Dignity

Judy.  In a rest stop off I-90 outside Chamberlain, South Dakota stands a 50-foot stainless steel  sculpture of a Native American woman. Sculpted by Dale Lamphere, she is representative of the Dakota and Lakota people , and she overlooks the Missouri River.  She carries a star quilt,  created by Lakota artist David Claymore, which in Native life represents admiration, honor, and strength. Coming down I-90, Dignity is impressive from either direction, with the blue stars of the quilt shining in the sun, but when you pull into the rest stop itself, her face and the movement of her body are almost overwhelming.

Dignity: of Earth and Sky

We visited Dignity: of Earth and Sky after a morning on Rosebud Reservation, home of Lakota Sioux. Years ago, our dear friend Nancee, an Episcopal seminarian, served a summer with Lauren, priest-in-charge on the reservation. From that summer came an idea of sending handmade and store-bought hats, mittens, and scarves to the children there.  Lauren and I had emailed over the years, but I'd never met her, so I didn't want to pass up this opportunity. 

"Mama L's" car

We met Lauren at the Subway in Mission, SD. She was wearing a t-shirt that read "I will use my breath to speak for those who can't breathe," and a mask with a red handprint over her mouth. This woman is about the business of speaking for the downtrodden. Her head is shaved, and she has an arm full of tattoos. She is beautiful.   

Lauren and Ted

After picking up lunch (and watching Lauren greet friends, checking up on family members), we followed her to the Bishop Hare Center and St. James church, the second oldest on the reservation. We sat outside at a picnic table and ate our lunch, while she told us about some of the work there. 

She does a daily Compline service online, and on Sundays, members of her eight churches can worship via Facebook. One of the congregations holds outside services every Sunday. In addition, there are the funerals, four of which have been for Covid victims. She herself had the virus last spring, and is now a long-hauler, dealing with a low white blood count. She had, when we spoke, finally gotten a vacation to rest and recover.

Well, sort of. Behind us was a building being refurbished as a quarantine barracks for those with Covid. (There were, of course, no mission teams or seminarians this summer, due to the virus.) The church building remains shuttered, but she answered the phone a couple of times to deal with  issues for her parishioners.   

Wood barn & The Beast

And then the Beast arrived. The Beast is an old, beat-up pickup. Three Guys sat in the cab; the back was filled with wood. We followed it around the corner to the wood barn, built of old telephone poles, pallets, and tin. (No one else could figure out how to build one, but she and her Guys did!) Inside, an Army veteran used a splitter to split firewood for the tribe. Outside, Danny, Mato, and Bruce, the aforementioned three Guys, tossed the cut wood onto the ground, ready to be split.

The Beast and The Guys

                   

Splitting the wood

Most Tribal members heat their homes with wood stoves, so a firewood ministry was started. When she and another pastor passed a fallen tree, some years ago, he joked that she should start giving out firewood. She took him up on it. Last year 80+ full cords were delivered to homes. This year it'll be 120+. The Tribal Council has firewood to give out, but people have to come get it. This firewood is delivered. The IRS doesn't allow the Guys to get paid, so daily they get minimal cash for gas, all the cigarettes they want, and Gatorade--or Red Bull.

A new Beast is needed, but the government grants don't consider the need for a truck to deliver firewood to people staying home to avoid Covid as an actual Covid need. So donations are welcome.

It was time to go. Lauren had more work to do, and we had miles to drive to our next hotel. She gave us the best directions to get to the statue of Dignity, and waved us off. We listened to music from Indigenous people all the way to the interstate.

With the real Dignity in front of St. James church

We saw the magnificent statue, and were touched by it. But I had already seen Dignity. She serves on Rosebud Reservation.