Help Native Americans

Lakota Sioux children in need escape extreme poverty and abuse when they attend St. Joseph’s Indian School.

Tax-deductible gifts help Native American children in need receive:
-a safe, stable home away from reservation hardships;
-individual counseling and guidance;
-carefully planned curriculum based on Lakota culture and individual student needs;
-tools to help build confidence, boost self-esteem, improve cultural awareness;
all of this and more to live a bright, productive, possibility-filled future.

St. Joseph’s has served Lakota Sioux children and families since 1927. Reaching out to American Indian youth on Indian reservations and beyond remains St. Joseph’s mission.

Child poverty and abuse are serious issues on Indian reservations. By supporting St. Joseph’s Indian School, you are helping Native American children in need regain pride in the Lakota culture by learning the Lakota language, studying Native American culture and healing the broken family circle from which they come.

St. Labre Indian School Website

In the belief that healthy communities support our efforts to educate our Native American children, St. Labre assists a variety of community programs. They include the Northern Cheyenne Boys and Girls Club, Northern Cheyenne Tribal Charities, Crow Tribal Substance Abuse Program, and various Native American cultural celebrations. We see these efforts as a means of strengthening our community – keeping it whole. Often, caring for the child means caring for the child’s family and environment as well.

Today , St. Labre Indian School offers preschool through high school education for Crow and Northern Cheyenne children. Combined enrollment at all three St. Labre campuses is nearly 700 children and continues to grow.

Children who live more than 40 miles from our school campus stay in dormitories during the week. They arrive by bus on Sunday evening and return to their families on weekends and during the summer months. More than 1,000 meals are prepared each day including a nutritious breakfast, hearty lunch, and a full evening meal.

Our high school is fully accredited by the Montana State Office of Public Instruction and by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. In addition to a regular program of elementary and secondary education, we offer classes in industrial arts, business, home economics, music and art, as well as a full complement of sports and athletics.

The St. Labre educational experience also places great importance on Native American culture and tradition. Instruction in Native American language and culture is a vital part of the St. Labre curriculum. We also offer courses in Native American literature, history, and tribal government.

St. Labre truly is a unique educational environment. We combine education, spirituality, and Native American culture to educate the whole child. Children not only receive a quality education, but also have the opportunity to attend Mass on a weekly basis to feed the spirit as well as the mind.

Once children graduate from high school, they are given ample opportunity to continue their education. St. Labre graduates, who might otherwise be unable to attend college, are given supplemental scholarships to attend colleges or vocational schools of their choice. Some of our students have taken advantage of this opportunity and returned to work as teachers, nurses, administrators and in various positions of leadership within their communities. In addition, St. Labre has established a mentoring program to aid our students in the critical transition from high school to college.

In an area where unemployment rates exceed 50%, St. Labre provides productive employment. More than half of our employees are Native Americans, and we subscribe to a vigorous policy of recruitment from within for job enrichment and advancement. We also strive to recruit from nearby Indian reservations whenever possible.

Another aspect of caring for our community is St. Labre’s ongoing efforts to curb alcohol and drug abuse. It is impossible to understand the struggle of Native Americans without also understanding the toll taken by alcoholism and drug abuse. It is estimated that every family living on the Indian reservations we serve has been touched by these devastating problems in one form or another. St. Labre provides full-time drug and, alcohol counselors to serve our students and their families, and grants to fund treatment at area drug and alcohol treatment centers for Native American individuals.

National Relief Charities Website

All of NRC’s work centers around bringing material aid, educational support, and onsite services that afford immediate relief to economically-depressed reservations. Our service area is concentrated in nine priority states, which encompass Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Navajo, and over 75 reservations with a high need for basic necessities. To make a difference in such a wide service area, NRC relies on the generosity of concerned Americans, and also on businesses that are able to donate goods in bulk.

Typically, material donations take the form of: food, water, produce; personal hygiene items such as shampoo, toothpaste and soap; household cleaning products, toilet paper, and laundry detergent; linens and blankets; coats and winter clothing; and school supplies. NRC covers any cost of shipping the goods from wherever they are to our warehouse in South Dakota or Arizona. Monetary donations also help us purchase similar goods at volume discounts. Both kinds of donations increase the quality and quantity of goods that NRC provides and ultimately to have a greater impact on quality of life for Native Americans. NRC delivers the donated and purchased goods to Partners, who distribute the goods in their communities. Everyone has a role to fill. That’s why we say NRC is more a partnership than a charity. We do not receive any government funding; we count on your support.

Native American Heritage Association Website

Native American Heritage Association is a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to helping Native American families in need living on the Reservations of South Dakota. NAHA was started in 1993 by David G. Myers after a visit to the Reservations in South Dakota.

After seeing the plight and conditions that Native Americans were trying to cope with on a daily basis, Mr. Myers knew he had to do something to help them. So the mission began to help as many Native American families and children on the Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations with basic life necessities and self-help programs. Over the years, we have provided much needed hope and dignity to many of the deserving Native Americans that needed a helping hand.

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