Blankets collected by NIC now warm Native Americans in West

MARION, Ind. -- Blankets collected at the North Indiana United Methodist Conference sessions in the heat last summer at West Lafayette will warm Native Americans in South Dakota and the Nebraska panhandle this winter.

United Methodists from Christland and Hanfield United Methodist churches in the Marion area organized a modern-day wagon train to deliver the blankets.

This past fall three pickup trucks, one van and one trailer loaded with blankets left Marion at the crack of dawn for South Dakota. Dottie Dexheimer, Lucy Davis, Darrel McGriff, Mike Green and Mick and Karen Roush, delivered the blankets to the St. Joseph's Indian School in Chamberlain, S.D., and the Lower Brule Reservation in S.D.

The St. Joseph's Indian School (www.stjo.org) was a treat for the group. The team thoroughly enjoyed a powwow, as well as delivering the blankets and touring the school. The Hoosier volunteers said their hearts went out to the school's children and administrators.

"The children are often left off with only the clothes on their backs, and the school must provide clothing, food, medical needs and school supplies for the entire school year," said Dexheimer. The school is a Catholic residential-educational facility for Native American children and youth operated by the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, Inc.

The Lower Brule Indian (Sioux) Reservation residents have a 65 percent unemployment rate, according to Dexheimer, and their needs are great. The team also visited the Hands of Hope serving the Lakota Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D. The unemployment rate there is 85 percent. Besides needing basic clothing, medical care and financial donations, the people desperately need job training so they can earn a sustainable income to support their families.

The final stop was Panhandle Rescue Ministries in Gordon Neb. There, team members met with Phil and Carole Sue Compton, former Grant County, Ind., residents who teach Native Americans a sellable job skill. Dexheimer said she observed one ray of hope on the trip. She said, "Colleges are being developed right on the reservation so that Native Americans can further their education and learn basic skills from people like the Comptons."

Overall team members' appreciation for Native American history and the work being done on the reservations by organizations like Hands of Hope and Panhandle Rescue Ministries increased. They respect the work of the St. Joseph's Indian School staff in teaching children about their heritage and native language, as well as usual school subjects and faith. McGriff said he intends to continue helping students and staff at the school.

All of the groups who received clothing, school supplies and more than 800 blankets expressed gratitude for these needed donations. They were awed and pleased with the blankets' quality. The team returned to Indiana on Sept. 24.

The blankets delivered were only a portion of the 2,291 blankets received during the North Indiana Annual Conference session in May. Other recipients included the Appalachian Henderson Settlement and African refugees through Operation Classroom.

Monetary donations of $8,815 also were received at Annual Conference for the Surviving Orphan Children program of Murewa, Zimbabwe.

For more information, log on to www.stjo.org.

Last updated on 02/09/2004

Questions or comments: webmaster@inareaumc.org