The story has been often reported on and repeated. The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the poorest regions in the United States. Unemployment hovers some say as high as 85 percent and infant mortality is the worst on the continent, while men’s life expectancy is in the mid-40s, one of the worst in the world. And amid it all, housing is crumbling, plagued with black mold, often lacking electricity, poorly insulated and constructed, and packed with an average of 17 people. The list of unfortunate circumstances is a lengthy one.
To make a dent in such a state of existence, there needs to be a plan – a sustainable plan.
With a federal grant of nearly $1 million, a group of committed Oglala people — not some outside agency or government – are leading the charge in drawing up a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development.
More than 1,000 applicants applied to the federal HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, but Thunder Valley Community Development Corp. of the Porcupine District on Pine Ridge was one of only 45 successful regional applicants. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Thunder Valley CDC the $996,100 Sustainable Communities Planning Grant in October.
Starting Jan. 10 at the its newly constructed headquarters, Thunder Valley will be hosting a week-long series of kick-off events to start the 2-year planning process. Collaborating with a broad range of federal and tribal agencies alongside non-governmental members of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Thunder Valley will explore ways to integrate housing, land use, economic development and infrastructure investments in a manner that gives the Lakota the power to control their future.
This isn’t just another plan forced on a community by outsiders who don’t understand. This time the leaders are a non-governmental, Oglala-run organization that has been at the forefront of issues on a grass-roots community level for many years.
Thunder Valley CDC is a non-profit unaffiliated with the Oglala Sioux tribal government. Major federal grants only often allow tribes to apply, but this time HUD reached out to grass-roots organizations and non-profits that represent another perspective.
“We have had the unique opportunity to bring a lot of partners together,” said Nick Tilsen, executive director at Thunder Valley “Although the actual resources are being managed by a grassroots organization, we actively united together as Lakota people — not just a single organization. We went out and got these resources to bring a positive opportunity to as many who share that same vision and are working hard for a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
Two local entities will help lead the effort. The consortium is made up of tribal agencies and other organizations already involved with key aspects of programs and services on the reservation. The other Steering Committee is made up of citizens, experts and elders, young and old, a passionate “voice of the people” to provide a counter-balance to the voices of officialdom and government.
The process will consider more than just materials and blueprints for change. Agencies, experts, non-profits and residents led by Thunder Valley will consider the integration of critical components such as revitalization, social equity, energy use, public health, economic development and environmental impacts.
“If we put it together in the right way, everyone on the reservation will know not only what their programs and resources are doing, but how it is affected or helped by all of the other projects and programs going on,” Tilsen said. “We can’t build up our community in isolation from the rest of the Tribe. We are interested in seeing what we can all do collectively. At the end of the two years we hope to have really listened to what people want and aligned it with the reality of what the data is telling us. Only then will we move forward in a much more informed way that has us prepared to make smart choices.”
Many people want action now. But the plan has to come first to leverage further grants and support from federal and state agencies as well as private investors and developers.
“Upon completion of this 2-year project, we will work with the Tribe and all the other organizations to adopt the plan and provide training and education to the people. After that we will submit it to the HUD, DOT and EPA and they, along with allies we identify along the way, will help our region seek out funding opportunities and programs that are aligned with the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development,” said Tilsen.
The mission is to integrate systems and services that deeply affect the well-being and vitality of the communities and people of the Reservation. Thunder Valley will look at weaving together and strengthening a range of endeavors, from more energy efficient homes to caring for homes already built. All is done with an eye toward how sustainability affects the future while improving the economy and infrastructure of the Pine Ridge Reservation.
One of Thunder Valley’s key partners is the nationally acclaimed green architecture and planning firm of Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell, or BNIM. Together, BNIM and Thunder Valley CDC have been working on developing green planning and building projects for the past two years. With over 40 years of experience as a multidisciplinary architectural firm, BNIM has completed many significant public and private projects at local, national, and international levels. BNIM is committed to restorative design, which aims to maximize human potential, productivity, and health while increasing the vitality of natural systems.
“This is a very important project and we are honored to be a part of it,” said Scott Moore, project manager and architect assisting Thunder Valley and BNIM. “Nick Tilsen has done an unbelievable job of bringing together a wide variety of people to do this work — pretty rare stuff. It speaks volumes about the quality of his character and the strength of the Lakota people.”
Thunder Valley CDC and BNIM will also develop the fundamental requirements for a green community development on 85 acres of land just north of Sharp’s Corner, South Dakota, in the reservation’s Porcupine District. The green community will draw heavily from the information gathered and integrated as part of the Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. The development will serve as a model for a more holistic kind of community based not only on the principles of the grant, but also the spiritual, cultural and social values of the Oglala Lakota.
For further information on the Sustainable Communities Planning Grant program, visit www.hud.gov/sustainability
Or call Zuleika Morales-Romero, Director of the HUD Office of Sustainable Housing & Communities
at (202) 402-7683, email Zuleika.K.Morales@hud.govFor more information on BNIM, call Erin Gehle, Media/PR at (816) 783-1582
Email: egehle@bnim.com or visit www.bnim.comFor more information on Thunder Valley CDC, call Nick Tilsen, Executive Director at (605) 455-2700,
Email: nick@thundervalley.org or visit www.thundervalley.orgJenice Johnson, Marketing & Communications Manager at Tankabar.com contributed to this release
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