ndncollective
Photo courtesy NDN Collective
NDN Collective to Host Backpack Giveaway for Native American Youth in the Rapid City Area
Monday, September 21, 2020
By NDN Collective
ndncollective.org

Rapid City, South Dakota — On Monday, September 21, NDN Collective will be giving away backpacks filled with supplies to Native American students and youth in the Rapid City area. The backpack giveaway will be a walk-up event held outside of the NDN Collective headquarters in downtown Rapid City at 317 Main Street, beginning at 4:00 pm and until supplies last. Masks and safe distancing are required. 

“As parents and community members, we recognize that the best thing we can do during these times is to support, unify and uplift one another, especially our children,” said Sarah Pierce, NDN Collective Director of Education Equity. “This backpack giveaway is a small token of our continued investment in our students and in recognition of families and communities as the original and primary sovereign educators of our children.” 

Distribution of the backpacks will take place in the parking lot of the NDN Collective headquarters. Supplies are limited to 500 backpacks, and each backpack also contains some NDN Collective swag. Drivers are advised to park their vehicles on Main Street and walk to the NDN Collective parking lot.

“The South Dakota Education Equity Coalition and NDN Collective acknowledge that there are gaps in services and unmet needs for Native youth, and we are constantly working to build a better understanding of what those unmet needs and gaps are,” says Amy Sazue, South Dakota Education Equity Coalition (SDEEC) Organizer for NDN Collective.  “This will give us a better sense of how and where NDN Collective and SDEEC can step in.”

ndncollective
Photo courtesy NDN Collective
ndncollective
Photo courtesy NDN Collective

A community survey will also be conducted at the backpack giveaway event, facilitated by NISN Fellow Mary Bowman, regarding the Oceti Sakowin Community School which is in its initial planning stages. Surveys will be conducted under recommended safety guidelines. 

“NDN Collective is an active member of this community and it is our honor to support education equity while fighting for Indigenous rights and Indigenous lands,” says Nick Tilsen, NDN Collective President and CEO. “One way that we have committed ourselves to the local community is through our education equity work and supporting Indigenous children and their families. We hope that all of our youth have a safe and empowering school year.” 

About NDN Collective:

Founded in 2018, the NDN Collective’s mission is to build the collective power of Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent rights to self-determination, while fostering a world that is built on a foundation of justice and equity for all people and the planet. We do this through building Indigenous power in partnership with the philanthropic and investment sectors. For more information, visit ndncollective.org
Advertisement
Vision Maker Media - visionmakermedia.com
Vision Maker Media visionmakermedia.org
Search
Filed Under
Tags
More Headlines
Forgotten no more?: Trump team puts Native people last on ‘important’ call
Montana Free Press: Leader of public lands agency served unlawfully for over a year
Indian Country Today: Lakota veteran seeks office in South Dakota
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn: The problem with Rapid City’s mayor
Native Sun News Today: Words of wisdom from Lakota elders
Native America Calling: ‘Blueprint’ for erasing domestic violence
Donald Trump releases ‘First Peoples’ plan
Native Sun News Today: Memorial honors lives lost at Indian boarding school
Clara Caufield: Calling the Cheyenne people back home
Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board continues to expand operations
Onk Akimel Kikam condemns Indigenous Peoples Day attack on border protesters
DVIDS: Military learns more about sacred tribal landscape
Cronkite News: Supreme Court to hear Trump border wall case
Cronkite News: Key lawmaker seeks investigation into use of force against tribal and U.S. citizens
Native America Calling: Don’t forget about cold and flu season
More Headlines