The Okini Market & Diabetics Pantry Burned Down. We Need Help to Rebuild.
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
On Sunday, April 5—Easter—our executive director, Jeri Baker, was awakened around 5:30 a.m. to phone calls. Authorities needed her key to get into the Okini Market, which was on fire.
Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, that fire ultimately consumed the building, everything in it, and the attached food pantry for people with diabetes and dialysis. We're talking to our insurance now, but we know it won't cover everything. We estimate it will cost $40,000 to replace what's been lost, in addition to what we get from insurance.
We're devastated. We spent years building up the Okini Market, and the diabetics pantry was so close to opening. Now, we're working to rebuild.
As one Lakota who saw the building burning sadly put it, "Seems like when something good is happening, something bad tears it down."
The Okini Market was where donations and materials for other projects were received and distributed. The word "Okini" means "to share material goods." It housed the food pantry for dialysis and diabetes patients, and inside it was equipment and supplies for the new laundromat. It was a game changer for the Reservation, according to them:
"What a disaster! Yikes!!! That’s where we buy all our clothes."
"Oh No. That’s my favorite store."
"I am so sorry to see this. The Oyate loved your store and depended on it."
"My heart really sank when I heard the news. Okini was a great support to the community and meant so much to so many people."
Today, I hear both the Lakota and our donors saying that this tragedy is also an opportunity for something better.
That expression of hope means so much. After all the years of poverty and struggle, the Lakota people have hope that something better will come. We have worked to show that there is reason to hope. The first of three planned laundromats is now open. The Lakota Empowerment Group that we started a year ago has renovated 12 homes and is now working on four more. Food pantries are open and gardens are growing. There is still so much more to do and that is where opportunity arises.0