Pine Ridge Reservation Servant Trip

A group of eleven South Carolinians from Messiah Lutheran Church head to South Dakota in July for cultural immersion, conversation, and service among the Oglala Lakota people living on the Pine Ridge Reservation. While on the "Rez," Messiah's servants repair homes, listen to the stories of the Lakota, and cultivate long-term connections between Messiah and Pine Ridge.
 
The Oglala Lakota are descendants of the Great Sioux Nation, a once prosperous Native American tribe situated in the upper Great Plains. At one time a nomadic community, the Oglala Lakota hunted buffalo before forced relocation to the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1878.

Today the Oglala Lakota confront significant rates of unemployment, alcoholism, suicide, and school absenteeism. Pine Ridge is widely regarded as the poorest community in the United States. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in American partners with several Christian traditions and nonprofit agencies to provide direct support to the Oglala Lakota. Messiah's servant team will work with churches and nonprofit agencies during their time at Pine Ridge.

Your support of the Pine Ridge Servant Trip helps with travel costs, building materials, and direct financial support to indigenous ministries and programs that bring hope and opportunity to the Pine Ridge Reservation.