Did you see Diane Sawyer's special last year on this Native American tribe in Pine Ridge, South Dakota? If you did then I'm sure it broke your heart, as it did ours.
There are few jobs out there for the people, and their community has slid into despair. One precious little girl even tried to kill herself because she was so despondent.
I have always had a heart for the Native Americans. We kicked them out of their land and sent them off on the Trail of Tears to start a new life in an unknown territory. These people live in poverty, in broken-down trailers with few possessions or necessary things needed in life that we take for granted.
Would you consider chipping in for Pine Ridge? Just click on the "Chip in" button in the sidebar. They are in need of tools, building supplies, blankets, furniture - you name it. We will purchase supplies with this donation and bring the supplies with us. We are spending one week there, to work on building and repair projects. I will post pictures when we get back.
I wrote a poem for the Native Americans plight:
The haunting flute of the Indian
Whispers and weaves through the reeds
And there the Great Spirit travails
For all of the white man's misdeeds
Where the natives have languished and lingered
Before their great trail of tears
You can still hear their voices cry out
From the earth, lo, for all of these years
Bang the drum where their voices now carry
Light a fire to signal on high
The Great Spirit still grieves for the red man
If you listen you might hear Him cry
Whispers and weaves through the reeds
And there the Great Spirit travails
For all of the white man's misdeeds
Where the natives have languished and lingered
Before their great trail of tears
You can still hear their voices cry out
From the earth, lo, for all of these years
Bang the drum where their voices now carry
Light a fire to signal on high
The Great Spirit still grieves for the red man
If you listen you might hear Him cry
"If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice." (2 Sam 15:4)
