YASC is excited to offer Yale alumni and friends a service and learning opportunity on the Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. One of the largest reservations in the United States, Pine Ridge Reservation was the historic home of leaders such as Black Elk, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull and, despite many challenges, is a place where the Lakota traditions, language and culture are alive and flourishing.
YASC will be working with the Pine Ridge Girls’ School– Anpo Wicahpi in Lakota – an independent, tuition-free day school that provides girls on the Pine Ridge Reservation with an academically rigorous college-prep education that is immersed in Lakota culture, language and values. The school was founded to empower Lakota girls to find their voices and become community and national leaders.
Participants on the trip will have the opportunity to learn about Lakota culture and the Lakota way of life, while providing vital support to the school and its students. Participants will be able to work on a range of potential projects (indoors and outdoors), such as
• Advising students on education and career opportunities and life skills
• Offering arts and education classes
• Leading athletics and wellness programs
• Organizing a library
• Improving the school campus (including painting a mural and developing areas for athletics and gardening)
• Assisting school leaders and students with harvesting and preparing traditional foods for the coming school year
We welcome volunteers with all skill levels!
Volunteers will be staying on the reservation, at the Lakota Prairie Ranch Resort. Please be aware that alcoholic beverages are prohibited on the reservation.
Review program policies and terms and conditions. For questions or further information feel free to contact trip producer Perry Sayles '88 at perry.sayles@gmail.com or João Aleixo at the Yale Alumni Association at joao.aleixo@yale.edu.
