I'm looking for more information about donating quilting supplies to Native Americans. I understand there's a sewing group on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Anyone know about them or others?

http://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/

I don't know about this particular organization, but there is a lot of talk about it if you google. I have donated through Warm Woolies (knitted items). It appears that they do have a need for quilting supplies!

I live about 80 miles from the reservation, and they make beautiful quilts. I guess the Pineridge is the most poverty reservation in the US. It is so bad. I have 2 friends that are teachers down there, and a group of 5 teachers carpool everyday and have for years and years to work with the natives. We adopted a stray puppy from there, it is so sad. I know that anything you would send, would be used and appreciated. They don't even have water and heat and elec in some of the places. I would be glad to help if you need someone here,. I have one of their quilts, a funeral quilt. Was given to my husband, he was the pastor for one of the young families that lived here in Rapid and their mother died. They gave him the quilt off her casket as a gift. Beautiful star quilt with crosses on it. Blessings

I have also read they are one of the poorest counties in the US. I am sure they would love any donations.

http://friendsofpineridgereservation...g-groups.shtml

This page will give a list of sewing supplies needed and addresses to send them to. There are other pages of needs as well. Things such as small toiletries, school supplies, socks, underwear, shoes, coats, diapers, formula, etc. If fact there's not much listed that wouldn't be needed in any normal household. The things listed are normal, everyday needs of any family anywhere. It broke my heart to even read all the things they need. They can also use volunteers. If my health were better and I didn't have a child at home to take care of I'd love to go there for the summer to help out.

They *do* make beautiful star quilts!

Before everybody gets *too* worried, while the living is tough there, there are MANY MANY programs that help these folks out. MANY. I'm not sure about the quilting side, because that's not a "necessity" but my hubby taught for a few years there and there were different times of the year when grants bought coats for each and every child going to school, breakfast and lunch programs, field trips to buy school clothes (also funded) and other opportunities to make sure everyone was taken care of. I wish there was more emotional and cultural support there. That would probably make a world of difference if they could sustain a program like that, kwim? :(

Thanks for the info...I just wrote out an address label and have started a large flat rate box...I can add things to the box for a week or two and then send.

Don't pretend to know how it works now, but I do know that back in the 70's every man, woman and child in the tribe got what they called a "Black Hills check" every six months...back then, they got more than I lived on...

I was going to ask why are they so poor? No jobs?

The desert often isn't the land of the fruitfulness, but I'm wondering why this tribe is so poor. Can someone tell us?

In AK, the natives get quite a bit from the gov't. monthly, from what I understand. Maybe that is all relative, though. "Quite a bit" to one person isn't the other person's "quite a bit" (esp. with a quilting habit, huh?)

Well, you'd have to ask someone that's really lived there for a long time, my perspective is only from my hubby working there for a few years. In the area he worked in specifically, it is desolate. It takes a bit to get to a "real" town. There *is* work on the reservation, but it's mostly things working for the schools, or being a city official, and 2 small convenience stores. There's not like a "downtown" to speak of. Only houses, schools, etc.

I dunno...since Native Americans came from a different way of life way back in the day, and were "domesticated" so to speak to be more like settlers, there's been difficulty. How do you reconcile losing your culture and fit into what "the norm" is and be productive? Alcoholism and FAS are huge there, so families are not strong families a lot of the time. Children learn what they see, and the cycle continues. Many times children live with the auntie or grandma while the parent is getting it together.

I don't know about the situation with tribal money that is designated for tribe members, that wasn't part of the school system. I think you need to register your "belonging" to whichever tribe. If I remember right, it wouldn't be enough to live on, but more than a couple months pay for most folks, but that's just me knowing things from folks talking by-the-way kind of things.

There *are* lots of stray dogs there. Broken down cars. Shiny, brand new trucks parked next to cars resting on the rims. If you ever get the chance, rent "Smoke Signals" because it's a very funny movie about life on the res. Funny, sad, true, poignant.

I've still got a lot of hurt over the years DH taught there. Mostly because he bent over backwards and tried to help students succeed, only to be greeted with suspicion and scorn, kids threatening violence, accusing him of being there to take advantage, to take their money (meaning getting paid for working there). He's got a star quilt from when he left that I've never put on a bed, and I might not ever make one. I used to be really upset about it, but as time goes on I realize they are only doing the best they can with the resources they've got. You can throw hundreds of thousands of dollars there. Millions, even. But if you can't support their emotional-spritual-psychological wellness and get a strong community started, it's like spitting into the wind to think that one more pair of jeans is going to stop someone's daddy from drinking until he passes out, but not before he yells at his wife-kids a couple times, kwim?