{"id":451381,"date":"2017-10-27T08:44:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T14:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=451381"},"modified":"2017-10-27T08:44:58","modified_gmt":"2017-10-27T14:44:58","slug":"grassroots-community-development-group-strives-for-lasting-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/10\/grassroots-community-development-group-strives-for-lasting-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Grassroots community development group strives for lasting change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"slides-451381-2ba9c8f31e9b39fb4c8e4a26b58c1fb1\" class=\"navis-slideshow\"><div id=\"451381-2ba9c8f31e9b39fb4c8e4a26b58c1fb1-slide1\"><img data-lazy=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10-17-1-TV-Project-Origins.jpg\" \/><h6 class=\"credit\">Jerry Matthews<\/h6><h6 class=\"permalink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/10\/grassroots-community-development-group-strives-for-lasting-change\/#451381-2ba9c8f31e9b39fb4c8e4a26b58c1fb1\/1\" class=\"slide-permalink\"><i class=\"icon-link\"><\/i> permalink<\/a><\/h6><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation spokesman Andrew Iron Shell says the nonprofit group was created as a result of a spiritual gathering called to address the needs of the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge reservation. <\/p><\/div><div id=\"451381-2ba9c8f31e9b39fb4c8e4a26b58c1fb1-slide2\"><img data-lazy=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/102517-Thunder-Valley-Construction.jpg\" \/><h6 class=\"credit\">Jerry Matthews<\/h6><h6 class=\"permalink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/10\/grassroots-community-development-group-strives-for-lasting-change\/#451381-2ba9c8f31e9b39fb4c8e4a26b58c1fb1\/2\" class=\"slide-permalink\"><i class=\"icon-link\"><\/i> permalink<\/a><\/h6><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation mission is to build the power of the Pine Ridge reservation by creating lasting systemic change, including a new housing community.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, with a diverse landscape of grassy plains, hills and wooded areas, covers more than\u00a02 million acres in southwestern South Dakota. It is home\u00a0to the Oglala Lakota Nation. Federal statistics estimate the reservation\u2019s population to be more than 20,000, while the tribe and various organizations on the reservation estimate the number of people living there closer to the 40,000 mark.<\/p>\n<p>Statistics show rates of 85 percent unemployment and more than 90 percent poverty, and like other reservation communities across the United States, Native Americans on Pine Ridge are more likely to struggle with poor health outcomes compared to other demographic groups.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article\u00a0is part of the State of Change project, a multi-newsroom examination of\u00a0the challenge of building resilient rural communities \u2014 and what some\u00a0in New Mexico are doing right.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/series\/state-of-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Listen<\/h3>\n<p>Listen to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/102517-SOC-Thunder-Valley-Pt-1.wav\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">an audio version of this report<\/a>:<\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-451381-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/wav\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/102517-SOC-Thunder-Valley-Pt-1.wav?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/102517-SOC-Thunder-Valley-Pt-1.wav\">http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/102517-SOC-Thunder-Valley-Pt-1.wav<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Mainstream news reports often highlight the struggles on the reservation, and statistics show the challenges facing community members. However, the Oglala Lakota people persist, and have created for themselves an organization to address a wide array of economic, health and cultural challenges.<\/p>\n<p>The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation was established a decade ago by young people and families who were reconnecting to cultural spirituality and identity through ceremony. They wanted to create lasting systemic change and work to end poverty on the reservation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then that spiritual process became a call to action,\u201d said Andrew Iron Shell, a spokesman for Thunder Valley. He explained that the organization stemmed from people venting about the various needs of the Lakota people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo really pointing fingers back at ourselves and asking ourselves as community people, as citizens of this tribal community, what\u2019s our role? And what\u2019s our responsibility?\u201d said Iron Shell. \u201cFrom those thoughts started this conversation about do we have the capacity to create change among this small circle that\u2019s doing this complaining? When we looked around and acknowledged each other\u2019s talents and virtues and things like that, (we recognized) let\u2019s do something together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Iron Shell added that the key to Thunder Valley\u2019s development was realizing from the start that there would be challenges with personalities, politics and available resources. Supporting each other helped in that process, recalls Iron Shell. But, understanding that change would take time and having the patience to accept that has been equally important in Thunder Valley\u2019s success, he said.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Now, 10 years later, Thunder Valley programs incorporate Lakota values and culture in workforce development, food, housing, language immersion, community development and youth leadership. Local leaders point to home ownership, several new Lakota entrepreneurs, and building the capacity of individuals and families to achieve their goals as some of the results of Thunder Valley programs.<\/p>\n<p>Thunder Valley leaders believe they have arrived at a place where they finally have the capacity to build their own community \u2013 at Thunder Valley\u2019s headquarters, where a food demonstration farm is housed and space is used for training, and across the reservation.<br \/>\nThunder Valley\u2019s momentum has created a ripple effect across Pine Ridge, said Iron Shell. He adds that Thunder Valley may be a model for the outside world to learn from and may help other rural communities address some of the challenges they face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In South Dakota, the Oglala Lakota people have created for themselves an organization to address a wide array of economic, health and cultural challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":451387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[118,138,709],"class_list":["post-451381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-economy","tag-growth-and-development","tag-native-americans","series-state-of-change"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}