaties Coordinator, Rochelle Diver, Anishinaabe from Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, has been active in the development and implementation of the Minamata Convention since 2013. Rochelle was in Geneva as a member of the Minamata Convention s Effectiveness Evaluation Committee when she learned of the US announcement. She noted this achievement as "a historic victory for human health and the health of Indigenous women, children and future generations."
For more information contact Rochelle Diver, rochelle@treatycouncil.org.
###
The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) is an organization of Indigenous Peoples from North, Central, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific working for the Sovereignty and Self Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties, Traditional Cultures and Sacred Lands.
International Indian Treaty Council
2940 16th Street, Suite 305
San Francisco, California 94103–3664
US
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Mi., 21. Jan. 2026
Subject: Urgent Need: Fire on the Rez
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
URGENT: 100 People Need Your Help
In the early hours of the morning, a housing unit called the Elder Complex in Kyle burned down.
We have not received any reports of injuries or deaths, but we have been told that 100 people, including children and elders, have nowhere to go and no belongings. With temperatures as low as –6°F and wind chills below even that, this is dangerous.
We are working now to provide them with clothing and food and support their immediate housing needs while local leaders on the ground figure out how to shelter them.
Help Us Feed, Clothe, and Shelter Them
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: Tokata Iron Eyes, Lakota Law info @ lakotalaw.org
Date: Di., 16. Dez. 2025
Subject: Wounded Knee, Sitting Bull, and December remembrances
To: Evelin Cervenkova lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Dear Evelin,
In Lakota Country, December is a time for reflection. As we gather with our loved ones for our solstice and holiday celebrations, we also remember some key anniversaries. Today, Dec. 15, it's 135 years since the assassination of the great Hunkpapa Lakota Chief, Thatanka Iyotake — Sitting Bull. I invite you to reflect with me by reading (or rereading) this blog about his amazing life and the context of his death. In the sidebar, you'll also see an action you can take to keep the pressure on to rescind Medals of Honor granted to U.S. soldiers responsible for another December anniversary. That would be the massacre of hundreds of Native people at Wounded Knee just days later, on Dec. 29, 1890.
On a related (and much happier) note, I also point you to Friday's story by Darren Thompson, Editor in Chief of our Last Real Indians Native News Desk. In it, he details the recent passage, by both houses of Congress, of the "Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site Act." Should the president sign the Act, it will place 40 acres around the Wounded Knee Massacre site in the joint ownership of the Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes! That will be a meaningful landback victory amid the current trend toward authoritarianism in the U.S. and its long history of exploitation of Native peoples.
The Wounded Knee Memorial site is located on 40 acres of land set to be returned to the Lakota, co–owned by the Oglala and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes.
The capture and execution of Sitting Bull, of course, is one example. In 1890, Indian agent James McLaughlin, overseen by the U.S. military and the Secretary of the Interior, ordered him into custody. 150 Lakota, led by Sitting Bull's son, arrived to protect him, but to no avail. Bureau of Indian Affairs police lieutenant Henry Bullhead shot Sitting Bull in the ribs, and the ensuing fight resulted in the deaths of six police and eight Lakota protectors. After Thatanka Iyotake's assassination, his people fled to join Spotted Elk (the brother of Iron Eyes, from whom my family takes its name). They headed toward Red Cloud and the Oglala gathered at the Pine Ridge Agency — and then came the massacre at Wounded Knee.
These events — and many others — live on with us not just as histories, but in the structural racism and institutionally-sanctioned violence we still face to the present day. I have witnessed police violence on the reservation. I have heard firsthand accounts of abuses of power by law enforcement, by elected leaders, by foster parents. And we need do nothing but pay attention to see that the routine harassment of Indigenous people by government agents continues unabated.
There is much more to say about all of that — and you know we will. We'll never stay silent when it comes to safeguarding our communities. Let's all keep pulling together, speaking up, and doing what we can to combat the injustices we see. This holiday season, let's hold each other close and trust that, together, we can and will continue to make progress.
Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for being part of our Lakota Law family.
Tokata Iron Eyes
Spokesperson & Organizer
Lakota People's Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
Lakota People's Law Project
P.O. Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504
United States
The Lakota People's Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Sacred Defense Fund, a Native–led Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #99–2707481). Your contributions are deductible for tax purposes as allowed by law.
