CHOOSING HOPE AT THE PINE RIDGE RESERVATION Wednesday, March 23
Hebrews 10:23: Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. In April of 2019, I was traveling to the Pine Ridge Reconciliation Center, excited for a week of learning from the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge reservation in southeast South Dakota. I was looking forward to getting away from all the trappings of suburban life and entering into a new conversation. I thought I was ready to learn what it means to live and serve in another context and to understand better what it means to be living a different experience in the United States. I expected it to be eye-opening, mind-expanding, and relationship-building. What I didn’t expect was how this trip would be soul-shaking. During my time there, I had the joy of meeting Tony, a teacher at the local high school whose job it was to help preserve the language and culture of the Lakota people. He shared his experience of how his students learned to embed themselves into their music, how the sacred flute was a way of connecting the heart and mind to their culture. Their connection resulted in their recording an album that was awarded a Grammy award. I met Henry who developed a new way of heating homes using solar energy that was so prized that MIT asked for a model to study and he was eventually awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom. I met a team of young adults, who through their own grit and energy, formed the Thunder Valley Community, a community that owned their own land and houses when other places on the reservation are not permitted ownership due to old injustices in treaties made for the reservation. I found that Pine Ridge is full of individuals dedicated to seeing their community flourish and bring dignity to their people. I learned how resilience, in the face of hardship, entrepreneurship in the face of lack, and pure grit and strength in spite of a history of systematized abuse and neglect is the true face of what it means to “choose hope.” I recognized that in my own life, I have never ever had to fight against institutional racism, intrinsic poverty, or communal neglect. But here were people that would not be silenced and would not fall to despair. They chose, despite every circumstance, to stand up for the dignity and growth of every person on the reservation. These were people that worked all for the common good of every person, for the collective whole. They fought not just for their own individual identity but for the respect and care for the whole people. These were people who knew what it meant to “choose hope.” The day we left, I realized I had been hollowed out over 4 days of visiting. All my preconceived notions were expunged and I was humbled to learn a new way of describing hope. In the place of what I thought hope was, a wish-fulfilling fantasy of unrealistic expectations, I found the boots-on-the-ground vision of hope, a hope embodied in the people at Pine Ridge, who don’t just speak of new life but live it out daily. I plan to travel again to this incredible community. I invite you to “choose hope” and join us for our next cultural immersion in fall of 2022. God of the nations, open my heart to learn from the other. Strengthen the Pine Ridge community that they may experience hope in every circumstance. Amen Pastor Jay Gamelin, Lead Servant for Family Life 28
