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Re-Member is a non-profit organization that works and supports the Oglala Lakota people of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Keith Titus and Mike Alles founded it in 1998. For nine months out of the year volunteers come to Re-Member and work on the reservation to build handicap ramps, outhouses, bunk beds and other things for the people. After their history of turmoil with the United States government the Lakota people were plagued with high rates of suicide, diabetes and alcoholism, which are still huge problems today.

History of Re-Member
Re-Member was created in June of 1998. The name Re-Member was created from the ancient phrase, to "put back that which is broken; to re-member." It is located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. In 1997, Keith Titus and Virginia Titus of West Olive, Michigan, and Mike Alles of Grand Haven, Michigan, made a trip to Pine Ridge.Seeing all of the issues that the people were struggling with, they made the decision to support the Oglala Lakota by creating Re-Member. For two years post-creation, Re-Member drove volunteers from Michigan to work on the reservation. They stayed in any place they could find. To make the organization work they worked out of total of 13 rented facilities never having one that they owned themselves. In the goal to change that, a capital campaign was created in 2015 to support the building of “Feather II” which the organization will own and operate.

Goal of Re-Member
Re-Member is a religiously independent nonprofit organization. The work that is done is based on the Christian ideas of service, healing and help to those in need but it is not directly related to the religion itself. There is no goal of converting the Indian people or “saving them” with Christianity. People of every religious affiliation are welcome to serve the Oglala Lakota people. As said by the Founder Keith Titus, “ Conditions on Pine Ridge represent a part of our world that is broken, a part that we seek to put back together.” In addition to the goal of helping the Indian people, there is also a goal of building friendships and an understanding and respect of a different culture. Most of the U.S population has not been surrounded by the intricacies of the Indian culture because of the separation that the reservation created.

Oglala Lakota
The people that Re-Member works with are the Oglala Lakota people from the Sioux tribe. The different sections of the Sioux tribe were located in Northern Mississippi. Due to tensions with other tribes, the Lakota people migrated from Northern Mississippi to their current location in South Dakota in 1740. The Oglala tribe was one of the seven tribes that were created after the split of the Lakota people. The United States under the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 set the separate Lakota tribes back together in one large reservation spreading over 6 states. Smaller reservations were later created and tribes moved in to occupy them. In 1889 the United States took 7.7 million acres of the Black Hills, which were considered sacred to the Indian people. The Oglala people were uprooted from their land in the Black Hills and sent to live on Pine Ridge Reservation. One year later was the Massacre at Wounded Knee, which killed around 300 of the Lakota people. Recently the United States has offered a settlement to the Sioux people for the taking of the Black Hills. The Oglala will still not take the money. Pine Ridge is currently in a state of extreme struggle. The unemployment rate is between 80%-90%, only some of the land can be used adequately for farming, and the rate of diabetes is 8 times the national average. Suicide rates spiked so high recently that on December 10th, 2014, the President of the reservation was forced to declare a state of emergency. There were 5 deaths from suicide since the end of December. Even before that 97 calls from 2008-2009 were suicide related. Even though alcohol has been illegal on the reservation since 1889 it causes huge problems for the residents. Officers say that out of 200,000 calls that they receive per year 80% are alcohol related. Recently there has been a push to legalize consumption it but there have been fears of growing issues. In 2011 the number of domestic violence cases and assaults was very high. The local police reported 2,561 fights or assaults, 2,011 cases of child abuse or domestic violence, and one homicide. Housing has also been an issue for the reservation residents. Adequate housing hasn’t been provided on the reservation causing the 2% representative Native American population in the U.S to be accounted for as 8% of the U.S homeless population.

Volunteer Work
Volunteers are allowed to come between the dates of February 21st and October 9th. The dates are split up into to weeklong portions. During these weeks the volunteers complete service projects like building handicap ramps and outhouses. They are also given tours of the Badlands, Wounded Knee and taught culture lessons by some of the residents of the reservation. Some of the weeks are designated for certain groups of people. There is a family week, a senior week and the regular program. During the family week the children can be involved in some of the crafts and activities that are common in the Lakota culture, while the parents do the normal program. Senior week is very similar to the regular program but the volunteer must be 55 or older and the tasks that they do are less physically demanding.

Bunk Beds
Most children on the reservation either sleep on the floor or in beds with many or all of their siblings. The bunk beds that are built are all assembled at Re-Member. The finished project includes the bed, a mattress, a pillow and bedding. Volunteers are encouraged to leave their sheets at the end of the week so that they can be washed and then given to the people living on the Reservation. In total it costs $125 to provide a bunk bed for a family.

Skirting Trailers
This involves putting a layer of protection directly under the trailer. This layer is insulated and it allows for the trailer to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The temperatures in South Dakota can reach extremes in both winter and summer seasons. This project costs about $600 for all building materials and insulation.

Outhouse Construction
Some houses on the reservation do not have the means to get running water or sewage management materials. The outhouses that Re-Member builds allow the Indian people a way to use facilities in a safer and cleaner manner. The outhouses include a small supply of hygiene products. The cost of all of the building materials and the hygiene products totals $250.

Wheelchair Ramps & Steps/Decking
Since trailers are off the ground it is very dangerous and hard to get into them if there are no steps. Steps and decking are added to the trailers to make them more accessible. The total cost of them is $225. Sometimes wheelchair ramps are needed at the trailers also. The ramps that are built allow for disabled people to access things outside of their home more easily. Each ramp is built on-site and constructed to the length and size needed for the home. Including all building materials the ramp costs $1,000.

Future Plans
Re-Member is looking to create “Feather II” which will be an expanded version of the facilities that they are working out of now. The plan is to have more room to house volunteers, have permanent living for staff, storage for things to donate to the community, a community garden, an area for a traditional pow-wow, hiking trails, space for large community meals, and space for their vehicles and equipment.