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ABOUT hawkwing
hawkwing is a Native American Federal non-profit 501(c)3 organization created to offer cross-cultural education while assisting the people of the Lakota (Sioux) Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota meet their basic human needs. Each year, we conduct a major collection drive in order to bring basic need items to some 3,000 children and 500 Elders on the Cheyenne River.We are a volunteer group where 100% of money and items donated go directly to the Lakota children and Elders.Our Visionhawkwing promotes a vision of the world in which Mitakuye Oyasin - We Are All Related. In the Native American manner, we acknowledge the importance of everything on the Earth Plane: two-leggeds; four leggeds; winged; finned; creepy-crawlers; the stone, fire, water and green people; and the thunder, star and cloud people.hawkwing seeks to create a reality where we understand, honor, appreciate and respect one another across races, genders, ages, species, boundaries and beliefs.hawkwing strives to engage children and adults in honoring and healing Mother Earth who provides us with our very existence.Our MissionFacilitate understanding among all cultures by promoting diversity and spiritual* understanding. Outreach to all cultures and age groups through educational programs, diversity trainings and creative experiences. Assist young people and adults with personal development and growth through experiencing Native American (Lakota) storytelling, singing and drumming, and Medicine Wheel Programs. Offer meaningful community service volunteer opportunities for youth and adults to assist the children and Elders of the Lakota Indian Reservations in South Dakota meet their basic human needs arising out of extreme poverty. Build bridges of friendship between Connecticut and New England students and the Lakota Indian Reservation children. Help foster economic self-sufficiency among the Lakota people.*We define spirituality as "a quest for who you are and for seeking your mission in life" and not by religious practicesClick here to see Rochelle's Bio

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Why we do what we do

We serve the Cheyenne River Lakota/Sioux Tribe Reservation (CRST) in South Dakota, a very humble and tradition filled culture. CRST is the size of Connecticut with about 12,000 Lakota people. We estimate 3,000 children under 18 need immediate support.

Income, Employment & Transportation

The unemployment rate on Cheyenne River is 90%. There are few jobs because of geographic isolation, the lack of natural resources, the lack of economic development and lack of skills. Though many people believe that Native Americans receive a government stipend, it is not true. Mostly, people live off of surplus food and welfare, if they qualify. Some people rent their lands to ranchers and miners, but rents collected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) are rarely sent. A lawsuit against the BIA uncovered devastating mismanagement. There are only two banks, two motels and two grocery stores in the southern part of the Rez- far from many families. There is no public transportation, movies and few restaurants. Few people have working cars and scavenge from one vehicle to another to keep a vehicle running. This is a major barrier to accessing health care, education and jobs. According to the US Census of 2010, Ziebach County, which is completely within the Reservations borders, is the poorest place in America. A stunning 93% of the people on Cheyenne River Reservation are significantly below the poverty level.

Education

Education is under funded by the Federal Government with some of the lowest rates found in America. Teachers rarely have enough pens, pencils and paper. Drop out rates are 70% - there are few incentives to graduate with no jobs and few going to college. Thanks to the work of hawkwing there are now five satellite libraries across Cheyenne River for the children!

Health

Health services are understaffed, under funded and geographically removed. Preventive care is very limited.Eye & dental care is very limited and difficult to have access to. The life expectancy is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere, averaging only 48 years. Infant mortality, the highest in all of North and South America, is 3 times US rates. A quarter of adults over 40 have diabetes, 6 times US averages. Tuberculosis rates are also 8 times the US average. 80% of families struggle with alcoholism rates 3 times the rest of America. Suicide rates are 1.5 times higher with an estimated 3 to 5 attempts a week among youth according to testimony before congress. Cervical cancer rates are 5 times the US rates. Yet, federally funded healthcare has been cut by 30% three times in the last 10 years.

Housing & Water

Most people live in overcrowded, dilapidated housing without any income or funding to make improvements. Homes may still lack electricity, running water or phones. Due to rising energy costs, many families face cold winters each year. The Tribal Chair testified before Congress that the housing situation on Cheyenne River is in crisis. The districts of Cheyenne River get their water from the aquifers many of which are polluted. Due to water shortages, the Tribe has had to institute a ban on new water hook-ups which limits any new construction unless it is replacing an existing structure with water.As part of our work, hawkwing has brought new beds and bedding to over 170 Elders and has made structural improvements to some buildings.

