Last week, I
spent my entire Spring Break in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. What was I doing
there? I was helping out the Cheyenne River Youth Project. This project is
located on a Lakota Indian reservation, and I went there as part of an
alternative spring breaks program at my college. A great deal of stuff happened
while I was there, and I’ve decided to blog about it over the next five days.
Overall, I
loved my experience there. I learned new things, acquired wise advice, and
bonded with some cool people. If I had not gone on the trip, I would have just
spent my time at home. This was a more productive use of my time, and it is
probably one of the most important things I will ever do in my life (I’m
probably exaggerating). I have numerous things to say about my trip, but I
guess I should start with where I volunteered.
I volunteered
at the Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte. This organization was
founded 25ish years ago in order to help the youth in Eagle Butte. What many
people fail to realize is that the youth on reservations are at risk due to
issues such as gang activity, poverty, and educational issues. I did not
realize this until a short while ago. All of these issues are important to
understand because they affect everyone on a reservation including the young
people. I’m not saying every reservation has these issues, but they still exist
on some reservations. The Project in Eagle Butte has been designed to provide
activities for teenagers and little kids alike in order to prevent nefarious
activities from going on in the community. Nobody wants to see wasted potential
occur with anyone, and I believe that the project can help to insure that most
of the students do healthy activities that will not ruin their chances at a
great future.
Other aspects
of the Project include the fact that many colleges and high schools visit the
area to help as well. This can result in issues that I will get to in another
post. The Project has a gym where teenagers can play games (mostly basketball)
at night, they recently hosted a “Passion for Fashion” night, and they have
libraries and an art room. All of these aspects combine to show the true nature
of the Project: to help teenagers feel welcome and encouraging growth. The
Project also has an afternoon drop off session for little kids where they can
learn, play, and have a small dinner. It was a joy working with the little kids
even if they were a little brutal at times. Finally, the Project does try to
help the community by offering family services. This service allows those in the
community to request items that the Project may or may not carry. The Project
has a warehouse that I saw. It is pretty big, but it does not carry everything.
Still, families do utilize it and seem relatively happy about it.
So what did I
learn from all of this? I learned a great deal about culture, empathy, and
diversity. I understood what it felt like to be the outsider in the community.
I could tell that the residents of the reservation knew I did not belong. They
did not go to any lengths to make me feel unwelcome, but I knew I was out of
place. Furthermore, I learned more about empathy. One of the speakers said to
us that we would never truly understand their issues because we are not Native
American, and we could not think like they did. This is true. I will never be
Lakota, but I should still attempt to understand their issues by learning about
them. The speaker told us that he was proud of our generation because we were
willing to learn and correct the mistakes of our past as well as being
accepting of others cultures and identities. I feel this is an important step
to take not just in Indian affairs, but in world affairs. In order to truly
understand others, we should learn their story, understand what has happened in
the past, and make sure that we do not repeat mistakes. It is with this that I
believe that we will truly change the world for the better.
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