Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audience remains the People of Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Reservation. Adults and youth participate in our gardening, horsemanship, and buffalo activities. Our programs with this grant re-invigorate inteest in the Lakota/Dakota way of life, and center on culturally-held knowledge, much of which is quickly disappearing due to the loss of our Elders. We ask the community what they want to have us focus on, especially with our workshops, and we attempt to do as they ask, and then build on those workshops and requests. Changes/Problems: Our major problem centered on the continuing draught here in the Midwest. The gardens in most of the 8 Districts could not be maintained, as we have an arid, sodic soil, which requires a great deal of amendments and water to be productive. Prior to colonization, the Tribe lived along the River, but the damning caused severe loss of productive land. We were not able to remedy the situation, so we enlarged the SBC campus gardens, hauled in enormous amounts of mulch, placed weed cloth down, built a specialized irrigation system with low water loss, and will be using these gardens as models as we move forward. We will assist any of the Districts that would like to create similar gardens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Workshops were held in the area of horsemanship, bison production, healthy cooking, indigenous perspectives of food, saving seeds for food you love and cutting and drying meat. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Grant information is presented to Sitting Bull College Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis. Sitting Bull College's Board of Trustees are elected officials from each of the eight districts on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The board members then take the information that is presented to them and disseminate to their local district at monthly meetings. ? What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Horsemanship workshops were held throughout the grant for youth on Standing Rock. In addition, the College uses a bison education box to take to local schools to raise awareness of the culturally significance of bison to Standing Rock. Hide tanning workshops were held for continuing education credits for local citizens of Standing Rock. In addition, workshops were held Indigenous Perspectives of Food, Saving Seeds for Food You Love, and Cutting & Drying meeting. All workshops held are designed to provide cultural significance of horsemanship, bison, diets and healthy foods. In addition, the College had several garden on campus that were used for educationalpurposes and the product of the garden were distributed to the College daycare, immersion school, families, students, faculty and staff.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The poject involved local area youth and adults that wanted to be involved in our projects as they come up. We showed them how to be come more productive in planting and raising thier own food, and how to preserve the food by using traditional methods of drying and also show them how they can can what they produce. We had the youth and adults become involved in 4H type activities, as individuals and as families. We builded up the MIcro Farm and use it as a demonstration site to show what you can produce on a few small acres and and showed how to use containers for gardening, tradtional ground gardening, no-till gardening and square foot gardening methods. We used landscaping and permaculture in the Micro farm yard using perenial native plants for those that are edible and for medicinal uses. Changes/Problems:Our major problem centered on the continuing draught here in the Midwest. The gardens in most of the 8 Districts could not be maintained, as we have an arid, sodic soil, which requires a great deal of amendments and water to be productive. Prior to colonization, the Tribe lived along the River, but the damning caused severe loss of productive land. We were not able to remedy the situation, so we enlarged the SBC campus gardens, hauled in enormous amounts of mulch, placed weed cloth down, built a specialized irrigation system with low water loss, and will be using these gardens as models as we move forward. We will assist any of the Districts that would like to create similar gardens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Workshops were held in the area of horsemanship, bison production, healthy cooking, indigenous perspectives of food, saving seeds for food you love and cutting and drying meat. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Grant information is presented to Sitting Bull College Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis. Sitting Bull College's Board of Trustees are elected officials from each of the eight districts on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The board members then take the information that is presented to them and disseminate to their local district at monthly meetings. We also advertised our programs through our radio station KLND 89.5, the local paper Teton Times, websites, Facebook, and our college webpage and newpapaer. We posted fliers of our programs in the local stores, and with other organizations. We continued to reach out to other organizations and colleges, such as The Boys N Girls Club, The Warrior Lodge, the local schools and churches, We are also collaborated with Sinte Gleska and Little Big Horn College on buffalo projects. