Weblog «Pathways To Spirit»

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.

We would like your help in purchasing new Native American Children's Books from our wish list on Amazon.com. If you would like to buy a book we would ask that you go to Amazon through the Pathways to Spirit web site because then you will not only buy us a book but Amazon will give us a donation for your purchase. In order to do that, click on the "Shop" link at the top of any page. Then scroll down and find the Amazon box. Click there. Once on the Amazon Home Page, follow the blue bar at the top to "Gifts and Wish Lists" --click there. At that page look to the right where you will see "Find Someone's Wish List". Type in Pathways to Spirit and the entire list of desired books will appear.

We are also in need of carpeting for the concrete floor in the building. The cost is approximately $450. We also must do some electrical work so financial donations but check or Pay Pal are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for all your support for Children's Library.

On February 16th, the Pathways volunteers loaded the gift of the Erie, Colorado Children's Library onto our semi. It was an amazing day as we drove up to this lovely little children's library and really set our eyes on the gift we were receiving. We wish to once again, thank the Library Board for choosing us to be the recipients of their library. We were told that a woman had spent 11 years putting this little library together. It was obvious how much love was in and around this building. They generously gave us not only the books, but the entire contents down to the last pencil and pen.

Next task - moving it to the town of Porcupine on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. We have the building and it needs some tender care. We are heading to the reservation on March 16th with the library and lots of building supplies to remodel the area of the school where the library for the community will be housed.

At this time we would appreciate donations for this remodeling. We also would appreciate the help of carpenter and electricians. We have been given a space that is around the same size as the building it came from. We are trying to raise $5000 for this project. Can you help?

Also, we are in process of receiving a list of Native American Books for children and when that list is available we will be passing it on to all of you in the hopes that you will purchase a few of these books for the library.

Also, several librarians have come forth and will be guiding the training of 3 people in the community to run the library.

When all is in place, there will be a Grand Opening Celebration for the community led by the community and spiritual leaders. We hope to make it a very grand celebration for the children.

We appreciate your support --financially or with your expertise.

An amazing gift has come to Pathways to Spirit for our Library project. As many of you know, we have been trying to put together the library for many years. Many of you have donated beautiful books and wonderful suggestions. Still we were not moving forward. Putting all the pieces together such as "Project Manager" and "Sight Manager", etc. were just not coming together in an easy way.

Then, last year, the miracle began to put itself together. I want to share with you all how that happened.

The town of Erie, Colorado has a Children's Library that took many years (11) to put together. Well, they have outgrown their library and the Board decided to build a library that would include the children's collection. They were looking for a new home for their original library. One of our supporters called and asked if we would like their library. Not just the books, but the entire contents, including shelving, computers, card catalog, everything. We couldn't pass up this unbelievable gift. The new questions began. Where can we put this because they want it to go directly into a building?

The next miracle began. Our friends on the reservation, Carolyn and Eli Tail began to put together a Lakota School. This school would be for the children who just don't do well in the regular system. It would also focus on Lakota language and culture as well as regular subjects. The tribe gave them a building in the town of Porcupine. This is the town we wanted to build in because it is in the center of the Pine Ridge Reservation. To look at their website go to: www.cokantisopaye.com and learn about them. They will house the library from the town of Erie.

We are awaiting word to begin the process of packing and loading that entire library into our 48 ft. semi and head off to the reservation and put the library back together in its new home. We believe this will happen in January or February.

If you are a librarian, carpenter or lover of children and books, we invite you to join us in this huge undertaking and be a part of bringing the first Children's Library to the reservation. We also ask you to donate a new Native American children's book to the library. We want to increase that part of the collection.

Call or email us if you can help in any way. 970-282-8573 or pathwaystospirit@comcast.net