Our Stories
Every Donation Tells a Story
The Risk That Changed My Life
Hello! My name is Aurora. I live with my mother and father on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I am a full-blood Oglala Lakota.
Before attending Pine Ridge Girls School or Anpo Wicahpi, which means Morning Star in Lakota, I was known as shy and, to be honest, quite odd. Everything my peers liked, I didn’t. I knew I was different. When I first saw Anpo Wicahpi, I saw possibility. This school was the exact opposite of my previous one. For one, it was an all-girls school. Secondly, it promoted Lakota culture in every action.
I saw how comfortable the girls were in their own skin, and I wanted that. I wanted to share with people who I really was, but I was afraid of rejection. At Anpo Wicahpi, I felt I could find that.
This was a huge risk I was taking, and possibly the biggest risk of my life. But it was worth it. Before, I never really talked to people, but at my new school I began to open up. I was around people who were different and ambitious, and weren’t scared to be themselves. With my new sense of self, I know I am different from other teenage girls, but now I see the value of my uniqueness.
With my new ambition, I see the value of taking risks and experiencing new things. I am willing and capable of excelling in new environments. I want to travel and experience new things. I am comfortable in my own skin to be independent, and I will continue to build that confidence that is necessary to excel in higher education.
“I saw how comfortable the girls were in their own skin, and I knew I wanted that.”
A Life-Changing Experience
Hello, my name is Ohiyesawin. I am a Lakota wikoskalaka (young woman). Both my parents are Native American. Living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, there is high addiction to drugs and alcohol, as well as high suicide rates. Living here there are a lot of influences and it’s hard not to give up. But with the support of my family I know I won’t. Besides the negative statistics on Pine Ridge, it is still the most beautiful place to live.
I am a volleyball player, basketball player, and cross country runner. I also love to read and write. Besides valuing my traditions as a Lakota, participating in sports, and being a good student, I also have a very deep love for horses. My ate (father) first taught me how to ride horse when I was four years old.
It was through horses that I found a different outlook on life. It was on the Big Foot Memorial Ride where, for the first time, I faced true hardship. The Big Foot Memorial Ride is held to honor the 300 who were slaughtered at Wounded Knee, SD in 1890. The ride begins in Bridger, SD and goes to Pine Ridge, SD. This ride is 191 miles long and is completed on Dec. 23-Dec. 28 during the freezing temperatures of a South Dakota winter.
I first completed the Big Foot Memorial Ride when I was six years old and I have been going on it for the past six years. This ride is unpredictable and challenging for the most experienced riders, but I plan to continue completing it for the rest of my life.
Many times I felt like giving up on the ride because we ride in all weather conditions. However, I always withstand because I want to honor my ancestors who died, and I ride for those who are trying to survive, that are still enduring this hurt our people were put through.
Despite the physical and emotional pain you must endure to complete this ride, I also developed a deep sense of wah’wala (humility). For 6 days, I am put in the same conditions as my ancestors and I know that my ancestors endured more than I could ever know. It’s from this humility that I am able to strive for greatness knowing it runs in my heritage.
I know with my experiences and my ambition that I can be successful in any environment, especially since I have a great support system at home. My parents encourage me to keep pushing myself out of my comfort level so I can be successful. I want to attend college because it is a lifetime opportunity, and a chance for me to share a little bit about my culture with people from a different area.
This also gives me an opportunity to experience life outside of the reservation to help prepare me for my future.
