Living in Michigan (which in many areas is actually warmer than this reservation) and experiencing the bitter cold–reading this news completely distressed me. Please help if you can.

A State of Emergency has been declared on the Pine Ridge Lakota “Sioux” Indian Reservation. People have died. Many more people are at risk of freezing to death. Another cold front is coming in, yet where is the national media coverage?

Does the ‘Lacreek Electric Company’ – a non-Indian utility often thought
to be prejudice, care that people are suffering, since they are pulling
meters every day? (which is illegal throughout the rest of the u.s. during
the winter months).

What will Obama and the federal government do about this? While they dig
out Haitians, indigenous people right here may freeze to death. What are
we going to do about it?

Help put this message out for help. The children and families of the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation need our help now. It is urgent that all 40,000
residents of the Oglala Nation have electricity and propane.

Call LaCreek toll free at 800-655-9324 or (605)685-6581 to see how you can
help pay into a customer’s account, example $5 into ten customers would
require a $50 donation by you. Tell LaCreek to make sure tanks are full
for ALL area residents between the months of November to March – and to
collect any delinquent payments between April and October.

Also, check out this non-profit to see if it is appropriate for you:
Arlene Catches The Enemy 605-867-5771 Ext 13.
Tax Deductable, Non-Profit (501-c-3). She can take credit cards over the
phone: Pine Ridge Emergency Fund, C/O Economic Development Administration
PO Box 669, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-0669

And call Lakota Plains Propane at 605-867-5199 and find out what homes have
elderly or children and if they need money put down on their account to be
able to have a warm home tonight.

*……………………..*……………………..*……………………..***************

List to assist Elders at Pine RidgeShare

Below are several Elders in the Kyle Community of Pine Ridge that are in
immediate need of assistance. The contact information has been confirmed
and permission has been granted to share their information with you.

There are several ways I will mention where assistance is needed and I’ll
share here before I begin the information for where you can assist in
paying for Propane for those who need it or to contact a local grocery
store to pay for food for families who need this. Other ways of assisting
the individual families will be listed with their contact information
below.

To pay for propane for any individuals listed below use the information
here and be sure to make your payment to the account of the individual(s)
you choose to help. The propane company requires a minimum order of $120
of fuel before they will make a delivery to the individual. You can also
pay for a persons propane and they will credit the individuals account so
that when they do run out of any fuel they may have at the moment they can

simply call and the company will deliver more.

Lakota Plains Propane (will take credit card)
Highway 407
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
605-867-5199
Be sure to request a receipt and use the contact for the person you are
helping to call and followup to be certain they received the help you paid

for.

Kyle Grocery (will take credit card)
Owner: Liz May
605-455-2824
Again be sure to follow up with the person you make a donation for to be
sure they received the appropriate credit for purchasing food.

Elders in need are as follows:

Adolph Bull Bear
605-454-2190
He remains in need of continued assistance for propane, his son who is
disabled lives with him and he is in need of food assistance which you can

contact Kyle grocery (above) to make a donation for food. He will also
need help with his electric bill.

Arlene Talks (age 72)
605-407-8243
She has a daughter and a granddaughter (age 7) who lives with her and is
in need of propane and food assistance and you can contact the propane and

grocery above to assist. You could also contact her for mailing address to

send items for her granddaughter such as clothes, etc.

Janice One Feather (age 61)
605-455-2889
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 44, Kyle SD 57752
For Propane Delivery give House # 307
She has two grandsons living with her. Asa Steele age 7 and Dillon
Westover age 9. You can mail donations for the two boys to the mailing
address above for her and if you mail by fedex, UPS, etc use the house
#307 Kyle SD 57752. She is in desperate need of food assistance and
propane and you can use the info for propane and grocery companies above
to pay for those items.

Donna Garnette
605-455-2527
605-441-7541
She has two grandchildren (Boy and girl), you can contact her for an
address to offer assistance in clothes, etc for the children. She is in
need of Propane and food assistance and you can use the info above for
both companies to assist them with that.

Lilly Mae Red Eagle (age 88)
605-455-2612
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2, Kyle SD 57752
For propane delivery give House #HC2
She is in need of Propane and food assistance. You can use the info above
for both companies to assist them with that. For deliveries by fedex, ups,

etc use the house #HC2 Kyle SD 57752

Perlene Yellow Wolf (age 65 approx)
605-455-1458
She is in need of propane and food assistance. She lives with her daughter

Crystal and three children. You can use the info above for both companies
to assist them with that. They have a lot of problems with pipes freezing
so if anyone in the immediate area could help with this that would be
greatly appreciated.

May you be richly blessed for sharing your blessings with these elders and

ensuring some relief to their suffering. Please help now as the need is
immediate but please remember to help again in the future if you are able
to as their needs are continual. Thank you in advance for sharing your
love and helping these elders.