“Bridging cultures, Educating our self and others, Advocating as individuals and as a group, & Modeling behavior we want to see in others.”
Our community has a tradition of broken or lack of relationships as well as lack of respect between the Native and Non-Native American communities. Relationships and respect are often built through knowledge and experience - history and place matter. This is t
he problem this grant is addressing. Karen Mortimer, director of the Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant, helped select thirty- two Rapid City community leaders, Native and Non-Native, who agreed to become an Oceti Sakowin Ambassador. In June 2015, the Ambassadors first met as a cohort during a social held at Prairie Edge Trading Co & Galleries. This gathering prepared them for the opportunity to participate in a five-day “Classroom on Wheels”. This week of learning was facilitated by Dr. Craig Howe and focused on the Lakota Sacred Sites and the 1868 Treaty. A few weeks later the Ambassadors convened at the Dahl Arts Center to beginning a collective conversation on what it meant an Ambassador and to construct different vision for Rapid City as it relates to race relations.Pam Teaney Thomas and Malcom Chapman, facilitators for the process, designed four convenings for the OSAs, with the focus on relationship building and learning together. As expectations evolved, the “getting together” experience changed from “me” to “we”. This new way of being and learning together fostered an environment of ideas, commitments and synergy to move the Ambassadors, and in some cases their organizations, work environments, and community, forward in a spirit of respect. These convenings served as way to harvest the collective learning, changes, roadblocks and successes. The Oceti Sakowin Ambassadors have several significant accomplishments to their credit. They continue to progress toward building deeper relationships and better understanding among Native and Non-Native Ambassadors. They have changed their name to Mniluzahan Okolakiciyapi Ambassadors (Rapid City Circle of Friends) to reflect their vision. They have adopted a framework of agreements to help facilitate their growth in relationships and their work. In March of 2016, the Ambassadors participated in a retreat to design the plan and path forward using their mission of “BEAM” –
“Bridging cultures, Educating our self and others, Advocating as individuals and as a group, & Modeling behavior we want to see in others.”
During the Retreat the Ambassadors worked together to identify and develop key initiatives, strategies and projects that they felt would address their mission of “BEAM”. Three new ideas emerged from the retreat. MOA ACTION PLAN:
1. Educational forums - Develop learning opportunities for the community and MOAs; topics and focus to be determined. ("Wacipi 101" is an example.)
2. Cultural - educational tours - Develop ‘tours’ to the reservation and around RC for Natives and non-Native to build relationships and be exposed to cultural, socioeconomic, governmental and spiritual learning experiences. The idea here is to create one-day mini tours. Rural American Initiatives is taking the lead in this project.
3. Media campaign - Create a community wide awareness campaign with outcomes to include teaching, learning, increased dialogue and reflection. This could also include creating a welcome sign to RC in both Lakota and English as we have discussed earlier. MOA CONTINUE TO CHAMPION THESE INITIATIVES:
1. Black Hills Wacipi
2. Lakota Nations Invitational (LNI)
3. Rapid City Collective Impact Diversity and Cultural Development
4. Development of a Youth MOA
5. Partnership with the RCPD
6. Partnership with the RC Chamber of Commerce
7. Collaboration with The RC Community Conversations- Educational Advocacy
