Lakota Empowerment Group
A community-led vocational program that provides the Lakota with job skills by repairing homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The Lakota Empowerment Group (LEG) is a community program on the Pine Ridge Reservation that teaches practical trade skills like carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work to Lakota men and women.
Led by Ricky Gray Grass and Eddie Spears, the initiative serves a dual purpose: it equips participants with valuable job skills, leading to employment opportunities and a greater sense of pride and stability, while simultaneously improving living conditions for residents by repairing and updating their homes.
A little story
It is 1964, and the world is tuned in to watch the Tokyo Olympics. Tamakhóche Thehíla (Billy Mills) is rounding the corner of the track during the 10,000-meter race in the middle of the pack. As he reaches the straightaway, the fatigued, young Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation, pushes his legs to their limits and gains the lead on the other runners, crossing the finish line and winning Olympic gold. After his shocking victory in the 10,000-meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a track official reportedly asked him, "Who are you?" Mills' reply was: "A Lakota boy from little Pine Ridge".
Now, more than 60 years later, Billy Mills is still a hero to the Lakota.
Today, a group of Lakota young men from “little Pine Ridge", with the help of One Spirit, is using their legs to help the community in a more metaphorical sense; however, the impact is similarly inspiring. The Lakota Empowerment Group, also known as LEG, teaches practical skills to its participants, ultimately benefiting the community. They too are held up as heroes.
Ricky Gray Grass and Eddie Spears oversee the program with the help of other adept individuals, teaching the valuable skills that the group offers, such as carpentry, plumbing, drywall, electrical work, etc. The skills that these men and women learn in the group provide them with employment opportunities, creating a more secure living situation, a sense of pride, and freedom from drugs and alcohol. Another important aspect that Ricky and Eddie have reinforced is the necessity for a positive jobsite, resulting in a sense of camaraderie that has brought everyone together. If there is one thing that the participants would like to convey to everyone who has granted them this opportunity by donating, it is simply “thank you.”
The Oyate (people) of Pine Ridge are also benefiting from having their homes and other structures repaired and renovated by the Lakota Empowerment Group. The LEG group is working on the boarded up houses near the youth center – houses that have been closed down for several years but with rehabilitation will be very livable and available to the many in need of homes.
Other in-demand jobs are repairing doors, windows, porches, and skirting for trailers outside a home and walls, ceilings and floors inside... The LEG group needs funding and the Lakota people need homes. Together we can greatly improve the housing on the reservation while teaching critical job skills to Lakota workers.
The Lakota Empowerment Group is one of our most requested programs on the reservation—a reflection of just how necessary its services are. If improving housing on the reservation, creating jobs, or passing down the trade skills to a new generation are important to you, please consider making a donation to support their vital work.
Current state of Housing
Many people on Pine Ridge Reservation are living in houses in disrepair with grave problems ranging from non-existent winterization to busted plumbing, holes in roofs, and some without electricity or water. Many people cannot afford to pay for these repairs, and those who can struggle to find someone skilled and qualified to do the work.
The LEG group is working on the boarded up houses near the youth center – houses that have been closed down for several years but with rehabilitation will be made livable and available to the many in need of homes.
