World Wildlife Fund
Report date
November 2021
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
On-the-ground engagement and discussion with all nine districts across Pine Ridge were critical to ensuring that the Strong Hold Working Group was truly established and owned by the communities of the Oglala Lakota people.We met with each district government, their communities, and grassroots groups to determine who would represent each district on the Working Group. It was critical that we demonstrated our commitment by taking the necessary time to attend one (and sometimes several) meetings in each district, and that we shared a consistent message on why representation of all districts was important to the group’s success. Many times, meetings were cancelled and rescheduled due to COVID and resulting losses in the communities, but we continued to show up. At each district meeting, a timeline of events that have shaped the South Unit and relevant maps were provided. We shared proposed language for the district resolutions that could be signed with the names of the final individual(s) selected to become working group members. This critical engagement was successful because it allowed for the time and space needed for meaningful dialogue, as well as providing helpful information
We led “Connection Tours” with the Working Group in September 2020 and May 2021. These tours featured eight destinations on the Strong Hold Unit and allowed the working group members to experience the area with all of their senses and reconnect with their land. The National Park Service, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs manage these lands, which has been contentious and ultimately has not met the needs of the Oglala Lakota people. This tour was emotional on many levels: enjoyment of the intact grasslands, anger at the theft of resources, sadness at the destruction of unprotected sites, happiness that there are 133,000 intact acres, discouragement that the people have no say over the management of these lands, and disappointment at the inability of the National Park Service and the Tribe in meeting the aspirations of the people for these lands. The tours were followed by a two-day, outdoor meeting held on the Strong Hold Table, a historical site. We invited representatives from the Blackfeet, Navajo, and Hopi Nations to share important knowledge about parks and land ownership that we can integrate into our work. A graphic facilitator captured key elements
Summarizing the expressed desires of the community and gaining formal recognition as an advisory group are key activities that will enable the Working Group to elevate local needs to managing entities. The community survey responses offer significant guidance to the Working Group on what the community wants. Taking these shared ideas and forming a Declaration of Priorities for the Strong Hold Unit is underway, with a projected presentation date prior to the end of 2021. This declaration will inform the group’s activities and will be shared with the Tribe, Badlands National Park, and tribal programs.
The Working Group is also working toward becoming formally recognized by the tribal government. It is hoped that, once we are formally recognized, we can participate in higher-level discussions and implement proposed actions that have positive impacts, such as having signs erected that address theft of tribal resources, restoring buffalo to parts of the South Unit, and protecting historical sites. We also renamed ourselves the Strong Hold Working Group, reflecting the preferred name for these important lands. The tours and meetings reaffirmed our goal to elevate and integrate the
The Working Group is also working toward becoming formally recognized by the tribal government. It is hoped that, once we are formally recognized, we can participate in higher-level discussions and implement proposed actions that have positive impacts, such as having signs erected that address theft of tribal resources, restoring buffalo to parts of the South Unit, and protecting historical sites. We also renamed ourselves the Strong Hold Working Group, reflecting the preferred name for these important lands. The tours and meetings reaffirmed our goal to elevate and integrate the
Key lessons learned
One valuable lesson learned was to ensure that the Working Group was truly established by the communities, which ultimately will allow the voice of the people to be elevated.
In working with some of the local district governments, at times district leaders asked us to work on establishing meetings for them with entities like the National Park Service, rather than the Working Group’s priorities. This work is about ensuring the needs and aspirations of the community are heard and acted on, so we had to ensure that the focus was on the Group’s priorities. This generation would like to have success in creating something for the community, by the community, on the South Unit. It was important to ensure that district resolutions were reflective of their respective districts’ inhabitants. The district resolutions always emphasized two-way communication. Each nominated district representative was responsible for sharing questions or comments from their district with the Working Group, and for reporting back to the district on activities and discussions with the Working Group.
In working with some of the local district governments, at times district leaders asked us to work on establishing meetings for them with entities like the National Park Service, rather than the Working Group’s priorities. This work is about ensuring the needs and aspirations of the community are heard and acted on, so we had to ensure that the focus was on the Group’s priorities. This generation would like to have success in creating something for the community, by the community, on the South Unit. It was important to ensure that district resolutions were reflective of their respective districts’ inhabitants. The district resolutions always emphasized two-way communication. Each nominated district representative was responsible for sharing questions or comments from their district with the Working Group, and for reporting back to the district on activities and discussions with the Working Group.
The Connection Tour was immensely powerful, should have been done a long time ago, and was helpful in facilitating the development of a vision for these lands, which many have felt disconnected from. The discussions during and following the tour highlighted the desire of the community to have the necessary information and ability to have their voices heard for these lands that belong to the people. The formal recognition of the Strong Hold Working Group will support more interactions with the Tribe and tribal programs. Badlands National Park, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and various tribal programs should also be invited to make presentations to the Working Group. Despite our efforts, one failure that is recognized and repeated is the pervading mistrust on many levels, especially between the Tribe and the Federal government. This mistrust has influenced the sentiments of Working Group members as well and has only made individuals less likely to be involved with discussion on the South Unit. This is a barrier that must be overcome for the Working Group to be successful.
Reflections on inclusive, collaborative or resourceful problem-solving
Inclusivity and collaboration were most important to this work. During the grant period, it was important to understand the responses from the various communities and to understand that we needed to bringing those voices forward. During discussions leading up to the drafting of the declaration statement, we had to physically experience the land. This experience substantially informed our strategy on what can be done and what should be done. These and subsequent conversations also led us to begin thinking about potential partnerships and engaging other entities, as well as realizing that more information needs to be shared with the communities.
The Working Group brainstormed strategies they would like to prioritize. These were then placed into buckets, such as Bison Restoration, Protection, Lifeways, and Management. Each response from the survey was grouped and placed under the appropriate, pre-determined heading and then ranked. The priorities from this exercise will be incorporated into the Declaration statement.
The Working Group brainstormed strategies they would like to prioritize. These were then placed into buckets, such as Bison Restoration, Protection, Lifeways, and Management. Each response from the survey was grouped and placed under the appropriate, pre-determined heading and then ranked. The priorities from this exercise will be incorporated into the Declaration statement.
Other key elements of Community Innovation
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