Projects

12th Annual Holiday Give Away

The Give Away brings joy each winter to some 3,000 children on the Reservation. Without the generosity of hawkwing donors and supporters, most of the children would receive nothing for the holidays. hawkwing works year round gathering new items for some 3,000 children ages birth to 18. We pack them in individual gift boxes which are prepared from forms completed by each family. With a childs sizes, interests, age and gender; hawkwing volunteers select two toys, two books, school supplies, personal care items and three to five warm clothing items for each child. You can help with a cash donation which allows us to bulk purchase needed items at a lower cost or donate the new items yourself. Link below to our list for 2011.We also make comfort kits for the Elders and supply dozens of Tribal programs with needed supplies including medical equipment, library books, blankets, shoes, coats, household items, diapers and more. Among the programs we help are: Diabetes, Veterans, Disabilities, Schools, Young Moms, Teen Pregnancy, Addictions, Disabilities Rehabilitation and Child Protection. We are planning projects to assist with the hunger crisis including a food bank, a soup kitchen and community greenhouses.During the fourth Give Away in 2003, a young woman shared the following story with Rochelle during the distribution. I want to thank you, she said, for what you are doing for the children. I was already over 18 when you began to help for the holidays and that is fine. But I want you to know what it really means to us. When I was a child, I would see ads for Christmas and Santa. I knew that Santa brought toys to good girls and boys and each year I did my very best to be good so Santa would come. But each Christmas morning, there was nothing for my sisters, brothers and me. I didnt understand that my mother simply could not buy us anything. One year, my uncle came from Oklahoma where he had a job and left some gifts for us with my mom. On Christmas morning, we had toys. I spent the next year, trying to figure out what I did right so Santa would come again. But he never did. But now when our children wake up on Christmas morning, they know they are just as good as any other child in the world.This is what our Give Away means. Join us you will receive far more than you will ever give. A mom of three little girls told us this December that in her children have grown up as hawkwing kids.

Helping Hands Project & Mocasin Walk

Our Helping Hands program developed out of the visible problems of housing and community buildings on the Reservation. With the needs clearly evident and with many people unable to get assistance for repairs or replacement housing, we decided to tap our volunteers to help. Each summer, beginning in 2008, we spend two weeks on the Reservation on a special project or two. We have repaired homes, assisted with community building clean up and helped with tornado relief. When 16 tornadoes hit the Reservation in June 2010, 34 families became homeless and lost all possessions. Five are still homeless. hawkwing was on site to help along with a local church and the Games, Fish and Parks Program of the Tribe no Red Cross, no Salvation Army, no National Guard. We repaired the Bear Creek tornado shelter, helped with individual needs and clean up. This year, our third project will include construction of a new community building in the Bear Creek district designed to house their new Arts Collaborative work site. We need to bring all equipment to form the collaborative including building supplies, sewing machines, tables, cabinetry, materials and more. We need about 30 volunteers available over the two weeks to work side by side with the community to build the new center and set up the business. Dates are June 4 to June 17.This will accomplish several goals: allow for the teaching of traditional arts from the women to the girls including quilt making and beading; support an economic opportunity for families; create a small fund for community improvement; and teach business skills to the participants. The men hope to join in the project in the following months. Housing is a crisis on the Reservation. There is very limited funding for home repairs and new construction is rare. Most people live in dilapidated houses or old trailers. Many homes lack any form of insulation. Some homes still lack water and electricity most often these days because of inability to pay utility bills. The water and electric costs are being increased shortly by 3% and 5%. For families already in financial crisis, this is devastating. For Elders and the disabled, accessibility is a serious problem as they cannot afford to make necessary improvements including ramps, grab bars and widening doorways and hallways. Two years ago, a woman saw we had wheelchairs and asked if she could take one for her brother. When our volunteer nurse spoke with her about the needs, we learned that the brother now in his 40s had been born with cerebral palsy. He was getting worse with time. His sister was his caretaker and due to the lack of accessibility in the house, he had not been able to go outside for nearly two years. She had to physically drag him down the hall to access the bathroom. She came back the next day to thank us for the wheelchair, walker and commode and to tell us he went outside and for a ride in the car and was thrilled. If we raise enough money through the Moccasin Walk and the Benefit Concert in May, Helping Hands will also do repairs on some Elders homes. For more information, click this link to the Huffington Post/AOL article on the conditions on the Reservation.

hawkwing Youth Council

There is nothing quite so powerful as young people reaching out to help others. When Rochelles granddaughter Sami asked if she could start a Youth Council to gather support from kids in Connecticut, the answer was YES! The organizational meeting took place recently and some of the ideas for the Youth Council are: 1)organizing in local communities to conduct drives at local stores for needed items including food, personal care products, baby items, clothes and toys;2)conducting fundraisers in schools, with scouts and faith communities and other youth groups (concerts/dances, battle of the bands, movie nights, Nickels for Natives collection and more); and3)recruiting friends and family to help.More ideas are being developed and more youth are needed to make this a success. There are opportunities to travel to the Reservation and have pen pals with kids on the Rez. For more information, link here to the Youth Council website.