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Fr., 12. Dez. 2025
Subject: A Lakota Elder Lives Here
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
We Need Help Building This Elder a New Home
Many houses that are home to some of the Lakota would be considered unlivable anywhere else in America. 10 of those homes have been renovated or repaired over the past year by the Lakota Empowerment Group. The home pictured above and below is unlivable and not amenable to renovation.
The walls, ceiling, and roof are damaged beyond repair. There are visible patches using cardboard boxes, plastic sheeting, tape, and whatever other materials are on hand. Housing is extremely scarce on the Reservation, so this elder does not have the option of moving. Building a new tiny home can give him a warm place to live.
The Lakota Empowerment Group is comprised of teachers and students of the building trades. While one generation teaches the next important trade skills, they also work on repairing homes on the reservation. They're ready to replace the elder's home, but they need your help to buy materials.
We are trying to raise $20,000 to build a tiny home in the place of his trailer. Please join our campaign or share this email to help us give the gift of a warm and secure home.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: So., 26. Okt. 2025
Subject: Crisis Heading for Disaster
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Crisis Heading for Disaster
The Safety Nets are Frayed
Food stamps go out on the 10th of each month in South Dakota, but this coming month, a lot of people are worried about their ability to buy food. Next month, EBT cards will not be refilled unless the government shutdown ends. A grandmother who cares for five of her grandchildren told us she is already out of food, and she doesn't know what she can do if she doesn't have EBT.
Additionally, cuts to federal support for food banks have weakened food banks and pantries' ability to support families and communities that are hungry. We are looking at higher costs, less availability, and fewer options for feeding people. This isn't just a shortage; it's a crisis heading for disaster.
We are fighting to keep our community fed, but we face an uphill battle. The pantries need restocked, and the food we can obtain will cost more than before. More children and families in Allen are looking to the Youth Center for meals. Cheap, ultra–processed junk foods add to the already widespread health problems, notably diabetes, which impacts more than half of people on the reservation.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Di., 21. Okt. 2025
Subject: Critical Need: Food for the Lakota
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Supporting the Lakota
CRITICAL NEED: Food on the Reservation
Children and families shouldn't have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from, but that's the reality for many on Pine Ridge Reservation. Many Lakota families rely on One Spirit's food pantries as the only place they can get fresh, nutritious food.
Now, however, our food pantries are running dangerously low, and we need to restock before people go hungry.
We're asking all our donors to please donate to help us restock the food pantries now, ahead of winter. We need $15,000 to restock all three of our food pantries. If everyone reading this gave even just a few dollars, we could hit our goal right now.
Volunteers Needed
We have a special volunteer opportunity available to help One Spirit.
We are updating our website, and we need volunteers willing to review it and provide feedback. As the volunteer, you will be given an opportunity to preview the new site, share your feedback with us, and help shape the future of One Spirit's communications. No expertise in marketing, websites, or user experience is required.
If you're interested in this volunteer opportunity, please email Nathan Kraatz at nkraatz @ nativeprogress.org with the opportunity you're interested in, your contact info, and any relevant experience you may have.
Email Us
Winning the Gold Medal on Pine Ridge
The Lakota Empowerment Group provides critical job training and home repairs to an area in dire need of both good–paying jobs and improved housing.
Recently, one of our volunteers spoke to Ricky Gray Grass and Eddie Spears, who oversee LEG, to understand what drives the group and the vision that they have for the young adults under their tutelage.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota Law info @ lakotalaw.org
Date: Mi., 15. Okt. 2025
Subject: Happy belated Indigenous Peoples' Day
To: Evelin Cervenkova lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Dear Evelin,
A very happy belated Indigenous Peoples' Day to you and yours! I hope you'll understand and forgive us for being a day late with this email after taking the day off yesterday to spend time celebrating with our families. Truthfully, I've been champing at the bit to say something about this holiday this year, in particular, given the American president's recent culture war complaints about the supposed erasure of Christopher Columbus.
For more on that — and my direct response in the Associated Press — I urge you to read this AP article and watch this video on my Instagram feed, which has more of the thoughts I shared with the reporter. And, if you want to help us advocate to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day nationwide, you can take action right here.
We who pay attention to history know that Columbus and those who followed him are hardly the ones suffering from erasure. American schools still teach our young ones to credit him with "discovering" Turtle Island — which, of course, had already been our homelands for time immemorial. And it's worth noting that Columbus, himself, was a master of erasure. In his journal, he famously marveled at the ease with which he could enslave and subdue the Indigenous people who welcomed him to our shores.
