Cultural Partnership Plan: Returning to Sacred Selves

Ashley Propes

Cultural Partnerships

Professors Lisa Rathje and Sue Eleuterio

August 23, 2013

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Introduction

Returning to Sacred Selves is proposing a cultural partnership to connect the

Rosebud reservation and encompassing communities’ resources to form an

organization that will facilitate reliable, respectful, and renewable relationships

committed to lessening the co-occurring health concerns of the Rosebud community.

One of the greatest concerns facing Native Americans on reservations today is the

ailment of type 2 diabetes. The U.S population is estimated to have 6.2 percent of it’s

population, or 17 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes whereas 30 percent of

Native Americans are diagnosed with diabetes and are 25 percent more likely to develop

diabetes than non-Natives.1 Independent scholar and Dakota Native American, Angela

Wilson states:

As a consequence of colonization, health conditions among Indigenous

populations have dramatically deteriorated, and we are suffering from an

onslaught of diet- and lifestyle- related diseases threatening to destroy us.2

The rising cost of health care and remote access to healthcare facilities on rural

reservations further complicates the hardships individuals and families face while living

on the boundaries of the Rosebud reservation. Currently there are no organizations or

partnerships addressing these co-occurring concerns within the community. Lakota tribal

member Ione Quigley, director of Native American Relief Charities Andrew Bentley and

myself, a cultural sustainability graduate student at Goucher College have joined together

to begin to create a working partnership plan to address the complications facing

members of the St. Francis and Mission communities of the Rosebud reservation.

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Our collaboration is inspired by the ethics of cultural democracy as presented by

James Bau Graves. Supporting cultures of various communities in a respectful and

commemorative way offers a shift in paradigm and moves away from structuring goals

and incentives for the dominant cultures’ idea of success.3 We value the time it takes to

shift paradigms in cultures and partnerships. In order to be effective in assisting cultures

to sustainable selves it is important to appreciate the time and space they transformed

within during times of struggle. The joint efforts of all partners involved will be a success

if and when the community members thank one another for their gifts of health and

nourishment.

Vision Statement: Returning to Sacred Selves seeks to create a self-sustained community pushing

forward to lower the rate of obesity and diabetes within the community for future

generations. The Lakota communities of St. Francis and Mission have little to no

access to healthy or traditional foods. Over the last century traditional foods and

foodways have been lost in the reconstruction of the ways Native Americans are

allowed to use their natural resources and land. Formed dependence on commodity and

food stamp programs from the government have weakened the reliance on spiritual and

ecological systems. In return an epidemic of health concerns are occuring from the

overconsumption of processed foods.

Returning to the reciprocity of trading and harvesting from the land will

provide both communities with direct access to healthy food and communal space for

sharing. Returning to Sacred Selves will provide space for a community garden and

buffalo ranch. The deeply rooted meaning of the buffalo will be a constant reminder of

where the Lakota came from and the garden will promote togetherness.

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Through a revitalized relationship with food and tradition we believe it is

possible to lessen unhealthy habits and in return mend a disrupted social structure that

once thrived from order and balance.

Mission Statement: “Returning to our roots today to grow stronger for tomorrow”

Community

Located on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota,

Mission and St. Francis are neighboring towns situated approximately fifteen miles away

from one another. Today there are roughly 4,000 members of the combined communities.

The majority of the community members are enrolled tribal members of the Oglala

Lakota tribe. Mitakuyue oyasin; a Lakota phrase meaning “to all my relations.” The value

of this relationship goes beyond human-to-human relations; it is an interconnection to the

plants, animals, earth, skies, winds, sun, moon, and stars. Traditional Lakota ancestors

never believed in owning land or borrowing more from the earth than they could return.

The reciprocal relationships born from these cycles allowed for a self-sustained culture to

endure the world it participated in. During the nineteenth century, removal acts and

reservation policies placed Native Americans on remote lands known as reservations.4

This not only separated them from the colonizing states, it separated them from their

sacred spaces and traditional ways of existing in relationship to their land.

Throughout the past two hundred years the Lakota have had to adapt to constant

changes in policies rearranging the ways in which they are allowed to participate in their

spiritual ceremonies, traditional hunting and gathering methods, and nomadic lifestyles.

