Building the Field of Organizing in South Dakota
In addition to creating a national network of Native American organizers, the Native American Project is testing new approaches to building grassroots organizing in South Dakota. The goal in South Dakota is to identify indigenous leaders and create a new organizing effort that builds power for Native Americans and connects their concerns to other constituencies – primarily low-income, rural whites.
In 2003, the Native American Project made extensive site visits and conducted interviews in South Dakota, resulting in a detailed “blueprint” for future work. As part of this assessment, interviews were conducted with Head Start program staff serving children: on the Cheyenne, Pine Ridge, and Rosebud reservations; in largely white rural counties in western South Dakota; and, in white and Native American communities of Rapid City. In these interviews, a number of concerns emerged related to hunger: inadequate income to buy enough food, problems getting or keeping food stamps, access to grocery stores in rural areas, and the adverse effects of hunger on children’s development.
In response, the Native American Project sponsored a household food security study in cooperation with Rural America Initiatives Head Start, Youth and Family Services Head Start, and Pine Ridge Head Start. Four hundred low-income parents were interviewed, and 20 focus groups were conducted. The study found that many lower-income households, especially those on reservations and in rural areas, have problems avoiding hunger. A summary of the study and a full report called “Hunger in South Dakota, And What State Leaders Can Do About It,” are available at CCC's Rural Publications Page
Through this study, the Native American Project made contact with hundreds of struggling families (primarily Native American) who can be organized to participate in efforts to address food insecurity, as well as a range of other issues that matter to low-income communities. By engaging low-income people and community leaders in this process, the Native American Project intends to lay the groundwork for a new, progressive organization in the state, starting in western South Dakota.
Toward that end, 30 Native American leaders and hunger study participants gathered in August 2004, to develop a plan to address food insecurity. In addition, there was an initial discussion regarding the creation of a sponsoring committee of Indian leadership (which will eventually expand to non-Indians) to consider building grassroots organizing in South Dakota.
The Center for Community Change is committed to providing the necessary resources, organizational development assistance, and staffing to support the creation and growth of the resulting formation, which the Native American Project plans to launch in 2005. CCC will remain intensively engaged in this project until it has the resources, skilled leadership, and support system needed to be sustainable over the long run.
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