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Home of the Oglala Lakota Nation, the Pine Ridge Reservation was established during the 1876 Fort Laramie Treaty and encompasses a territory of approximately 2 million acres of the Northern Great Plains grasslands in southwest South Dakota. The Reservation exists today as one of the poorest places in the United States and lags far behind other parts of the United States in virtually all standards of human well-being. Like many indigenous peoples around the world, the Oglala Lakota have struggled over control of their natural resources having a dramatic impact on their economy, culture, and ultimately their sovereignty as a nation. The central focus of Village Earth work on Pine Ridge is to build the capacity of Lakota communities "tiyospayes" to recover, restore, utilize and manage their remaining land-base.

At the heart of Village Earth's approach is that communities be in control of the development process. Village Earth facilitates communities to develop a shared vision for the future, identify the obstacles to achieving that vision, develop action plans to overcome those obstacles, and finally access and manage the resources needed realize their plan.

BACKGROUND
Village Earth has been supporting community-based development projects on Pine Ridge since 2000 after we were invited by the Oglala Sioux Housing Authority’s Drug Elimination Program to help build the capacity of resident tenant organizations in housing projects in each of the nine districts of the reservation. We have since expanded the scope of our work to include families out in the "districts," beyond the numerous villages and cluster housing projects on the reservation.

PROGRAMS
The goal of Village Earth is to build the capacity of communities on the Pine Ridge Reservation to access and manage the resources needed to achieve their vision for the future. Rather than focusing on the "problems" we believe people are guided and motivated by their hopes and dreams for the future. Through numerous community workshops, household surveys, and dozens of "kitchen table" meetings we have identified four interrelated themes that make up this vision - land recovery, food sovereignty, sustainable housing, and energy independence.

Land Recovery
Protection and control of land and natural resources is one on the most pressing issues for indigenous people across the globe. There is a strong desire by tribal members to be able to protect and utilize the resources of the reservation. Currently nearly 60% of lands allotted to Lakota families during 1887 General Allotment Act are being leased out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to non-tribal members for an average of $3.50 per acre, although, most people (the median) are receiving only 50 cents an acre.

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These rents are far below current market values. According to the 2004 South Dakota State University Farm Real Estate Survey, the average rental rates in this region of South Dakota for non-irrigated cropland is $23.10 and $10.00 an acre for rangeland. Despite the fact that their lands have been in the leasing system for several generations, over 70% of families on the reservation would like to live on and utilize their allotted lands.

Village Earth helps Lakota tiyospayes reclaim and consolidate their legally allotted lands from the BIA leasing system and access the resources needed to live on, protect, and utilize it, helping to return the balance between economy, ecology, and culture.

Buffalo Restoration

In support of the land recovery and restoration, Village Earth is supporting the restoration of the traditional ecology, economy and culture surrounding the buffalo. In 2004 Village Earth initiatied an Adopt-A-Buffalo Campaign to help purchase buffalo for families on the Pine Ridge wanting to sustainably utilize their lands. To date, we have helped restor over 75 head of buffalo, creating two new herds and expanding two existing herds on the resrvation. We are also helping to form a cooperative to pool resources in marketing and caring for buffalo herds on the reservation.