Economic Growth United States Project #9892

Help Native American women earn an income

by A Global Friendship

Project Report | Aug 21, 2014
Building Sustainable Incomes for Lakota Women

By Spencer Chappell | Sales and Marketing Assistant

A Beautifully Fluorescent Sage Braid

This summer has been extremely trying on the ladies on the Pine Ridge Reservation. After a workshop early this summer for the production of The Sage Braid, we thought we were off to an excellent start: ready to fill online and boutique orders as long as the Braids kept coming in from the ladies out on Pine Ridge.

However, quality communication is always an issue when it comes to reaching the ladies on Pine Ridge. In our modern world where we're expected to be reachable at all hours of day and night, most of the women working for us cannot afford a cell phone, so contacting them is nearly impossible. After several phone call attempts and even a couple snail mail letters, we finally heard from Tamara and Katie, our project leaders.

For the past week, following the Sundance celebration, Tamara has been in the hospital sick with pneumonia. Meanwhile, Katie, her daughter, has been charged with taking care of the rest of the kids while Tamara's health recovers. We have been actively trying to plan a trip out to the Res so we can conduct another workshop and get things back on track, but the lack of communication has stalled us significantly.

Unfortunately, confidence and productivity are very low in regards to The Sage Braid. We need your help to get back to the Reservation, re-establish the self-confidence in the women and their abilities, and break down the communication barriers that keep us from effectively pulling these women out of poverty.

Please spread the message of our mission to your friends and family who may not know what life is like for the Native Americans within America's borders.

Experience the spirituality of the work behind The Sage Braid and purchase yours today. All profits from The Sage Braid go toward providing an income for our network of women on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Help us empower these Native American women and give them an opportunity to earn a living.

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