Omaha woman tackles poverty on reservation

Karen Hardenbrook, a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, didn't discover her Indian family until she was 21.

Hardenbrook, 52, was adopted by a non-Indian couple. She eventually found her biological mother, who lives on the Omaha Reservation.

Hardenbrook has since moved to the reservation to take care of her ailing birth mother. Along with her husband, she's also started Mi'Jhu'Wi Ministries, an outreach center to server tribal members in need.

"What we're basically here for is to bridge that gap between the two cultures and to help fight poverty," Hardenbrook told The Lincoln Journal Star.

The center has already started collecting and distributing donations. "She's found her people and now she wants to help," former chairman Mitch Parker said of Hardenbrook's efforts.

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Omaha Native woman starts outreach center (The Lincoln Journal Star 7/23)