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Horsemanship workshops were held throughout the grant for youth on Standing Rock. In addition, the College uses a bison education box to take to local schools to raise awareness of the culturally significance of bison to Standing Rock. Hide tanning workshops were held for continuing education credits for local citizens of Standing Rock. In addition, workshops were held Indigenous Perspectives of Food, Saving Seeds for Food You Love, and Cutting & Drying meeting. Our outreach for the programs supported by this grant is to the entire Standing Rock Community.The workshops we had educated people on healthy food choices, showed them how to start their own gardens, develop a buffalo herd, we brought in experts to hold medicinal plant workshops, discussed diseases such as diabetes, and expanded on a ground-swell of interest by the community to return to the culturally held knowledge regarding plants, buffalo, and those foods our ancestors relied on, rather than convenience foods sold here on the Reservation. Our workshops have also increased the general knowledge people have regarding buffalo, and the relationship with the People. We were able to discuss and demonstrate the basic dietary health reasons to return to incorporating buffalo into our diets, as it was the principal food for the Lakota/Dakota People in the past. Our gardens on campus represented those plants associated with the Lakota/Dakota People. As part of the work in the gardens, we dry and store seeds in the fall to make use of them the following spring in replanting, just as the buffalo calves are arriving. As our youth, Veterans, and community members across Standing Rock participate in the gardens, unique situations often unfold for meeting, sharing, and building supportive relationships. These Elders are highly respected for the knowledge they carry, and the years they have given to helping their People. We have seen that the relationships that develop between our younger folks and the Elders strengthen both parties, and the dynamics that ensue allow our younger generation to slowly move towards those same roles as our Elders are occupying. Our workshops on buffalo have centered on the basic understanding of the Buffalo Nation with respect to the People, as well as the ability of Indigenous foods to help us heal from diseases such as diabetes. These wrokshops also create opportunities for cross-generational sharing, and many of our younger peoples and our Veterans have been able to forge new friendships with each other, and with the Elders who assist us. These relationships are often life-altering, as folks realize they are not alone. All of our workshops are well attended, with many of them repeated in order to accommadate all participants.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience remainsthe People of Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Reservation. Adults and youth participate in our gardening, horsemanship, and buffalo activities. Our programs with this grant re-invigorateinteest in the Lakota/Dakota way of life, and center on culturally-held knowledge, much ofwhich is quickly disappearing due to the loss of our Elders. We ask the community what they want to have us focus on, especially with our workshops, and we attempt to do as they ask, and then build on those workshops and requests. Changes/Problems:Our major problem centered on the continuing draught here in the Midwest. The gardens in most of the 8 Districts could not be maintained, as we have an arid, sodic soil, which requires a great deal of amendments and water to be productive. Prior to colonization, the Tribe lived along the River, but the damning caused severe loss of productive land. We were not able to remedy the situation, so we enlarged the SBC campus gardens, hauled in enormous amounts of mulch, placed weed cloth down, built a specialized irrigation system with low water loss, and will be using these gardens as modelsas we move forward. We will assist any of the Districts that would like to create similar gardens. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This grant allowed us to attend workshops and various Buffalo Conferences to discuss health and cultural knowledge of the herds; and workshops and conferences focused on organic farming and ranching. Without these types of grants, we would not be able to gather with other Tribal Colleges, and non-Tribal Colleges, and share our knowledge, as well as incorporate their successesinto our programs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We advertise our programs through our radio station KLND 89.5, the local paper Teton Times, websites, Facebook, and our college webpage and newpapaer. We post fliers of our programs in the local stores, and with other organizations. We continue to reach out to other organizations and colleges, such as The Boys N Girls Club, The Warrior Lodge, the local schools and churches,We are also collaborating with Sinte Gleska and Little Big Horn College on buffalo projects. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This grant was given a one-year,no-cost extension, so we are continuing all of the workshops listed under 'Other Products' and begin to transition into the projects outlined for our new Extension Grant 2018-04692Return to Ochethi Sakowin Knowledge - Healing through Horses, Language, Foods.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our outreach for the programs supported by this grant is to the entire Standing Rock Community. Our Workshops are listed, in part, under 'Other Products,' and through these workshops we have been able to educate people on healthy food choices, show them how to start their own gardens, develop a buffalo herd, we broughtin experts to hold medicinal plant workshops, discuss diseases such as diabetes, and expand on a ground-swell of interest by the community to return to theculturally held knowledge regarding plants, buffalo, and thosefoods ourancestors relied on, rather than convenience foods sold here on the Reservation. Our workshops have also increased the general knowledge people have regarding buffalo, and therelationship with the People. We have also been able to discussand demonstrate the basic dietary health reasons to return to incorporating buffalo into ourdiets, as it was the principal food for the Lakota/Dakota People in the past. Our gardens on campusrepresent those plants associated with the Lakota/Dakota People. As part