Despite Trump's nonsense, nobody is erasing Columbus. How could we? His impact was and will always be lasting. Rather, we ask that, instead of lionizing a man responsible for countless deaths, we recognize what really happened. We ask that on Indigenous Peoples' Day — and every day — we take time to think about what was lost as a result of his exploration. And, most importantly, we ask for recognition of the enduring power, resilience, and contributions of Indigenous cultures and people.
Wopila tanka — my gratitude to you for your own contributions to the cause!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People's Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
Lakota People's Law Project
P.O. Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504
United States
The Lakota People's Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Sacred Defense Fund, a Native-led Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #99–2707481). Your contributions are deductible for tax purposes as allowed by law.
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: Mi., 1. Okt. 2025
Subject: Defiantly Positive
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Join Us in Being Defiantly Positive
Life on Pine Ridge Reservation continues to be hard and uncertain for so many Lakota.
Every day, we receive calls requesting food, clothes, firewood, and critical repairs to homes before winter comes. For weeks, we have been pushing hard to meet urgent needs while continuing projects that will ultimately lead to Lakotan self–sufficiency. We're grateful to all of you on this journey with us, and we are especially thankful that you have continued with us even when times are, at best, uncertain for many.
We strive to avoid negativity and maintain a positive outlook. Indeed, our momentum is increasing. We have more programs, and we improve the lives of more people than ever before. Yet, even as we move ahead, we continue to uncover needs, such as the dire condition of the houses in which many grandparents, elders, families, and children live.
Thankfully, our work and your support give us hope and strength. It's easier to avoid negativity when we see a family get needed renovations done to their homes, when a family gets food for their table, when young people learn to enjoy life through camp experiences, and when young people in the training program in Minnesota see the food truck business they are preparing to bring to the Reservation written up in the news media as "the Best Place to Eat."
So please: accept our heartfelt thanks for helping us create and sustain positivity on the reservation. The Lakota people have a mantra that they use daily that helps to promote kindness—Mitakuye Oyasin. It means, "We are all related." Thank you for proving that compassion unites us and that we all share in one spirit.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: Darren Thompson, Lakota Law info @ lakotalaw.org
Date: Mi., 1. Okt. 2025
Subject: Indian Country fights back against Hegseth
To: Evelin Cervenkova lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Lakota Law
Dear Evelin,
Today's National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors is another solemn reminder of how we acknowledge and learn from the past. The National Day of Remembrance began in Canada and is acknowledged in the States to honor the generations of Native and First Nations children forcibly removed from their homes to be sent to boarding and residential schools. Many of these institutions were government funded and many were church funded, but all were responsible for the oppression of Indigenous culture, language, and spirits.
And still — last week — we were given another reminder that those at the federal level continue to deny the truth. This past Thursday, as reported on our Last Real Indians Native News Desk, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that soldiers who were awarded Medals of Honor for their 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee of nearly 300 Lakotas — including defenseless women and children — will keep them. Hegseth's announcement, made on X, followed a review requested by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in 2024.
Many tribal leaders and organizations issued statements condemning the announcement, largely pointing out that the decision is not reflective of real American history — nor our shared values. People are simply asking for a correction in awarding the slaughter of women and children at Wounded Knee. This should not be a complicated issue.
Thankfully, our voices are being heard. After LRI Native News published our story on Hegseth's announcement, Yahoo News and many others republished comments made by Lakota Law director Chase Iron Eyes. That's important, because mainstream media often forgets to include voices from Indian Country, even on the issues that directly affect us. I see it as a simple equation: if you're writing about a community, include that community's voice.
While the announcement to rescind the Wounded Knee Medals of Honor was denied by the current administration, and though Hegseth said the decision is final, that doesn't mean this battle is over. There are still other pathways to remove the medals from history. For instance, we can and should tell Congress to pass the Remove the Stain Act. It also took far too long to end the political imprisonment of Leonard Peltier — but through tremendous, coordinated organizing and continued discussion and pressure, we got there.
Soon, we'll publish an op-ed on LRI Native News from South Dakota Senator Red Dawn Foster detailing the steps it took to pass the resolution in the South Dakota State Senate asking Congress to investigate the Wounded Knee Massacre and next steps we can take to rescind the medals. We'll also have much more to say later this week on the pattern of governmental overreach currently eroding our human, civil, and constitutional rights.
