Tiny DeCory is everything

A short bio lifted from this Native Hope webpage--

Yvonne “Tiny” DeCory, Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, is among those working to stop suicides on Pine Ridge. If the reservation's suicide epidemic were a hurricane, she's standing in the eye. DeCory is founder of the BEAR program, which stands for “Be Excited About Reading.” DeCory and her student volunteers—many of them suicide survivors—put on musical and dance skits to help kids struggling with reading as well as the serious issues of life on the reservation, including suicide. Her work has been highlighted by PBS, the BBC, the Huffington Post, and more. Tiny’s Native Hope Fellowship will afford the BEAR program and its mission to expand to other reservations in South Dakota where the suicide levels are equally devastating.

But visit the page anyway to see some videos of her talking about her work and community.

She wants everyone to see/hear this--

And you can follow her on facebook which is so far my only means of communicating with her.  FB is one of the more effective communication mediums in Pine Ridge.

There Goes the Neighborhood

KCRW has an 8-part radio series about the identity of the city in the face of development and other changes across the city.  It's from 2017 and each segment is less than 30 minutes long.

There Goes The Neighborhood

Maka speaks about his community and the work of Red Cloud Indian School

Engaging in Audacious Hope from ACEatND on Vimeo.

Billie Ilish is from Highland Park

I dig this video from new york times- it's a conversation with Billie and her brother/collaborator, plus moments with their mom, that i think is filmed in their house.

The Guardian seems to have staff in SD this week

From The Guardian today, a short article about a PSA campaign regarding a serious problem South Dakotans are working on.

 

 

Also from the Guardian--

The Great American Tax Haven: why the super rich love South Dakota -  

about how the state attracts wealthy people but without for the betterment of the residents, 11/14/19.

".... Super-rich people choose between jurisdictions in the same way that middle-class people choose between ISAs: they want the best security, the best income and the lowest costs. That is why so many super-rich people are choosing South Dakota, which has created the most potent force-field money can buy – a South Dakotan trust. If an ordinary person puts money in the bank, the government taxes what little interest it earns. Even if that money is protected from taxes by an ISA, you can still lose it through divorce or legal proceedings. A South Dakotan trust changes all that: it protects assets from claims from ex-spouses, disgruntled business partners, creditors, litigious clients and pretty much anyone else. It wonʼt protect you from criminal prosecution, but it does prevent information on your assets from leaking out in a way that might spark interest from the police. And it shields your wealth from the government, since South Dakota has no income tax, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax. ...."