of the work in the gardens, we dry and store seeds in the fall to make use of them the following spring in replanting, just as the buffalo calves are arriving. As our youth, Veterans, and community members across Standing Rock participate in the gardens, unique situations often unfold for meeting, sharing, and building supportive relationships. These Elders are highly respected for the knowledge they carry, and the years they have given to helping their People. We have seen that the relationships that develop between our younger folks and the Elders strengthen both parties, and the dynamics that ensue allow our younger generation to slowly move towards those same roles as our Elders are occupying. Our workshops on buffalo have centered on the basic understanding of the BuffaloNation with respect to the People, as well as the ability of Indigenous foods to help us heal from diseases such as diabetes. These wrokshops also create opportunities for cross-generational sharing, and many of our younger peoples and our Veterans have been able to forge new friendships with each other, and with the Elders who assist us. These relationships are often life-altering, as folks realize theyare not alone. All of our workshops are well attended, with many of them repeated in order to accommadate all participants.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this program remains the people of Standing Rock, and encompasses all age groups. Gardens: We have adults and children as young as four, participating in our gardens. We are developing a kids garden next to our Language Nest and Kampus Kids Center, with strawberries and fruit trees, along with pumpkins and squash. Weoriginally listed 50-100 individuals being reached by our gardening efforts, but with the assistance we have offered in establishing gardens and orchards in the community, we feel that number is extremely low, and believe the 500+ number listed last yearis more accurate, and will continue to grow. EAL: Our equine assisted learning has been focused on the youth of Stranding Rock, but over the last few years we have reached out to more Veterans with the program. We limit direct participation to 20 individuals per session, but have approximately 40 who are watching and assisting in some manner - either directly with our specialist, Phillip Bird Horse, or with the Warriors Lodge, Juvenile Treatment Center, or the local schools. We have a waiting list for these events, and reports from the entities we are working with have ALL been positive, with many teachers and councilors reporting significant changes in those who participated in the events. Horsemanship: Our horsemanship activities cover general care and working with horses. All events are open to Standing Rock members, with anywhere from 30 - 50 individuals participating. We also continue to partner with the Tribe on Youth Rodeo events, whichget another 100 or more individuals involved in horsemanship activities. A conservative estimate on those involved in horse related activities would be 500. Bison: Our research and community outreach with repsect to the bison herd continues to grow. Wehave students whoassist with research; grade school/middle school/ and high school children visiting the pasture on field trips and learning about the cultural importance of the buffalo. And we have College students doing critical research with the herd, thus giving them unique opportunities to enhance their educational experience, and use that experience to move forward with their education at the Masters or even Ph. D. level. Summary: The combined work being done with this grant is allowing SBC to reach hundreds of individuals on Standing Rock. Theprograms being developedprovide both an educational component and a personal component, as folks learn the benefit of an overall healthy lifestyle that incorporates food, exercise and mental well-being, which is situated in centuries-old cultural knowledge regarding indigenous diets and horsemanship. Changes/Problems:Aubrey Skye, who worked with the gardens, resigned recently. However, the students stepped in and we continue to move forward with our gardening activities until we can hire a replacement. We are confident this will NOT affect our program. For the gardens there is the possibility of significant decrease in production as we are under a severe drought in the Dakotas. We will simply have to wait and see how they finish out the season. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Phillip Bird Horse, our Equine and Buffalo specialist, continues to take advantage of seminars regarding EAL in particular (OK Corral Series and Egalia), as our emphasis continues to be at-risk youth and Veterans. Margaret Knox and Phillip Bird Horse, who is tribally enrolled at SR,have been working with the Tribe's herd manager, Sid Baily (also tribally enrolled at SR), and the three of them are participating in regional conferences regarding holistic Bison management. These smaller gatherings allow for in-the-field training not normally practical at larger conferences. This grant also provided the opportunity for SBC to hold the sustainable AG Conference on campus, with Winona LaDuke as guest speaker; and Petra Reyna, as discussant. Petra, is a tribally enrolled member of Standing Rock who recently completed her MA in American Indian Health. Petra completing her Masters, and then being a key speaker at the conference, allows her to stand as a role-model for others on SR, and to discuss the knowledge she has gathered from completing her degree. This grant has helped to hire tribally enrolled members to be in positions that can illicit change on the reservation, changes that might not be possible without their assistance. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We advertise our programs throough our radio station and have been on the air at least once a month, often three times! We also uthe local paper, websites, Facebook, and our college webpage. We continue to post fliers of our programs in the local stores, and with other organizations. We continue to reach out to other organizations and colleges, such as The Boys N Girls Club and South Dakota State University. We are also collaborating with Sinte Gleska and Little Big Horn College on buffalo projects. