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State of Emergency for Indian Reservations Hit by Brutal Winter Storm: WARNING!

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 31 December 2009

State of Emergency for Indian Reservations Hit by Brutal Winter Storm: WARNING! Thousands of Native American families without heat and running out of food By Richard Boyden Over 1000 Native American families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are with propane for heat, are snowed in and can’t get out to get food, and in many cases are unable to purchase food. This is because of over 5 days of below freezing temperatures, blizzard winds, and non-stop snow that created 3-10 foot snow drifts and buried all access roads into rural areas where thousands of homes are isolated throughout the Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, and Standing Rock Reservations. At this time, there has been no Obama offered help other then extra “food commodities” which is good but certainly does not even dent the surface of the needs especially with the lack of monies for propane. There has been no offers of help from Hollywood because “Indian Country is not Africa”. Neither has there been any offers from major charities such as Red Cross or the Salvation Army. And just this month, the Salvation Army raised over $200,000.00 during their “Traditional Christmas Drive” in South Dakota and I have to ask…where is the money going to and why aren’t they offering any help to Native American families freezing and out of food and propane, many who’s homes now have frozen pipes because they ran out of propane?. Is Salvation Army purposely ignoring the needs in their own back yard? Evidently so. I have yet to see any response from “Church’s or Synagogues" locally or nationwide either. Am I missing something or is it that Native Americans do not qualify for any emergency help as compared to other races, cultures, and nations who suffer catastrophic and cataclysmic experiences such as this or worse? Evidently. Neither do I see any “rich Casino Tribes” such as the Shakopee or Seminole coming to the rescue offering any kind of help or assistance either. Sad commentary on the fact that when a “poor Indian becomes a rich Indian”, they no longer are Indian! Seems that being inundated with millions of dollars causes a spiritual transformation that hardens the heart towards the poor and suffering among your own. WARNING…why you ask? Because if you or your corporate entity, business, Church, Synagogue, or you individually do want to help the elders and families that are in need, under NO circumstances send monies direct to the “Tribal Governments” because of one reason. You have no proof or assurance that your monies will be used for propane, food, or utility help. Example: In 1999 there was over $2,000,000.00 sent to the Oglala Sioux Tribal government under the leadership of Harold Salway who was working with a Chuck Jacobs. That money has never been accounted for and therefore was never used to replace or repair the homes that were destroy or damaged to the amount of over 100 homes. Here is the “Fail Safe Way” to help. You contact the Tribes and ask for the names of the families in need INCLUDING contact information for the families. Then you ask for the names of the propane companies or grocery stores, their numbers, and contact people there. Then you send monies direct to the propane company or grocery store in the name of those you are helping and also ask for a receipt to document the fact your monies were used as you intended. Then you contact those you helped to have them confirm they were indeed helped. This is what Operation Morning Star has done for years and we know this is the only way to prevent the siphoning off and misuse of monies by those who otherwise would be able to get away with outright theft. Since we have worked extensively helping elders and families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, here is the contact information we recommend to you . Myron Pourier represents the 5th Members office of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. His email is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and his administration assistant Jackie Big Crow email is This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . Myron’s cell is 605-454-2111. His office number is 605-867-5821.You can also call the Oglala SiouxTribe number at 605-867-5827 and ask for Tribal Council woman Robin Tapio. Her direct number is 605-454-0771. Another Tribal contact who works in the Kyle area is Fern Red Owl. She is a connected to the poor activist in her community. Her number is 605-455-1143. These people are those that Operation Morning Star has personally worked with and trust. They will give you the names of families in need and the names of the companies you can send your help to for those you KNOW you are going to be helped by you! To help other Tribes, there contact information is on the internet. Just be wise in offering your help and make sure your monies are used as you intended them to be used.   And if you chose to work through Operation Morning Star, then email us at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or contact us through our web page. Richard Boyden – Founder of Operation Morning Star 816-352-7999 http://www.operationmorningstar.org http://blackhillsportal.com/npps/story.cfm?id=3593

 

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