The Lakota’s deep roots to the buffalo are based in the belief that the buffalo was their

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first ancestor born out of the earth, giving every part of himself to the Lakota so they

could grown stronger. When the Lakota were forced to stop hunting buffalo their main

source of food, housing, and spiritual beliefs were suppressed.

Although modern descriptions of Lakota lifestyles include high rates of domestic

violence, suicide, alcoholism, gang violence, and obesity, there are still members who

participate in traditional ceremonies and rituals including spirit lodges, powwows, and

the renewing act of the Sun Dance.

Partners

“No one organization, no matter how wealthy or multifaceted, can do community building alone. Success is bred in the diversity of players, interests, sectors, differences, and imaginations.”

--Tom Borrup5

Including layers of voices and representation from within the community is

imperative for the partnership’s success as well as its survival. The community must

receive a sense of ownership from within the partnership if they are going to support as

well as utilize the resources. Returning to Sacred Selves has spanned from the center of

the community and worked out to the boundaries in choosing the following partnerships

and organizations in attempt to involve the most diverse and imaginative angles of the

community.

The Rosebud Sioux tribal council will be imperative for overseeing the policies

and spatial capacities of our programs. The Rosebud Reservation is a sovereign nation

and our project will need to maintain good standing with the local politicians as well as

understand the legalities of all potential circumstances. The tribal council will be our

government agency intermediaries.6

Sinte Gleska University will provide the partnership with students’ perspectives

and support. Sinte Gleska will be a key resource to bringing in artists from the

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community. Professors and instructors at the university include traditional drum makers,

jewelry makers, and dancers. The students and professors are visionaries and doers for

the partnership, both imagining the future and getting the job done with their skill sets.7

Medicine men will be crucial in showing their community the importance of the

plants and animals around them used in healing and health for their ailments and

prevention of diabetes. Elders also play an important role in teaching traditional

knowledge that derives from empirical observation and spiritual insight.8 The inclusion of

layers of generations will weave together the knowledge’s of everyone.

The RST Diabetes Prevention Program, Community Health Representative Program,

Healthy Start, Native American Heritage Association, and the RST Elderly Nutrition are

already knowledgeable of the community’s met needs, desired needs, and gap areas with

regards to health and nutrition. While our programs may overlap in some areas, our

partnerships can find common visions and goals, as these organizations become our

synthesizers.9

Lakota tribal member and storyteller Joseph Marshall III will address questions of

what Lakota life before reservation life was like and how the community existed in

relationship to their land. Marshall will represent our cultural maven as a leader and

cultural historian to connect the partnership to the arts.10

The Boys & Girls Club will provide the partnerships with a scope of what the

youth of the community are interested in, what will work best for them, how they respond

to afterschool programs, and pull insights on potential transportation issues from school

and home. Nick Lowery of Native Vision recommends that as we progress forward the

youth’s voice must be heard and from this we can move forward.11

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Workplan and Evaluation

8-Month Planning Schedule for Phase I: Joining Together

Meeting One: May 2013 - Tribal Council Policies

It is of great importance to the project and all of the partnerships that will make it

possible to follow the law and policies on the Rosebud Reservation. Our team will meet

with The Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council at the tribal hall. We are requesting the Council

to present to us their laws and regulations for creating a non-profit organization and

collaborating with both reservation and off the reservation organizations.

Evaluation: This meeting is important for us to better understand the rules and

regulations of starting a non-profit on the Rosebud Reservation. Legally we are hoping to

avoid miscommunication and close the gaps of legal misinterpretations. Ethically we will

want to remain culturally sensitive and bring tobacco offerings to the Chief to show our

appreciation for his teachings and knowledge.

Meeting Two: August 2013- Personal Introductions

Introduce the vision of Returning to Sacred Selves to our primary/key

stakeholders through individual meetings. Our team will introduce ourselves to Sinte

Gleska University’s president and vice president, Joseph Marshall III, Rosebud Sioux

Tribal Council, White River Nursery, South Dakota State University Agricultural

Department, Native American Heritage Association, Rosebud School District, The Boys

& Girls Club, and St. Francis Mission’s board of directors. It is our intention to hold an

individualized meeting for each organization/ group so they may have the opportunity to

express their interests and or concerns to us on a one on one basis without discomfort or

lack of time.