Indigenous residents of Turtle Island have long known these struggles. And we also know that when things look grim, you can't give in, give up, or lose faith. So I thank you for standing with us. Let's keep fighting together.
Miigwech — my enduring gratitude to you as a fellow member of this movement!
Darren Thompson
Director of Media Relations
Lakota People's Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
Lakota People's Law Project
P.O. Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504
United States
The Lakota People's Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Sacred Defense Fund, a Native–led Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #99-2707481). Your contributions are deductible for tax purposes as allowed by law.
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.org
Date: So., 21. Sept. 2025
Subject: Thank you
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Summer Camp Has Kids Flying High
Summer camp is a time for fun, friendship, and personal growth. For the Lakota children at Camp Marrowbone, it's a place where they can feel safe, build character, and learn important life values. The camp provides a nurturing environment where kids can participate in activities like the Grand Marathon, a relay race with over 30 different stations, and cabin life, where they can bond with their peers and counselors.
One camper, Iyahnna High Hawk, said that at camp she learned, "how to be nice, kind, generous, brave, and have wisdom."
Thank you to all the generous donors who made these transformative experiences possible. We hope you will continue to support this and other projects like it in the future.
Lakota Empowerment Group Restores Home
The Lakota Empowerment Group recently finished restoring a home near Porcupine, SD! Restoring this home, developing the LEG employees skills, and building an economy of skilled tradesmen is only possible thanks to donors like you. Thank you for your support!
There are many more homes that need fixing. Our inboxes are constantly full of people asking for help with their homes. If you can spare it, please consider helping us restore the housing stock on the reservation. It will not only give someone the dignity of a home—it can keep them warm in the brutal winter.
Help Build Local Solutions to Local Problems
Thank You for Building Lakota Self Sufficiency
The work we do, from repairing substandard housing while teaching critical trade skills to sponsoring wonderful summer camp experiences, is only possible because of your donations and support.
Thank you for everything you make possible.
Wopila!
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.ccsend.com
Date: Mo., 8. Sept. 2025
Subject: They're Cutting People's Hours on the Rez
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
We Need Your Support
Recently, we have heard reports that the tribe is having to cut people's working hours–mostly by eliminating one day of work per week. For everyone. Additionally, a lot of programs on the reservation that fed, housed, and employed people have been cut. Even though One Spirit does not have grants from the federal government, we are experiencing downwind effects–like food banks having fewer resources to help. Our supporters have to be cautious since the future is so uncertain for many of us.
We'll be honest. The next year is going to be hard. Winter will come soon and, with it, subzero temperatures and snow. Many homes still lack adequate–not to mention safe–heating. Families reach out to us every day for help with their home and with food. There just aren't enough jobs on the reservation for everyone to meet their needs. People are going to go without, and we are trying to prepare for the worst.
We know times are tough. If you have it within your heart, please consider making a tax–deductible donation at this time. It may make all the difference for a family on the rez.
Wopila tanka!
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
Von: Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota Law info @ lakotalaw.org
Date: Fr., 29. Aug. 2025
Subject: Empower Black Hills land defense
To: Evelin Cervenkova lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Lakota Law
Dear Evelin,
Once again, we are called to defend our sacred homelands from an imminent extractive threat. Right now — and thanks wholly to your support — Lakota Law is fully engaged as a member of an evolving, decades–old coalition dedicated to defeating uranium exploration in the He Sapa, our sacred Black Hills. Current federal and state policy ensures the constant erosion of environmental oversight. And now, the Chord project in Craven Canyon threatens a sensitive ecosystem which includes the Inyan Kara aquifer and its water, vital to local homes and ranches.
Please help us confront and stop the Chord uranium exploration project in Craven Canyon by making a generous donation today. While you're at the page, watch our new video, which draws on archival footage — both our own and that generously shared by our friends at Warrior Women Project — to tell the story of the fight to stop harmful extraction in the Black Hills. It's a coalition effort that goes back decades, including alliances among Indigenous and environmental justice groups and even with ranchers.
As a personal project I care deeply about, I've been consulting with the Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance (GPTWA) for years to protect water as our birthright — as a fundamental, inalienable right to human beings and other creatures. Water gives and is life on our planet, and tribes have superior, preceding, sovereign rights to the water we need. Those rights are protected by treaty, by statute, by water settlements, and by the United States Supreme Court. And yet, time and again, we must fight to protect our waters in what seems like an unending life–or–death saga to safeguard ourselves and our relatives from the fascistic corporate machine.