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Wewill continue to expand all of our programs and outreach. We have a Talking Circle in place, and Elders from the community meet with us monthly to discuss our work and the needs that they perceive in the community. We also meet with teachers and councilors from the school districts, as well as the Veterans Affairs, to develop culturally sensitive projects. We are working with the Language Nest at SBC with our gardens and horsemanship programs. We are developing a garden for the kids (ages 3-8), and providing horsemanship lessons for them with miniature, shetland, and small Morgan horses. We are also developing on-line cooking/canning/preserving instruction for the community, built around our bi-weekly cooking workshops.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Horsemanship and EAL (Equine Assisted Learning) workshops were provided, reaching ~ 500 youth and veterans Rodeo workshop was provided, reaching ~250 youth; ~100 adults. Gardening demonstrations, 5 community gardens /orchards planted, preserving and cooking workshops were held, reaching ~ 500 adults and children. Hide-tanning workshops with drum-makingand in-school demonstrations and discussions regarding buffalo, ~ 300 students and adults. The new buffalo plan developed over the last few years has resulted in an increase in births, which will give the Ag Division money to expand their herd developement and outreach to the community. All of the numbers listed aboveare in-line with those we reported last year, but there is some expansion taking place in all areas.
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is the People of Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Reservation. Adults and youth participate in our gardening, horsemanship, and buffalo activities. Hands-on participants are in excess of 300 individuals in all of our programs. However, when considering the outreach with our garden produce, buffalo produce, and audience in at our horsemanship activiites, that number easily reaches over 1000 individuals. Changes/Problems:We had low enrollment in our AG Degree Program in the past, and the Land Grant Committee is currently researching the issues. We've had some equipment issues with gardening, and are looking to improve our equipment through various resources. We also continue to struggle with predation in our gardens, and are working closely with Game & Fish, and the EPA here on SRSR to resolve the problems What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Phillip Bird Horse, Director of Buffalo and Horsemanship programs, has taken additional EAL (Equine Assisted Learning)training. Elle-Victoria Gray, LMSW, is also being trained in EAL as she works with Phillip. Aubrey Skye, Director of Extension, has taken a grant-wtiting workshop and attended seed-saving workshops. Margaret Knox, Director of AG Program at SBC, has attended conferences and was invited as a reviewer for NIFA grants. These opportunities have strengthened the colleges abilities and outreach to their community. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We advertise our programs throough our radio station, the local paper, websites, Facebook, and our college webpage. We post fliers of our programs in the local stores, and with other organizations. We continue to reach out to other organizations and colleges, such as The Boys N Girls Club and South Dakota State University. We are also collaborating with Sinte Gleska and Little Big Horn College on buffalo projects. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan on expanding all of our programs and outreach. We have a Talking Circle in place, and Elders from the community meet with us monthly to discuss our work and the needs that they perceive in the community. We also meet with teachers and councilors from the school districts, as well as the Veterans Affairs, to develop culturally sensitive projects. We are working with the Language Nest at SBC with our gardens and horsemanship programs. We are developing a garden for the kids (ages 3-8), and providing horsemanship lessons for them with miniature, shetland, and small Morgan horses. We are also developing on-line cooking/canning/preserving instruction for the community, built around our bi-weekly cooking workshops.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Horsemanship workshops were provided, reaching ~ 400 youth. Rodeo workshop was provided, reaching ~250 youth; ~100 adults. Gardening demonstrations, 5 community gardens planted, garden produce preserving and cooking workshops held, reaching ~ 200 adults and children. Buffalo hide-tanning workshops and in-school demonstrations and discussions regarding buffalo, ~ 300 students and adults.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience of the Program is the People of Standing Rock Lakota/Dakota Reservation. Adults have participated in many of our workshops, and have provided significant volunteer support for the programs supported by this grant. The youth on Standing Rock are the target audience for most of the equine workshops and clinics. Youth from age 3 to 21 have participated in our activities. To date, 300 students have been reached with our Equine Assisted Learning Program, taught by Phillip Bird Horse. We previously listed 50 individuals as being reached by our Gardening Programs, but with our cooking/ preserving workshops, weare increasing that number to just over 100. This number includes both adults and children, as our classes cover canning and preserving, but also making healthy treats from the garden. The kids get quite involved in those workshops. Changes/Problems:We had a severe hail storm in May that decimated approximately 30% of our crop. We had to re-plant, but we were so late in the season, that our production suffered. We also struggled with weeds and alfalfa growth in the gardens, as we are trying to grow them without pesticides. