Volunteer service with the Lakota Tribe at the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota.

Our Global Volunteers trip to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota in July 2022 exceeded my expectations. There were so many dimensions to our service program. Barbara Bicknell was our leader and she did an awesome job connecting us with the community. We stayed at a dorm of the Rosebud Episcopal Mission and Rev. John Willard was our host. On our first day after orientation, we visited a wildlife refuge and hiked to a waterfall and river. We were invited to sit in on two Tribal Council meetings, which gave us insight into the issues the Lakota Tribe dealt with. We were invited to work with the Tribal Land Office. We worked alongside Lakota women and men foraging for various plants used by the tribe and we worked with them picking up litter at the cemetery and a small lake. The Lakota provided lunch for us on some of these occasions. We all felt very welcomed by these kind and generous people.
We were also invited to their Bison range and later attended a workshop at the Tribal Ranch with lunch provided. We learned so much about the Lakota culture through our involvement with the local community. Some of us participated in daily sage smudging prayer services. We were all invited and six of us participated in a sweat lodge ceremony along with Lakota women and men who had recently finished a Sun Dance. On our last day, some of our team cleaned out the basement of an Episcopal church while others of us worked with the Land Office at a Children's Day festival handing out helium balloons, candy, and water.
Each Global Volunteers trip is unique, and I list our service program activities to give future volunteers an idea of what we did. This journey was personally life-changing for me and I learned so much. The Lakota principle of interconnectedness with all the elements of nature is a way of life that really inspired me. I truly benefited from our interactions with these beautiful people who have suffered so much throughout time and they have enriched my life.