ONE Spirit -- An American Indian Service Organization

Focusing on the Lakota Sioux of Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Reservations in South Dakota

About ONE Spirit

ONE Spirit -- Who We Are

ONE Spirit is a Native American service organization founded to assist and support American Indians. We are proud to think of our organization, ONE Spirit, as a kolayapi, a group of people who exchange friendship, with American Indians. at present our focus is the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. We invite you to become part of ONE Spirit's network of sponsors, partners, friends and volunteers, to dream with the Lakota people a new dream - and to help the dreams come alive!

THE ONE Spirit Mission

The ONE Spirit Mission is to assist the Lakota people in preserving and revitalizing the Lakota culture, language, and self-sufficiency while meeting the basic needs of Lakota families, children, and elders. We strive to cultivate an intercultural relationship that recognizes that we are all related and that American Indians are an equal and valued part of our society.

Our Approach

Our programs (e.g., sponsorship of child/elder, the SHARE food co-op program, gift box program, the Buffalo Children's Society and other programs to provide hope to Lakota youth, the bed project, economic development through theater and the arts) are the means to reaching the goals of the ONE Spirit Mission. For example, we support physical needs with the programs about beds, food, and LP gas. We promote self-sufficiency with programs about economic development and education.

We believe:

• That within our group of people who exchange friendship, our kolayapi, we are all related to the family of Lakota people.
• That we can help break the cycle of poverty by strengthening families, promoting economic development and educational opportunities, and providing programs that bring hope to young Native Americans.
• That programs that strengthen families and assist them in the protection of their children from the harsh effects of hunger and cold can change what has become a legacy of poverty and addiction.
• That it is vitally important to support the elders in continuing their traditional roles of providing expertly crafted traditional clothing, quilting and beadwork that is a symbol of the tribe and teaching the skills for these crafts to younger generations.
• That valuing their culture, their language, and their arts is a viable way for the Lakota people to be recognized, as a people, as a nation, as a culture. This recognition will give them a stronger voice to defend their struggles, value their own identity, and make changes from within that promotes self-sufficiency and leadership.
• That our programs will help cultivate an intercultural relationship that recognizes that we are all ONE.