Our Mission:
Our mission on Pine Ridge is to encourage and show love to the Oglala Lakota Tribe through intentional acts of service and mentoring.
About Pine Ridge:
Pine Ridge is a tough place, the suicide rate is 8 times the national average, the unemployment rate is 85%, and the life expectancy is the same as Afghanistan. Showing the love of Christ looks different in this area than it does in most of western culture. There are generational wounds going back to the wounded knee massacre and the Christian boarding schools of the 1970’s where culture and heritage were ripped away from a very proud and resilient group of natives. Despite the desperations and high levels of basic needs that go unmet everyday, Pine Ridge is a beautiful place where the power of the Holy Spirit is felt and seen everywhere and every day.
We work alongside existing Spirit led ministries already in place on or near the reservation that are in need of hands and feet to further their missions.
NAOMI House South Dakota is an emergency shelter and longer term foster environment for the children of the tribe that have to be away from their homes for a season due to violence, death, addiction, or sexual abuse. This Christian home model has been operating on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona for 30 years and has now been planted on Pine Ridge for the last 2 years. All life needs are met for the kids while filling them with the love of Jesus and maintaining their cultural identity.
Hands of Faith Ministries is a church a couple miles off of the reservation that beyond the Sunday worship environment offers mentoring on site to native men who are looking for a healthier life. Most folks living on the reservation don’t possess the skills to get running water or electricity to their homes and basic intro to tools goes miles towards life improvement. Help with sobriety and essential life skills is available in a caring environment.
These ministries do what they can but rely on the help of other strong adults to multiply the fruit that is produced. Thousands of people have sent clothes, food, and tools to Pine Ridge but they are lacking in folks to do the work of distributing these resources into the community. We joyfully fill in what gaps we can to further not just the missions of these ministries but further the reach of the Holy Spirit in a place desperate for love and care.
Contribute to this mission:
You can donate by clicking the ‘Donate Now’ button above and selecting “Quammen, Chris” from the dropdown menu, or directly by scanning this QR code.
