Eight thousand of our brothers and sisters of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are hurting and they need our help. Kossack Chase Iron Eyes gave us an idea of what’s facing his community:
Here at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, we are bracing for the second unusually powerful storm in less than a month. As Winter Storm Wesley bears down, promising more severe weather for our Oglala Sioux Tribe homeland, the reservation still has a long way to go to recover from flooding caused by Winter Storm Ulmer in mid-March.
That storm damaged more than 75 structures, displaced 1,500 individuals and destroyed critical culverts and roads, causing millions of dollars of damage to our infrastructure.
For years to come historians/writers will be having the time of their lives delving into the corrupt mind of this pr*sident and his pathological, reflexive lying; his gross incompetence, his small-mindedness, and his cruelty. Especially his cruelty. Given what we know about how his tiny, dense mind cannot even comprehend the idea that Puerto Ricans are American citizens, it should come as no surprise that yet again he’s turned his back on another marginalized community.
But nearly a month later, with Winter Storm Wesley set to sweep through the Dakotas, the Oglala Sioux people that call the Pine Ridge Reservation home are still waiting for state and federal assistance to deal with the effects of Ulmer...
But Trump has yet to speak a word about the flooding’s catastrophic effects on the Dakota tribes. This is a major problem, as the ills of colonialism and abject abdication of treaty rights by the federal government have left communities on the Pine Ridge reservation among the poorest and most vulnerable in the entire nation.
Not only has he not responded to pleas for help, but he has — with malice aforethought — kicked them while they are down by sneakily issuing an executive order to resume work on the Keystone XL pipeline. The Two-Bit Ceasar signed the executive order with utter indifference to the opinions and or interests of the people whose lives will be directed impacted by this project.
$12B in aid for [white] farmers but nothing for the people on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Farmers in Alabama described as “our beautiful farmers” but contempt for the people whose patrimony they continue to plunder and steal.
Despite $10 million in damage caused to our homeland during the hailstorm last year, no support has been forthcoming from FEMA. Now we face yet another weather catastrophe, and at least for the moment, we are once again largely without help.
Anything you can do now or in the coming days to send assistance would be appreciated: www.oglalaoyankerelief.org. We are looking for in-kind donations of bottled water, non-perishable food items, diapers and hygiene products, and so much more. We also need skilled volunteers to help us administrate, write grants and rebuild. Even if you can just share our story and website, that would mean the world.
We will not turn our backs on our brothers and sisters.
What we can do
- We can donate here
- We can sign the petition here
- We can take to social media to fight (Twitter and Facebook are level playing fields)
- We can recommend, tip, republish, and tweet diaries having to do with this crisis
I debated whether to ask for a specific amount and decided against it. But I’d love to know just how much we did to help. Please share in the comment. I’ll start the ball a-rolling by donating $10.00. Thank you in advance! And remember, as my Grandmother was fond of saying, “Every mickle makes a muckle.”