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Evaluation: It is our intention to formally invite each stakeholder into our

partnership with the presentation of Returning to Sacred Selves’ vision. Our stakeholders

are our backbones and we hope to gain their support through our genuine presentation

and knowledge. We would like to see at least five of the above involved in our

partnership. If we do not gain their support we will need to add/reassess our vision/key

players involved and return to this step once again with a revised set of stakeholders

before stepping forward.

Meeting Three: September 2013 – Stakeholder Open Forum

Invite all stakeholders to a forum at the St. Francis Community Center where we

will open the table for discussion and allow space/time for our stakeholders to critique

questions they have developed over the past month from talking with their

organizations/boards. We will hold the meeting on a weeknight and provide a traditional

Lakota Stew (cooked by St. Francis Mission’s volunteers).

Evaluation: It is our intention to have our stakeholders understand our vision and

for us to better understand their availability and role in our partnership. We are providing

a meal for them during the meeting so they may have a chance to try a traditional Lakota

dish and address the spirit of well being through food and community.

Meeting Four: September 2013- Sinte Gleska University Talking Circle

There will be an invitation sent out by email a month before the talking circle

where we will invite all undergraduate students and their professors to join us by the Tipi

to share in a time of appreciation. A week before the meeting we will re-invite the

students by going into their classroom and presenting them with our vision and asking

them to join in the making of a better visualization. The talking circle will be a time for

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creative thinking, where we will not pick out the problems of the community but instead

open the circle to the following questions:

What is your greatest strength How will you use your strength in the future What colors make you feel most satisfied What animal do you relate most to/ explain how you relate if you feel

ComfortableAfter the meeting we will invite all students to join us the next week for our

community wide dinner/ meeting.

Evaluation: Holding an open talking circle is a Lakota way of displaying all are equal.

We understand the importance in avoiding stating that there is a problem in the

community and focusing on “issues”, instead we would like to hear the student’s

strengths and dreams. By holding this free-flowing circle we hope to build a sense of trust

between the students and ourselves. Our goal is to have at least ten undergraduate

students and four faculty members at our next meeting.

Meeting Five: October 2013 – Community Gathering

We will be inviting the communities of Mission and St. Francis to join together at

the St. Francis’s Community Center. Community members will be invited through flyers

sent home with grade school students and posting the gathering’s information in public

spaces (grocery stores, taco stands, banks, post office, and trading post). The gathering

will open with each person adding a push-pin to a map of the two communities. Ione’s

family will be dancing a traditional dance representing togetherness. The first hour will

be a time for greeting one another and viewing visuals of what Returning to Sacred

Selves would look like. The second hour will consist of us thanking everyone for coming

to the gathering and offering for them to place any questions/concerns/fears/thoughts in a

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box as the night progressed and then Joseph Marshall III will read from him book To You

We Shall Return.

Evaluation: We are going to provide a bus each hour the gathering is in progress

to and from Mission so the community will have transportation to St. Francis and they

can come and go as their schedules allow. The comments/questions in the box will be

anonymous and addressed at the community meeting held in December that will cover

concerns and opportunities for the community. It is our intention to provide a safe space

for food and comfort and show the community they are the Sacred Selves.

Meeting Six: November 2013- Returning to Sacred Selves Non-profit

We will hold a formal meeting establishing the support of the organization and

it’s potential strengths and weaknesses as an organization. This meeting will be

comprised of Ione, Ashley, Andrew, one Sinte Gleska undergraduate student, one SDSU

Agricultural graduate student, and an unannounced member (filling a gap we have yet to

identify) who will all serve together as the initial staff of Returning to Sacred Selves.

During this meeting we will cover the following:

Are we going to provide a service/organization that will be able to serve the entire community?

Do we need to focus on a certain group of individuals of the community? Have we listened to what the community wants? What will the annual budget look like? Delegating responsibilities to our constituents, stakeholders, and ourselves

Evaluation: If the stakeholders and partnerships addressed to date have been

successful and responsive to the vision (potentially revised by this step) and the above

bullet points are adequately addressed then we will move towards Phase II of the

partnership plan.

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Reflective Thoughts

Cultural Partnerships went beyond my expectations of merely learning how to

theoretically approach partnerships; instead it has conditioned my thought process to

continuously review the layers of representation and voices within collaborative projects.