Dental & Medical Missions

Accessing quality medical and dental care is always a challenge on the Reservation. There is only one part time dentist available to the 12,000 residents. He provides limited services mostly pulling teeth. In 2007, we provided a dental clinic with Tunxis Community College Dental Hygiene Program and UCONN Dental. Over the week long program, some 400 children and adults were served and some shocking dental conditions were diagnosed. Ten children had open fistulas in their mouths an open sore that can go through to the bone and even cause death. Many children had such serious dental decay that they had to be sent to have all their baby teeth extracted in order to save their secondary teeth. Some adults had not been to a dentist or had their teeth cleaned in ten years. The clinic was the beginning of our realization about how deeply troubling the conditions were. Another clinic is being planned for spring 2012 and will hopefully begin a regular service. Dentists, hygienists and other dental professionals are needed and welcomed to help.In 2004, a donation of a medical office from a family in Connecticut gave the Tribe the ability to start its first Diabetes Clinic. We continue to provide supplies and materials for the Diabetes Clinic and have sponsored a sneaker and pedometer program for the adults with diabetes (one in four have diabetes) to encourage exercise. The Clinic used the sneakers as an incentive to have people come in for their annual exam. We also provide medical equipment (wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches, hospital beds, commodes and more), vitamins, medical supplies, over the counter medications and diabetes socks among other items to the medical programs on the Reservation. Please contact us if you have medical items to donate.This summer, we will sponsor our first medical mission. Details for the mission are being coordinated at the present time but will include nurses, doctors and support staff. The Director of Health on the Reservation is determining with our volunteer nurse where the services will be most needed. If you have medical skills to offer for clinics, educational forums, consultation or training, please contact us for more information. Here is an opportunity to help right here in our own country.

Programs

Storytelling

hawkwing offers 8 storytelling sessions ranging in length from 45 to 60 minutes depending on the setting and age of participants. Each session includes an art project (materials provided), a themed story and drumming. Programs are a unique way to offer diversity training and team building for adults as well as youth. Other offerings include encouraging community service and volunteerism, Native American history through Native eyes and educational programs about Indian Country Today. Costs vary by programs and may be covered through a cash fee or by participating in our annual Give Away with donations of new items for the children of the Cheyenne River Lakota/Sioux Reservation in South Dakota Americas poorest children.Programs offer schools, scouts, faith communities, businesses, civic and youth groups the opportunity to engage in social justice community service while learning important personal development messages and experiencing the Native American culture. The topical offerings for the stories are:Program #1: Grandmother Earth and EcologyProgram #2: Coyote and the Special Qualities in all of usProgram #3: The Eagle's Gift and GenerosityProgram #4: The Four Brother Wolves- diversity and understandingProgram #5: Coyote and Being Happy with who you areProgram #6: Grandmother Spider - CooperationProgram #7: The Boy and the Snake- Prevention and TrustProgram #8: He Walks Alone- Building CommunityRochelle Ripley, hawkwing founder, has been given permission to bring these stories to the public as a Native storyteller. hawkwing works with schools and other youth programs to promote positive youth development.

PeaceWorks

Looking for Trainings to Stop Bullying?Try Something Uniquehawkwing is offering a unique opportunity to address bullying in your school. Through Native teaching methods, PeaceWorks delivers a message of working together to stop bullying behavior. The program can be tailored to all age groups bringing messages through original and traditional stories.PeaceWorks reaches students, teachers and administrators with the simplicity of stories and the tangible use of symbols. This program includes a selection of stories demonstrating characters who face problems and how they react as well as positive ways to work together to solve problems. There is comfortable emphasis on advancing collaboration and diversity. Participants leave with a totem necklace designed to carry the message of the program forward. Each classroom will also create a talking stick totem to facilitate problem solving through talking to one another.All materials included.Evaluation surveys are available for an additional fee covering administration of students and teachers and summary report of pre and post testing.
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Diversity Programs

A keystone of hawkwing programs is cross-cultural education and outreach through diversity programs. As a storyteller, Rochelle has been blessed with receiving stories in the dreamtime. The first was The Four Brother Wolves a story about the interrelatedness of all of life. Through this story, listeners experience the value of all people and why it is so important to be respectful and honoring of all living beings. He Walks Alone speaks to the importance of working in community. Grandmother Spider encourages cooperation. Coyote stories teach personal values. A list of storytelling program options are listed in the storytelling section above.From her Lakota Grandmother, Rochelle was raised to value everything on Mother Earth. She imbues that respect into all she does. It creates an open learning environment which facilitates team building, goal setting and personal development. Her clients have been as diverse as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the Parent Aide Network, EASTCONN Educational District, Rushford Treatment Center professional staff and Youth Jamboree, over 80 schools and scout programs and the United Way of Connecticut. She works with each organization to tailor a program to meet the groups needs.

