My Summer at Standing Rock

by Anna Minor

As you probably know, I spent this past summer at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. Standing Rock is home to members of the Dakota/Lakota Nation, and it stretches from the southern part of North Dakota down into South Dakota. Dakota or Lakota means “friend” or  “ally”. The word Sioux actually comes from Nadowesioux, which is an Ojibway name for the Dakota/Lakota and means “little snake” or “enemy”.  The U.S. Government adopted the Ojibway name, and so the Dakota/Lakota people are also known as the Sioux Nation.

The Episcopal Church is very active on Standing Rock.  I was involved with churches only on the North Dakota side of the reservation. The Episcopal Church has three churches and one camp, each one being about 30-45 minutes from the other.  The three churches are: St. Luke’s in Fort Yates, St. James’ in Cannonball, and Church of the Cross in Selfridge. The camp is named St. Gabriel’s and that’s where I lived. 

The bulk of my time was split between pastoral care in the form of hospital visits and youth ministry. I visited Dakota/Lakota Episcopalians at two hospitals in Bismarck (which is an hour drive from the camp). Youth ministry included 3 three-day camps for middle and senior high kids, vacation bible school for younger kids, and contact time spent in the community. I also assisted liturgically at services at all three churches and preached a total of four times this summer. Pastoral care, youth ministry, and preaching are things that I’ve done before, but what was different about this summer was that they were focused in a cross-cultural setting.

I was blessed to have many unique opportunities. I took anti-racism training with a diverse group of people, including some Native Americans. I attended the Niobrara Convocation (gathering of Episcopalians living on reservations) in South Dakota and met the Presiding Bishop. I visited a parish in Moorhead, MN that is home to a large number of Sudanese “lost boys”. And I helped out with construction on a new church in Fort Totten, ND which part of another Dakota reservation called Spirit Lake. 

The most difficult part about my summer was seeing the hard situations that so many Lakota and Dakota people live in. The statistics paint a picture of a grim reality:

• 70% are unemployed, and 60% of the employed are below the poverty level
• Average life expectancy for men is age 47, for women is age 58
• About half the population is under the age of 20.
• There are near epidemic levels of alcoholism, drug use, diabetes, teen suicide and teen pregnancy. 

All these statistics contribute to the fact that there is a large amount of grief and despair on the reservation. The church tries to offer hope and support, but there is so much work to be done and too few workers out in the fields.

This summer I learned about the importance of raising local leadership and how effective diaconal ministry can be. There are several Lakota deacons on Standing Rock who are on a rotating schedule for services and pastoral care. I also learned about how meaningful it can be to include a culture’s symbols within a worship space. Two of the three churches have been remodeled to include Lakota symbolism.  This includes the types of woods used for the floor and altar, the colors of chairs in the sanctuary, icons that have Native Americans on them, and burning sage for incense. One thing I really enjoyed was the privilege of hearing some people’s stories, and attending a couple powwows.

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this trip a possibility. This has been a challenging and rewarding experience for me, and I look forward to sharing more about it. The forum will be sometime in October, look for the date to be listed in the bulletin. In addition, there will be pictures from my summer posted soon on St. John’s website.

Editors note: The pictures are now posted. Click the thumbnails above to see a larger image, and use the arrows or numbers to navigate.