Ethically I am much more tuned in to resisting my own assumptive and dominant forms

of approaching goals and desired outcomes. One of the most important lessons I will take

away from this course is trust. Borrup reminds us that if we are going to have a successful

project we must venture into areas where we will not have all the answers and we must

trust in the partners we choose because we need them.12

After reviewing my partnership plan /evaluations I feel as though I should

establish an area for considering potential ethical concerns beyond offending cultural

patterns/ traditions. Reflecting back to our class discussion on power I believe it is

important to continually manage a balance between gaining knowledge, gaining power,

and learning how to use both knowledge and power to construct and distribute

responsibilities within partnerships.

My fear of becoming an overpowering leader within partnerships has subsided

upon completing this course. I am confident in the skills and perspectives covered

throughout the semester and I am anxious to potentially turn my theoretical partnership

into a collaborative plan in the future.

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1 Devon A. Mihesuah, “Decolonizing Our Diets By Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens,” The American Indian Quarterly 27, no. 3&4 (Summer/Fall 2003): 809.

2 Angela Waziyatawin Wilson, “Introduction: Indigenous Knowledge Recovery Is Indigenous Empowerment,” The American Indian Quarterly: Special Issue: The Recovery of Indigenous Knowledge 28, no. 3&4 (2004): 364.3

James Bau Graves, Cultural Democracy, The Arts, Community & the Public Purpose, (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press): Introduction.

4 David Rich Lewis, “Native Americans and the Environment: A Survey of the Twentieth-Century Issues”, American Indian Quarterly (19) 3: 423.

5 Tom Borrup, Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts, and Culture, (Saint Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance): 153.

6 Borrup, Creative Community: 154.

7 Borrup, Creative Community: 154.

8 Michael P Milburn, “Indigenous Nutrition: Using Traditional Food Knowledge to Solve Contemporary Health Problems,” The American Indian Quarterly (28) 3&4 (Summer/Fall 2004): 421.

9 Borrup, Creative Community: 155.

10 Borrup, Creative Community: 155.11

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Problems facing Native American youths, 107th Cong., 2nd sess., 2002, 11.

12

Borrup, Creative Community: 154.

Bibliography

Borrup, Tom. 2006. Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts, and Culture. Saint Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance. 

Camp, Charles and Timothy Lloyd. 1980. Six Reasons not to Produce Folklife Festivals. Kentucky Folklore Record.

Chew, Ron. 2005. “Five Keys to Growing a Healthy Community-connected Museum.” Community Arts Network, Reading Room. mhttp://wayback.archive-it.org/2077/20100906203155/http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2005/02/five_keys_to_gr.php

Deloria Jr, Vine. 2006. The World We Used to Live In: Remembering the Powers of theMedicine Men. Fulcrum Publishing.

Graves, James Bau. 2005. Cultural Democracy, The Arts, Community & the Public Purpose. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press. 

Lewis, David Rich. “Native Americans and the Environment: A Survey of TwentiethCentury Issues.” American Indian Quarterly 19, no. 3 (Summer 1995): 423-450.

Marshall, Joseph M III. 2006. Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance. Sterling.

Marshall, Joseph M III. 2010. To You We Shall Return: Lessons About Our Planet from the Lakota. Sterling.

Mihesuah, Devon A. “Decolonizing Our Diets By Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens,” The American Indian Quarterly 27, no. 3&4 (Summer/Fall 2003): 809.

Milburn, Michael P. 2004. “Indigenous Nutrition: Using Traditional Food Knowledge to Solve Contemporary Health Problems.” The American Indian Quarterly (28) 3&4 (Summer/Fall 2004).

Native American Heritage Association. Accessed August 11, 2013. https://www.naha-inc.org/programs/food/.

Rappaport Joanne. 2008.  “Beyond Participant Observation: Collaborative Ethnography as Theoretical Innovation.” Collaborative Anthropologies 1: 1-31.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council. Accessed August 10, 2013. http://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov/government/tribal-council .

Sinte Gleska University. Accessed August 9, 2013. http://www.sintegleska.edu/ .

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Indian Affairs. Problems facing Native American youths.107th Cong., 2nd sess., August 1, 2002.

Wilson, Angela Waziyatawin. “Introduction: Indigenous Knowledge Recovery Is Indigenous Empowerment.” The American Indian Quarterly: Special Issue: The Recovery of Indigenous Knowledge 28, no. 3&4 (2004): 364.