Our modern–day coalition in this incredibly important battle includes our compatriots at organizations like the Sierra Club, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, and NDN Collective. Lakota Law, however, has a distinct role to play. We represent the sovereign interests of tribal nations as embodied by elders and traditional treaty rights protectors. In my opinion, these are the people with the deepest rights and, spiritually speaking, in the strongest position to defend our homelands and all of Turtle Island from corporate takeover.
My family's history of protecting tribal water rights runs as deep as any aquifer. And at this critical moment, our organization — especially my co-council and I — are incurring steep costs representing the GPTWA, pro bono. But, when it comes to this matter, no cost is too high. I know you stand with us. I'm grateful we can rely on you to help amplify our concerns, equip our team, and empower us to put our best defense forward. I'm so glad we are all together in this existential fight for Unci Maka — our Grandmother Earth — and all she nurtures.
Wopila tanka — thank you, always, for being a land defender and water protector!
Chase Iron Eyes
Executive Director
Lakota People's Law Project
Sacred Defense Fund
P.S. If you can make a donation today to help us stop the Craven Canyon uranium exploration — and all extractive desecration of our homelands — you will have my eternal gratitude. I can never thank you enough for being a friend to Lakota Law and a hero in the movement for sacred land and water defense.
Lakota People's Law Project
P.O. Box 27
Santa Fe, NM 87504
United States
The Lakota People's Law Project is a part of the 501(c)(3) Sacred Defense Fund, a Native–led Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice nonprofit (Federal Tax ID #99–2707481). Your contributions are deductible for tax purposes as allowed by law.
Von: One Spirit jbaker @ nativeprogress.ccsend.com
Date: Fr., 22. Aug. 2025
Subject: Give the Lakota a LEG up
To: lakotaoyateinfo @ googlemail.com
Empowering the Lakota People
Lakota Empowerment Group Gets Its License
The Lakota Empowerment Group is an important solution to not one, but two problems on the reservation — the lack of good–paying jobs and substandard housing. LEG teaches young adults construction-related trade skills while working on housing repairs on the reservation.
LEG will assist the people of Pine Ridge Reservation and create a new generation of tradespeople who can support themselves and their families with their newfound skills.
Recently, LEG got its business license, which will help it secure paid work on the reservation in addition to grant-based work. This will support its financial stability, but it will take quite some time before LEG can support itself financially. That's why we're asking for donations to continue this vital work. Please help us support a new generation of skilled craftspeople and the Lakota community.
Support Lakota YouthStay, Win a Star Quilt!
Lakota YouthStay is currently holding a fundraising raffle for the program. The prize is a gorgeous, Lakota star quilt handmade by Rosie Plenty Wounds of Oglala, SD.
Lakota star quilts are a tradition carried down from generation to generation. They are frequently given as gifts for graduations, to honor bravery, for someone who has gone above and beyond for the oyate (people), or for special ceremonies and occasions such as weddings.
By entering this raffle, you are helping to support the Lakota YouthStay program, which brings 8 Lakota youth each year from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota to the greater Medford/Boston for a week of educational and recreational activities, sharing of cultural experiences, and creating beautiful friendships.
Raffle tickets for the star quilt can be purchased via Venmo (@lakotayouthstay), via credit card at www.galabid.com/lakotayouthstay or by scanning the QR codes below. A photo of your ticket stub will be texted/emailed to you. If the winner lives outside the Boston area, the quilt will be mailed to the winner.
An Update about Restoring the Buffalo
Dignity. Financial security. Opportunity. Hope.
Well–paying and meaningful jobs create economic opportunity and break the cycle of poverty on Pine Ridge Reservation. For years, the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation and One Spirit have been working on the Charging Buffalo Meat Processing Facility, a beacon of hope in a food desert and a community that needs employment opportunities. Now, we're entering the final phase of construction that will bring the meathouse to completion. As we enter this final phase, we invite you to learn more about what this work represents and why it matters.
One Spirit | PO Box 3209 | Rapid City, SD 57709 US
nächste - next
Zurück zur Homepage - Lakota Oyate Information
Back to the homepage of the Lakota Oyate Information