Just another white van on the horizon?

“So what does it look like to create ongoing relationships with the Lakota people in Red Shirt? It might be looking for ways to support these communities, spreading the word, returning in future years, or even financial support for projects.”

In June, I had the great privilege to participate in a Faith and Money Network Trip of Perspective to Oglala Lakota land at Red Shirt Table, Pine Ridge Reservation and the surrounding lands in western South Dakota.  Along with Mike Little from Faith and Money Network and ten other participants, we were hosted by longtime Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries friend Rev. Canon Bob Two Bulls and some of his family, including his sisters Rev. Deacon Twilla (Christ Episcopal Church at Red Shirt) and Lori Ann. Rev. Matt and Erica Cobb, both BKI alums, came over from Minnesota to be drivers (of our white van), provisioners, chefs and guides.

Looking back, the trip was very much about people and places.

We met, shared meals with, chatted with and heard from many locals, learning about the past and present lives of the Oglala Lakota people and the importance of many sacred sites, as well as attending a beautiful 2-day local Wakpa Waste Wacipi (Pow Wow) at Red Shirt Table.  We got to see (and purchase) some amazing artworks and creations – creative talent runs strongly in the Two Bulls family!

We toured many sacred, historically significant, and sometimes very painful sites including the Black Hills areas, home to the Crazy Horse monument, Bear Butte and the Wind Cave, as well as the Badlands and the Wounded Knee memorial on the Pine Ridge reservation.

The trip was so amazing, it has been difficult to narrow down the key highlights or learnings, but the key message I heard over and over was about relationships.

We learned about the Lakota people’s historic and current relationship to place and land and the interpersonal relationships to one another. And we also heard about the ongoing desire for relationship. For decades, white vans full of folks willing to lend a hand have been coming to Pine Ridge and Red Shirt.

And this is not to unique to North American Indigenous peoples – over the years I’ve learned a lot about the importance of good relationship from Indigenous elders and friends in the lands now called Australia and also through my brother Nick who has for many years been building relationships and connecting settler-descendants and Indigenous people, friends and communities across that wide-brown land!

So what does it look like to create ongoing relationships with the Lakota people in Red Shirt? It might be looking for ways to support these communities, spreading the word, returning in future years, or even financial support for projects.

A few weeks after returning home from this Trip of Perspective, I’m still thinking about how it has changed my own perspective. I guess the biggest question for myself is, “Will I be just another white van on the horizon, departing after a short time of immersion in the local life? … Or can I step up and continue to have meaningful relationship with our sisters and brothers who so generously hosted us and invited us in?”

Chris Wight | August 2024

Chris Wight manages communication and administration for Bartimaeus Cooperative Industries, an ecumenical nonprofit organization that promotes “practices of church renewal, restorative justice and decolonization, Sabbath Economics, bioregional sustainability and social transformation. Originally from Australia, Chris has lived in Southern California since 2011. He attended FMN’s first Trip of Perspective to Red Shirt Table in June 2024.