Four Generations of Women

A Workshop for Mothers and Daughtershawkwing offers a unique and special program designed to increase communication and understanding between mothers and daughters while engaging them in exploring each others dreams. Focused on the sometimes difficult time of adolescence, the Four Generations of Women uses Native American teaching methods from the Lakota/Sioux tradition combining storytelling, practice and discussion in a fun and touching way. Led by Rochelle Ripley, founder of hawkwing and recognized national trainer, the workshop can accommodate up to 20 pairs of moms and daughters. Each program lasts about two hours and builds a bridge between the generations by exploring the four phases of being a woman: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and Wise Elder woman.Through group and couple discussions, moms and daughters express their reactions to one another and to the group participants. This allows them to see that they are not alone in navigating the sometimes rough waters of tweens and teens. They also explore ways to manage this developmental period.Recommended ages for daughters are between nine and fourteen though older daughters can also be included. Moms with more than one daughter in this age range are welcomed to bring all of them to the workshop. The program can be offered for adult daughters and mothers when requested.Fee arrangements are worked out with the contracting group and are based on number of participants, location and any special arrangements.

Rochelles Bio

Rochelle Ripley, Founder & President of hawkwing

Rochelle has nearly 40 Years experience in the fields of prevention and human services beginning with work in the 1970's with Glastonbury Youth Services. Rochelle is a Connecticut Certified Prevention Specialist. In the late 1970's, she trained with Bill Lofquist (Associates for Youth Development) and David Hawkins (Social Learning Theory) as part of the Connecticut Task Force on Positive Youth Development. This framed her lifelong approach to prevention and personal and community development: creating positive models of inclusion. Rochelle's philosophy is that individuals, families and communities make their own best decisions when given valid information, empowerment skills and adequate resources. Rochelle founded hawkwing in 1996 as a Native American non-profit agency. With permission from her Elders, she is a Native Storyteller and teacher of Medicine Wheel wisdom for personal development. Through hawkwing, Rochelle is fulfilling a promise to her Lakota Grandmother "to go home and help the people." Prior to her work with hawkwing, Rochelle directed ERASE, a fifteen town substance abuse prevention agency from 1990 to 2003; had lengthy involvement in local, state and national politics; served as Community Services Director for the United Labor Agency from 1981 to 1990; was a founding member of the CT Commission on Children by appointment of Governor O'Neill; wrote the original treatise for and helped found MATCH (a coalition dedicated to smoking prevention and reduction) and served as their statewide spokesperson for five years. Rochelle holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Political Science. She combines her Native American heritage and teachings with her professional expertise to integrate a holistic approach to human and community development. Rochelle is an avid reader and a grandmother of five!

What Rochelle brings to a programRochelle works throughout Connecticut and has offered Native teachings in over 70 schools and for EASTCONN. She works with dozens of scouting programs and youth programs as well as the faith and business communities. She is able to reach students, teachers and administrators with the simplicity of stories and the tangible use of symbols. All programs include a selection of stories demonstrating characters who face problems and how they react as well as positive ways to work together to solve problems. There is comfortable emphasis on advancing collaboration and diversity. Participants leave with a totem necklace designed to carry the message of the program forward. Each classroom will also create a talking stick totem to facilitate problem solving through talking to one another.Evaluation surveys are available for an additional fee covering administration of students and teachers and summary report of pre and post testing.

What you can do

Help! We need warehouse space. If you think you can help, please contact Rochelle.

How you can help

Join our Circle of GivingSupport LevelsTatanka (buffalo) $5000+Wambli (eagle)$1000+Sunka Wakan (horse)$500+Kola (friend)all amounts mattera collection of a million dollars starts with the first dollar!all cash & item donations are tax deductible
Be a volunteer!! People of all ages are needed to help in a wide variety of ways all year. Please join us in our effort to help the Lakota children and Elders in South Dakota.Here are some of the ways that you can give your time• Soliciting Donations of cash or items. Perfect for schools, scouts, faith groups, civic groups and businesses! • Organizing and Sorting Items at warehouse • Packing family boxes for the Annual Holiday Give Away • Picking up and delivering collections to the warehouse • Outreach to bring in new groups • Fundraising/Fundraisers • Corporate Outreach • Publicity • Loading truck on shipping day (First Saturday each December) • Taking Pictures • Assembly of Totem Necklace Bead Kits & Bookmarks! • Community Development and Building on the Reservation We also need volunteers to assist in the hawkwing office• Preparing mailings • Sending Thank-You notes • Grant Writing • Office Organization
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Joseph Fire Crow Tickets

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Contact

hawkwing, Inc.

306 Cavan Lane

Glastonbury, CT 06033

Tel. (860) 633-8933

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