Okiciyap is a non profit community organization that has as a part of their mission the goal of making sure no one on the Cheyenne River Reservation goes hungry.
As a fundraiser, the Daily Kos Quilt Guild Auction Alliance has made a most beautiful quilt that could be yours if you bid now!
I want to paint a picture of what it’s like to live on the Cheyenne River Reservation but I’m not a very good artist so I thought I would paint by the numb3ers.
Okiciyap is in Isabel SD, in Dewey County. The Cheyenne River Reservation is in Dewey and Ziebach County. There are 3,140 counties in the US. Of the top 100 poorest counties Dewey is 11th, Ziebach is 4th. South Dakota has 10 counties in the top 100 (which is really the bottom 100 isn’t it?). One of the counties bordering Dewey is Corson, the 7th poorest county in the US. These are the average incomes listed.
1. Buffalo County, South Dakota $5,213
2. Shannon County, South Dakota $6,286
4. Ziebach County, South Dakota $7,463
5. Todd County, South Dakota $7,714
7. Corson County, South Dakota $8,615
11. Dewey County, South Dakota $9,251
23. Jackson County, South Dakota $9,981
25. Bennett County, South Dakota $10,106
32. Mellette County, South Dakota $10,362
80. Charles Mix County, South Dakota $11,502
South Dakota is the 23rd poorest state in the US and look how Isabel (where Okiciyap is) compares:
Residents with income below the poverty level:
Isabel: 58.6%
Whole state: 18.9%
Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level:
Isabel: 17.0%
Whole state: 6.1%
Over 14% of the people on the Cheyenne River Reservation live in extreme poverty. The World Bank describes that as living on $1.25 a day. The national average is 4%.
Isabel compared to South Dakota state average:
Median household income significantly below state average.
Median house value significantly below state average.
Unemployed percentage significantly above state average.
Number of college students below state average.
Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher significantly below state average. Only 33% have high school education.
Other than severe poverty why is a food bank needed? Well, it has to do with treaties and the US land locking a nation; intentionally isolating reservations geographically.
The nearest town to Isabel is Eagle Butte. It’s about 28 miles away but it takes over 50 minutes to drive there. Many of the roads on the reservations are unpaved gravel with deep ruts so even if you had a car to travel miles and miles to buy food it would be a rough ride.
Take a look at this map of the road trip from Isabel to Eagle Butte to see why what should be a 25 minute drive takes over 50 minutes.
Check out the number of grocery stores in Isabel according to the phone book. It says 19 but really there is one. The next closest is 17 miles away; the 3rd is 28 and the rest range from 36 to 52. Miles away. To get a gallon a milk!
The only restaurant listed is Smokey’s Bar and Grill. The next closest are in Eagle Butte, remember the 50 minute drive?
The closest Target is in Rapid City 179 miles away. The nearest Lowe’s is in Bismarck, ND – 140 miles away.
Want to go to Wal-Mart? McDonalds? Taco Bell? Subway? Then you’ll have to go to Pierre, the capital of SD, which is 88 miles away according to the restaurant locater at each of the stores websites. Map Quest has it at 109 miles.
In conversation on healthy eating the problem of “food deserts” often comes up. Isabel SD is not a mere food desert, it’s a desert island. A huge desert island. The Cheyenne River Reservation is the fourth-largest Reservation in land area in the United States.
There is a summer food program in Eagle Butte. I’ve included a video below. My heart hurts when I hear the kids say that their favorite thing to do at the program is not swim, but to eat.
Let’s help Okiciyap feed the kids in Isabel. Bid on the quilt or make any size donation you’d like Donate here.
You can mail a donation to: Okiciyap PO Box 172 Isabel, SD 57633.
Adding the IGive button will let online retailers donate a % of your sale with them.
Aji would say Chi miigwech and so will I - Chi miigwech.
OKICIYAP QUILT AUCTION RULES 2013
1) Auction begins on Wednesday, March 27th. Bids will first be accepted in the diary published that day by GreyHawk. The final day of the auction is Sunday, April 7, 2013, at approximately 7:00 p.m. CT. The last two+ hours of the auction will be held online from 5:00 p.m. central until 7 p.m. central in the DKQG diary. If no higher bids are posted by 7:10 p.m. the best bid before 7:00 p.m. central will be declared the winner.
1.1)The auction will end as soon as no higher bids are posted within 10 minutes of the highest bid received. Final bids will be decided by the time posted on the message. The decision of the judges on winning bid is final.
1.2)After the final bid is decided and the successful bidder notified, the donation to the pantry will be made, and once confirmed, BeadLady will send the quilt to the lucky winner! The pantry is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization, this donation will be tax deductable.
2) Bids will be accepted by making comments in diaries, as well as by kosmailing weck and/or glorificus at any time to make arrangements for anonymous or absentee bidding.
2.1) If you wish to remain anonymous, you may set that up with weck or glorificus in advance, and we will use a number when we post your bids in a diary. (example = Anon-02)
2.2) If you want to leave an absentee bid, you may do that with either weck or glorificus. We will need to know the highest amount you are willing to bid and we will place those bids for you in 10 dollar increments as the bidding progresses throughout the auction. If the bidding goes higher than you first authorized, you may contact the same person again with a new top limit, or bid in the diaries. Absentee bids should be
placed with weck or glorificus as far in advance as possible.
3) Bidding by groups, businesses or organizations is allowed, as long as only one contact name is used. Please let us know the details of your group, business or organization and who is the official spokesperson for the group or organization.
4) Bidding is in minimum increments of $10.00. You may bid in higher increments that can be divided evenly by $10.00.
4.1) Bids must be in U.S. funds.
5) weck and glorificus will do their best to inform all bidders of the newest high bid. To receive this information in you Kosmail box, please ask weck or glorificus to join Daily Kos Quilt Guild Auction Alliance group.
5.1) We will send groupmail to everyone (Each member will be made an editor for the duration of the auction) Reminder*A groupmail won't show up on your main page; you will have to check for messages manually.*
6) A PayPal link will be included for other donations to Okiciyap. While we cherish the thought that you may choose to donate to Okiciyap during the auction, there is no advantage in the auction to doing that. It is not necessary to donate through the PayPal to Okiciyap to participate in the auction. To use the paypal link, click on the link that goes to the Okiciyap Pantry's new website. http://okiciyap.weebly.com/....
7) The winning bidder can make payment arrangements that are not through PayPal with weck or glorificus. We know that some folks don't use Paypal.
8) The winning bidder will have 48 hours to confirm their success. After 48 hours, the judges may, at their discretion, offer the second highest bidder the opportunity to redeem the quilt. The decision of the judges is final.