The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Sisters on a Mission
Items sought for Indian reservation
By Krystle Dunham, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: July 10, 2008
After sending more than 10,000 pounds of clothing and shoes to an Indian reservation last August, Mary Read and Sister Pat Neckel are determined to continue their efforts.
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For almost two years now, Read and her sister, a nun, along with their parish, Immaculate Conception Church in Milan, have been working hard to help the people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala, S.D.
Peoples Presbyterian Church in Milan has also helped the Milan sisters with their mission.
They are currently working on a drive for clothes, school supplies, non-perishable food, household items and toiletries to help the Oglala Sioux Tribe (Lakota Indians) whose members live on the reservation.
After reading an article in a local newspaper about the lifestyle the Lakota Indians face at the reservation, the sisters became very interested in helping the residents. Read and Neckel are also part Sioux from their father's side of the family.
Read said there are more than 40,000 Sioux living on the reservation, which is 2 million acres large. The reservation is located in southwestern South Dakota on the Nebraska state line, making it about 50 miles east of the Wyoming border.
The majority of these people live in two-bedroom trailers, with two to four families in each.
The weather extremes can be 100 degrees and higher in the summer and 30 degrees below zero in the winter. This past Christmas, Read and Neckel sent 35 boxes of gloves, hats and scarves to the residents.
"(The people) are so grateful for anything they receive," Read said.
Most of the residents on the reservation are without water or electricity. Electricity cannot be hooked up because they have no water. Water is not available because the residents can't afford a well.
Read said residents are forced to live on land incapable of sustaining crops, which has made the Indians rely on government surplus food. The majority of food that residents eat is instant powder food with no nutritional value, she said.
In past years, the Indians hunted game and grew their own food. However, Read said with the sandy soil at the reservation, no food can be produced.
Life expectancy on the reservation for the men is 58 years of age. Read said about 37 percent have diabetes and obesity is an epidemic. Seventy percent of young people are overweight.
Read said the Lakota Indians' living situation is very upsetting to her.
"It has to get better for those people," she said.
Residents are also living in an area that has a poor economy. The majority of the Indians have low-paying jobs or no jobs. The unemployment rate on the reservation is nearly 80 percent, Read said.
Read added that the residents are pleading for industries to start up in their area. Currently, the Indians make jewelry, moccasins and purses at their cottage industries to make money.
This month, Read and Neckel plan to fill their car with food for the people at the reservation and drive to South Dakota.
In addition to collecting food for the residents, Neckel said the Sioux could use tables, chairs, lamps, clothes, blankets, shoes and boots.
Read makes and sells artificial flower arrangements, baskets of flowers and figurine combinations to raise money for traveling expenses to the reservation. Every dollar she profits goes toward the reservation.
Read and Neckel hope to raise enough money to cover the transportation costs, which will run about $1,600 to deliver donations to Pine Ridge Reservation. Currently, they have saved up $315 and are in need of donations.
The sisters are asking area residents who are cleaning out closets or their basements to donate anything they plan on getting rid of to their efforts for the reservation.
For those interested in donating clothes, non-perishable food or funds to the Pine Ridge Reservation, call Read at 439-1256.
Krystle Dunham is a freelance writer. She can be reached at krystleadunham@gmail.com.
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