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​Top-Rated by Great Nonprofits four years running!

WELCOME (OKANHIYUIC'IYA)

​We are a community of Native Lakota and non-Natives who believe that the wisdom, culture and traditions of the Native people can inform and benefit the Modern World at the same time that the Modern World can empower and support the Lakota in creating more prosperous and humane living conditions on the reservations.

​OUR MISSION

Native Lakota and non-​Native people working and playing together; honoring indigenous wisdom, reconciling the complicated history we share and co-creating mutual understanding AND humane, desirable living conditions on Pine Ridge and surrounding reservations.

ABOUT THE TIPI RAISERS

Through a variety of collaborative projects and events, we strive to build alliances and strengthen communities for people both on and off the reservation. Our volunteer groups work alongside the Lakota People on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota to ease conditions of poverty, ride horses together, reconcile the past and learn about one another’s cultures. Our Lakota friends travel to Colorado -and nationally- with the Tipi Raisers to share their wisdom and traditions at schools and organizations. Additionally, we provide ongoing humanitarian aid on Pine Ridge and facilitate the Gen7 Youth Leadership program to empower and activate our younger generations around social change.

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In One Way or Another, Everything We Do Involves One or More of These Central Pillars of Our Work:

Look for these icons on the "WHAT WE DO" pages of this website.

We would like to acknowledge Wend Ventures for their generous support of our work and all of our amazing donors who make this work possible!

The Tipi Raisers is a Community Grounded in the Following Lakota Values:

Wocekiya - Prayer  •  Waohola - Respect  •  Waonsila - Compassion  •  Wowijake - Honesty
Wawukiye - Generosity  •  Wahwala - Humility  •  Woksape - Wisdom

WHAT MAKES THE TIPI RAISERS UNIQUE?

The Tipi Raisers embodies a sensitivity to the ongoing injustice and trauma that the Lakota People suffer at the hands of the American government. We believe that change will come as trust is earned and we integrate authentic connections between the Lakota People and non-Natives to work towards reconciliation- one relationship at a time. Also, it is at the core of our mission - and a deeply held belief - that the indigenous wisdom of the Lakota (and other indigenous peoples) is desperately needed in today’s modern society and our programs and actions center around this philosophy.

THE TIPI RAISERS

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