W H A T W E D O
True Sioux Hope strives to inspire unprecedented, permanent, positive change for the Sioux Tribe in South Dakota by providing critical aid for the most vulnerable, as well as sustainability efforts, including programs that support education, health & wellness and employment. These efforts deliver the life-saving resources needed for the Sioux nation to not only survive, but thrive. At True Sioux Hope, we encourage you to help hope thrive!
CHILDREN'S SAFE HOME
Child mortality on the reservation is close to 20% and most of these fatalities are preventable. When an endangered child is discovered, there has been nowhere for child protective services to take them. The Wakanyeja Gluwitayan Otipi Children’s Safe Home provides youth a nurturing environment. With the current facility, consistently at capacity WE NEED YOUR HELP TO SUPPORT an additional home to accommodate 40 children to ensure every youth on the reservation will have a safe place to go in times of crisis.
INFANT CARE
With infant mortality the highest on this continent, to help battle the infant mortality crisis and aid mothers in need we have launched an Infant Care Distribution Program. This program provides formula, diapers, and baby care necessities to families in need and positive parenting classes and support groups to help ensure infants get proper nutrition and care. WE NEED YOUR HELP, SUPPLIES ARE LOW.
CULTURAL ART & MUSIC CLASSES
Funding to the schools on the reservation is extremely limited. For many children school is their only refuge where they are provided with support. Our holistic programs provide art and music therapy and allow children on the reservation to express themselves creatively. Children are invited to participate in pow wow drumming, singing, guitar lessons, sewing, and beading.
HIGHER EDUCATION
We partner with many different higher education institutions to provide opportunities for youth from the reservation to get a college education. Through our partnerships, we help fund a variety of opportunities, including summer camps, exchange programs, and scholarships.
ASU FOUNDATION
We have a long-term partnership with Arizona State University. In collaboration with community members and leaders of Pine Ridge, we work to increase capacity for residents to drive their own futures. Through a series of leadership and entrepreneurship opportunities these programs focus on improving education, housing, economic development, and health to create a future group of leaders to enact nation building at Pine Ridge.
ACADEMIC SUMMER CAMPS
allow youth from Pine Ridge to visit universities off the reservation, receive ongoing academic counseling, and learn about opportunities to further their education. The camps bring together youth from indigenous communities across the nation to create a support system for them on their journey.
We partner with the University of Colorado Boulder to host six-week academic summer camps for high school students from Pine Ridge Reservation. They begin the program as a freshman and return every summer. They continue to receive academic counseling throughout the year to help keep them on the path to graduation and college.
Through our partnership with UCLA we bring recent high school graduates or transfer students to UCLA for a week long academic summer camp. Youth stay in the dorms on campus with leaders from the American Indian Studies program and receive a mentor who continues to provide guidance throughout the year.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
To help youth on their collegiate journey, we offer annual scholarships to select students who have participated in our academic summer camps once accepted to a four-year university.
SUSTAINABLE
SOLUTIONS
THRIFT STORE
True Thrift opened in May 2017, a first step towards creating permanent, positive change. With unemployment, currently around 90 percent and nowhere on the reservation to purchase clothing and household items, True Thrift’s Mission is to foster hope and self-reliance improving one life at a time. Any profit, after covering overhead expense, will help fund True Sioux Hope’s programs.
TRUE TRAINING
Through True Thrift our Associates gain valuable work experience working in our facility. Our Trainers manage learning initiatives and lead the assessment, design and delivery of training programs including time management, computer literacy, financial understanding, and customer service.
RACING MAGPIE
We are also pleased to collaborate with Racing Magpie, owned and operated by Mary Bordeaux (Lakota) and Peter Strong in their arts consulting and creation space located in Rapid City, South Dakota. Racing Magpie supports positive community improvement through collections planning and management and creative space within a contemporary Native gallery and affordable artist studios. Through our partnership, we offer a wide-range of services to assist artists in creation and business development.