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Goal 2: Aubrey Skye, an enrolled member of Standing Rock, was hired as the Director of the Extension Program. Under his direction, Community members have shown a great deal of interest in the garden projects. Pete Red Tomahawk, Gladys Hawk, Tipiziwin Young, all enrolled members of Standing Rock,havebeen meeting withAubrey, Mark Holman and Margaretto discuss ways in which they can assist in getting the gardens in each district.A 'Garden Work Group'has been formed withother community members that would like to lend a hand in order to sketch out weekly projects to keep the gardens moving forward. Under Aubrey's direction, weare alsodoing a series of workshops this year on planting gardens, and cooking and preserving the harvest from those gardens. These workshops help people develop new ways to reduce living costs, as food aquisition on SR is a costly endeavor, as the reservation is located in a food desert, and driving to a regular grocery store can be anywhere for20 miles to 100+ miles, one way. Margaret and Mark Holman (Librarian at SBC)are discussing the possibility of using the Mobile Kitchen that 'North Dakota Soil and Water' purchased in order to do on-site food storage once the harvest begins. The discussions have focused on drying, freezing, and canning the produce. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have a radio program at Sitting Bull College that is overseen by our Librarian, Mark Homan. He has invited us to participate regularly in his weekly program. We also have a local paper on Standing Rock, and are submitting short articles to it. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to expand ALL of our endeavors! We will expand our outreach with more radio talks and Talking Circles that would include ALL age groups on SR. We have asked those who have already participated in our workshops, to give us feedback as to what we can do to make our endeavors supported by this grant, more succesful. New gardens covering approximately three acres in Long Soldier District, in front of the College along Highway 24were designed, implemented, and will be expanded. The gardens consist of two-sixty foot in diameter medicine wheels, an indigenous corn garden, and a children's garden. The gardens are being used, in part, as outdoor agricultural labs for exploration into the foods the Lakota/Dakota traditionally used as food and medicinal sources. The Language Nest is learning the Lakota/Dakota names for the plants, their uses, and how they were traditionally incorporated into the culture of the People. Spring 2015, we planted gardens in Wakpala, Bear Soldier, Cannonball, and Long Soldier Districts.. Community members are assisting us with the design and planting choices atnew gardens in all eight Districts on SR for the Spring 2016. The award through the Orchard Grant with 'North Dakota Soil and Water Conservation' paid for the fruit trees and fruiting bushes thatAubrey planted in the new gardens in Long Soldier and Bear Soldier. We are re-applying for another round on the grant for October 2015.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: The hide tanning workshops have been very successful for a number of years and there is considerable interest in continuing them. There is always a waiting list to participate, as use the traditional brain tanning method. Hides tanned in this way bring a premium price and a number of the previous participants have gone into the business of tanning hides or, at least, sold hides that they have tanned. We hired Tony John for the summer 2015 hide-tanning workshops, supplies have been purchased, and the workshops are filling up quickly. We are continuing to use the "Buffalo Box" in local K-12 schools. We give at least three presentations to local schools each year. The bison box contains examples of how all the parts of a Bison were used including the stomach, which was used to carry water, and bones that were used for scrapers and hoes. This is the visual, hands-on experience that works well for Native American students. It also provides information and knowledge to the students about a key part of the traditional Lakota/Dakota culture, and the values of sustainable living. The Sitting Bull College (SBC) Culture Club uses the buffalo in some of their activities that, at times, include ceremonies that involve bison. Buffalo meat from an older bull that was harvested from the herd was used at gatherings on campus, and meat donations were made to the Elder Center and the Language Nest, where the significance of the buffalo in Lakota/Dakota culture was explored. Margaret Knox and Mafany Mongoh are working out a new buffalo management plan in order to increase the herd's size and maintain its health so that the buffalo will continue to be part of the college's outreach through research, cultural education, and food. Mafany's mentoring helped his student, Maurianna Loretto, to achieve the ND Chapter of the Wildlife Society's award for 'Undergraduate Student of the Year!' Only four students were chosen in ND this year, and Maurianna was one of them! Phillip Bird Horse, an enrolled member of Standing Rock (SR),has been hired as the new Buffalo Herd Manager, and is working with the herd weekly. Phillip's understanding of the buffalo is already having an effect on the herd, as they are becoming more at ease in his presence, which has allowed him to take students from SR to the pasture to observe and learn about the buffalo. This is a significant step in making it easier to manage them during round-ups, when Mafany and his students are gathering data. Also, under Phillip's direction, a second buffalo herd is being formed, which should increase the herd by 75, for a total of 107.
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