Weblog «Pathways To Spirit»

Over the past winter the Lale Gurel Metzinger project, a project of
Pathways to Spirit, helped the Wambli Wiconi Tipi (Juvenile Detention
Center on Rosebud Reservation) to purchase new, sturdy canvas tarps
for their women's and men's sweat lodges. The lodges are now well
covered and up and running and four traditional Lakota leaders are
leading these ceremonies at the center. Their participation has made
it possible for the the young people incarcerated there and staff
members to sweat and pray together.

The youth at Wambli Wiconi Tipi are now being given "creative project
time." One of the projects now available to them is sewing
instruction and practice. The youth are first learning hand sewing
from an experienced sewing teacher in preparation to learn to sew on
the donated sewing machines. For those of you who don't sew, sewing
machines are now computerized, and in these times learning to sew on
a computerized machine is a valuable life skill for both women and
men. One of the possible directions for this to go is for the youth
to make their own traditional Lakota dance outfits. Another is
projects that combine sewing and beading skills.

Thank you to Peter Metzinger, who recently held the second
anniversary memorial of his wife Lale's death. If you didn't have
the good fortune to meet Lale Gurel Metzinger during her life (she
died when she was 33), she was a lifelong Greenpeace worker, teacher,
advocate of active, cheerful life, of all children and a friend of
many families on the Rosebud Reservation. The projects funded by her
friends and also by many who never met Lale are given in respect and
in the firm belief in the ability of mankind to bring about world
peace and healing.

Pathways would like to give the Wambli Wiconi Tipi some carpeting to
cover the inside of their sweat lodges. Carpeting, usually remnants
and odd pieces, is used in most lodges these days and over time
becomes worn and damaged by mildew. If you can donate for this
project please do so through PayPal and ear mark your donation for
the Lale Project.

We are happy to report that after two very long weekends and working late into the night, we have completed construction on the Pahin Sinte (Porcupine Tail) Children's Library on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
We want to thank all those who so generously donated funds to purchase all the building materials, carpeting, extra cabinets, lighting, etc. that was needed to make the 25ft. x 18 ft. space that houses the library that was donated by Erie, Colorado.
We also want to thank all those who checked out wish list on Amazon.com and purchased Native books to make the already incredible collection more culturally correct. The native books sit on the top of the shelves and bring a strong sense of pride to the children. There are still about 20 books on the list that have not been purchased so there is still the opportunity to participate.
I want to thank the Pathways volunteers who so generously gave up their time to travel to the reservation and work well into the night for many days to complete this construction. Paul Thew led the construction as he has been a builder for 20 years. Remember, we started with a blank space. He did all the building and guided us in many ways to the completion. The rest of us were unskilled laborers but we did it - and we actually enjoyed ourselves.
This weekend (April 19th) we go back to the reservation for the Grand Opening Celebration. All are welcome to attend and we are expecting around 300 people. There will be an honoring ceremony for the women of the Erie Library who gave so much of their time and hearts to this project. After the community leaders do this ceremony there will be a huge feast for the community. A dance is planned for the children afterwards. It is truly a huge celebration.
We are sure this library is one of the most beautiful spaces on the reservation. Cheri Franke, a library volunteer from Ely, Iowa, traveled with us as we put the books on the shelves and set up the library. She told us she felt this was one of the most beautiful and up to date collections she had ever seen. She added that the condition of the books was as if they were all just purchased that day.
The library is cozy and includes a DVD player with a diverse collection of educational videos for the children. There is an entire section of magazines that offer information about the entire natural world from spiders to horses. It's just so amazing.
As soon as we are able we will place a series of pictures depicting the birth of the library on our web site and some on the blog.
Pathways responsibility will now be one of support. Support is needed for purchasing items needed for story time crafts. Also, we will need help in the installation of computers for the children in a few months.
Over time, the children and their parents will learn how a library works and how books must be returned in a timely manner. We hope the local schools will take advantage of this very up to date library and all it has to offer.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support for the children.