The quote by Lao Tzu about teaching people to fish has stood for more than 2,500 years. It's simple, elegant, and makes it clear that when you empower people to be self-sufficient, they are able to meet their own needs. That vision of self-empowerment is at the core of one of our most vital programs on the reservation: workforce development.
Our workforce development/employment program started 4 years ago in Grand Marais, Minnesota with 6 young adults. The program paid for their transportation, bought them the clothes needed to work in a much cooler climate than their home Reservation, gave them housing and food, and started training them to work in tourist businesses. In addition, all the participants get dental and eye care done while they are here with us, something they have not been able to get through the Indian Health Service that provides medical care on the Reservation. They are also provided medical care as needed.
The goal of the program is to provide the participants the opportunity to travel to different states, learn work skills while earning money, meet and interact with people from different cultures. Then, they take their skills back to the Reservation to help their people. Because there is a lack of jobs on the Reservation (the Reservation has an unemployment rate of 80%) they are learning to build small businesses, i.e. cooking, food service, laundromats, tee shirt printing, and welding.
This year there are 12 young people in the program, which is an extraordinary opportunity to empower so many people to escape the cycle of poverty and inequality. We've had 40 in the past 4 years. The program cost for each individual is $3000—a small price for learning skills that will last them a lifetime.
Pine Ridge Reservation has a lot of tourists during the year but lacks the infrastructure to serve them. The skills these young people learn here will transfer to the Rez and add to the Reservation economy. Right now, four young people are learning EVERYTHING there is to know about running a restaurant. The plan is to purchase a food truck, run it here for a season, and then outfit it, paint the exterior and take it back to the reservation, pulled by the truck they are purchasing with the money they have earned working in the program.
Help them get ready for tourist season 2025 on the Reservation. The food truck they plan to buy is $20,000. It's all clean, in good repair, and ready to roll. They are using the money they earn to purchase the truck to pull it.
Help us launch a small business for the Rez!
(All donations made with the link below go directly to the food truck!)