WHO WE ARE |
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Meet "Uncle Joe"! The number of volunteer trips, Gen7 gatherings and random offers of assistance from Joe are lost on us now as they must number well into the double digits since that first spring-break trip several years ago with his daugther- which he writes about below. Suffice it to say, Joe has now become "Uncle Joe" as he shows up with the heart, presence and can-do spirit that the best of Uncles represent. Joe takes the time to really listen to and get to know our friends on Pine Ridge and somehow wins everyone over with his unique- albeit goofy- sense of humor! Joe has written many of our blog posts as he often comes away from his experiences with potent reflections -- we are so grateful that he takes the time to preserve and share them. Joe truly embodies our statement that "our volunteers make all the difference", our gratitude to him is immeasurable!
"In the early 1990's I graduated with my bachelor degree in Biology. Back then I envisioned myself teaching science on a reservation. I was intrigued by the culture and spirituality of the Native American. The January following graduation the blueness settled into the pinion and junipers of the New Mexico foothills as the sun faded from orange to pinkish and began to settle into the western horizon. The smell of pinion smoke and roasting chili's flavored the fragrant cold dusk air. I was horseback riding with a native elder on a reservation in New Mexico to discuss the prospects of teaching on a reservation. As I hunkered my hands between the saddle and the horse to garner some warmth for my frozen fingers, the elder gentleman validated my interest and noble aspirations and he made it clear that he respected my intention and pointed out my efforts would be viewed as another white man trying to erase the pains of the past without understanding the complexity of the present. Even as a naive youngster of my mid 20's I recognize the merit in his words. Instead of teaching on a reservation I taught in a public school in Colorado for a while and later became a professional Firefighter/EMT. Twenty four years after that frigid ride in New Mexico my daughter, a freshman at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, was returning from a trip with the Tipi Raisers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. My wife, son and I met my daughter's group in Chadron, Nebraska. Our family was driving out of Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving with my in-laws in Sturgis, South Dakota. My daughter was a tired, sore and filthy ragamuffin yet her spirit was rich as she shared the account of every person she met on the Reservation. There was much beauty in her stories, though the setting of poverty and hardship was uncomfortable to hear. That Thanksgiving my daughter incorporated some of the Lakota prayers and traditions she experienced into our turkey dinner bringing a beautiful new awareness of Thanksgiving that transcended my traditional Turkey day celebration. That following spring break I joined my daughter on another Tipi Raiser trip to Pine Ridge. There is much to be learned and experienced when you trust the inspiration and wisdom of youth, that is if you let them knock the dust of your settled ways and kick you out of your comfort zone. The work was honest, the people were genuine and the hardship I saw was raw and powerful. I had that same feeling I had in the early 1990, a call to altruism, altruism is a word that has played me since I was very young. I believe my vocational calling is to be of service. I live by the motto, "If you have the means and ability to act you have a responsibility to do so". The work, determination, perseverance and strength of Dave Ventimiglia and the Tipi Raisers on the reservation calls to that motto. My experience on the reservation and the relationships I made with the people make it clear to me; I am a white man trying to erase the pains of the past. A pain my relatives were not party to but my culture is. I think an awareness of my cultural history is important. I believe I must own some history and lean into that history's uncomfortable legacy and through the relationships I have forged, tooled by fellowship with the people of Pine Ridge, I am beginning to understand how the violent colonizing past created the complexity of the present Native American experience. To be clear, to understand doesn't mean to know. I just understand that there is so much I don't know about the deep hurt and trauma of the American Indian. To sit and be present on the reservation is to make space for empathy. The work a volunteer does is important and that work stands on equal ground to making space in your heart for the experiential story of those you meet on the reservation. For me, listening to the malignant painful past that builds generational trauma and how those experiences created the complexity of the present makes more salient the ceremonial traditions and rituals that are shared with volunteers by the people on the reservation and adds clarity to the work. When I commune with the elders on Pine Ridge and listen to their life experience I am reminded of that kind native elder in New Mexico whose words at the time were disheartening and true. I carry those words with me on every trip to Pine Ridge. That elders' words keep me humble and focus my intentions. Certainly my volunteerism doesn't make reparations on behalf of America and the US government but does help me reconcile my place in humanity just a little and working, laughing, and crying with others for a purpose is kinda fun too". |
"Uncle Joe" pictured above with the daughter, Delaney.
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