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James Madison University - Madison - The Magazine of James Madison University - Spring 08 - Index

ONEWORLD
groups for weeklong stays throughout the
year. our trip was the first time a baseball
team came to help.
Re-MeMBeR’s main project is building
beds from donations of materials,
paint, cleaning supplies and tools. The
bunk bed kits are manufactured at the
nonprofit’s site by the weekly visitors and
then put together at pre-selected homes
on pine Ridge. a high school church
group from scarsdale, n.Y., volunteered
at the facility the same week as our team,
as well as some individuals from Texas
and Wisconsin.
Re-MeMBeR staff members consist of
several american indians, and they provided
us with unique insight and a lot of
history about pine Ridge and the lakota.
They took us to the Wounded Knee
Memorial, where we heard the tribe’s
account of the Wounded Knee massacre
of 1895. The oglala lakota are part of
the sioux nation. They have a very strong
spirit and belief in their heritage, and they
shared this wisdom with all of us.
our group was fortunate to be the first
to help in the cleanup and repair of an
oglala lakota elder’s home. We spent the
first full day in pine Ridge at Chief oliver
Red Cloud’s home. The chief is a fourthgeneration
descendant of the Chief Red
Cloud who led the lakota tribe in the mid-
to late-19th century. Chief Red Cloud has
diabetes and is confined to a wheelchair.
our team repaired a ramp leading from
his front door to the driveway, replacing
rotting wood and applying a fresh coat of
paint. We also made repairs in the kitchen
and bathroom. The yard was littered with
trash — bottles, cans, boxes and other
items. More than 25 bags of trash were
hauled away that day. This project, called
“Wawaokiye” in lakota, means “groups
Helping people stand.” There is no trash
service on the reservation and sometimes it
is a choice between gas money or food.
Chief Red Cloud spoke for a few minutes
to the group about our mission and
its impact on pine Ridge residents. He
shook hands and greeted each individual,
letting us know his gratitude. We also met
his daughter, granddaughter and greatgranddaughter.
each of them spoke to the
group, and we learned about their day-
46 Madison Magazine
to-day life. later we went to Chief Red
Cloud’s “sweat lodge” where the tribesmen
go daily to pray and reflect. The sweat
lodge looked like an igloo with a fire circle
in the middle. We were allowed to go into
the sweat lodge and sit as the lakota do.
our entire group was very enthusiastic
about the job they had done at Chief Red
Cloud’s modest home, and we all looked
forward to building beds the following day.
The bunk bed project was developed
when the founding partners of Re-MeM-
BeR learned that many of the children
at pine Ridge had never slept on a bed
or even a mattress. They slept on floors,
clothing, blankets or cardboard. Temperatures
range from minus 20 to 120 degrees.
While we were there in april, we had a
60-degree day followed the next day by
snow squalls and a high of 30 degrees.
Oglala Lakota
stAts
n average Pine ridge family annual
income is $3,700
n infant mortality rate is three
times the national average
n 97 percent of people living on Pine
ridge live below the poverty level
n life expectancy is age 48 for men
and age 52 for women
n Pine ridge family members’ chance
of getting diabetes is eight times
the national average
About the Author: Virginia Mets coach Bruce Thayer (’84) and his team, including son Nicholas,
and team coaches will return to the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation this spring to again construct
bunk beds for children. Thayer is a manager for federal labor pricing at Reston, Va.,-based INPUT, a
government procurement and marketing research company. He lives in Centreville with his wife, Laura,
and their two children, Christopher and Nicholas.
Siblings admire new bunk beds built and
delivered by Virginia Mets players through
the RE-MEMBER charity. Most Oglala Lakota
children have never slept in a real bed.
our group was split into two smaller
ones. While one group manufactured
beds, the other delivered and installed the
beds. The groups reversed their roles the
following day. after a brief lesson from
the Re-MeMBeR staff, the players cut,
sanded and stained the wood and screwed
the pieces together using a guide template.
We constructed about 16 beds in one day.
The beds are simple plywood with 2-inch
by 4-inch supports and frames, with a ladder
and a top bunk rail.
The one regret that most of the boys
and both coaches had was not being able
to see the children’s reactions when they
saw their new beds. Most of the kids were
in school when the beds were delivered,
assembled and made up with the mattresses,
sheets and pillows. Bedding was
left with each bed, along with a suitable
children’s book.
after dinner at the Re-MeMBeR
dormitory, each day ended with a session
of “Roses and Thorns.” each person
summarized his day by saying if it was
a good or bad day and giving examples.
The beginning of the week was difficult
as some of the living conditions we saw
were deplorable. These sessions were very
emotional in some cases; but by the end
of the week, there were many more “rose”
days because of the work done and effort
everyone was giving. everyone realized
the impact they were having on the kids
at pine Ridge. By the second or third
day, everyone was planning on returning
next year. M
✱ Learn more about the Oglala Lakota at
Pine Ridge at www.re-member.org/.
PhotograPhs courtesy of Bruce thayer (’84)