I left my alternative break trip feeling more knowledgeable and passionate about addressing the issues that Native American communities are facing currently. A month ago, I went on one of the most impactful trips of my life to Eagle Butte, South Dakota on an alternative spring break trip. I knew coming into college that I wanted to take advantage of the Alternative Breaks program at Elon because I wanted to learn about different societal issues through service and meet like-minded people that cared about similar issues as me. I chose to go on the alternative break to South Dakota to explore an issue that I was very unfamiliar with: Native American housing disparities. As someone that didn’t grow up in the United States, I was very interested to learn more about the violent and painful history of Native Americans in this country as it resembles the history of indigenous people in South America. In Eagle Butte we stayed in the volunteer house of Okiciyapi-tipi, the organization we worked with for the week that operates to address issues of housing insecurity on the reservation. We worked all week doing several small projects such as building food pantries for the homeless and cooking meals for the community living there. The best part about my experience was getting to know the people that worked for the organization. Throughout the week we got to know two women very closely: Kyanne and Adele. They were both Lakota and had lived in Eagle Butte their whole lives. While our service work helped further their goal of increasing access to housing for the homeless in the community, I learned most from the conversations we had with Kyanne and Adele about their experiences on the reservation, their beliefs and their goals. As the reservation faces difficult situations with high rates of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, alcoholism and domestic abuse, these women are using their own experiences of overcoming some of these obstacles to help their community. Another amazing part of my trip was the night that we participated in a sweat lodge ceremony with a Lakota family. I felt honored to be invited into a family’s sweat lodge ceremony because it is such a vulnerable space for the Lakota to connect with their relatives, seek healing, and pray. I left my alternative break trip feeling more knowledgeable and passionate about addressing the issues that Native American communities are facing currently. It was hard to see the reality of what is going on there, but inspiring to witness the work that organizations like Okiciyapi-tipi do to alleviate the disparities. I am left interested to continue reading and learning about this topic and hopefully pursue my interest in law not only around immigration but also Native American rights. I am extremely grateful for this experience, for the people I shared this experience with, and for those that welcomed us into their community so that we could learn and work together. I would highly recommend everyone to go on an alternative break at some point during college because once you go on one, you will probably want to go on more. This alternative break was an opportunity for me to learn first hand about issues facing a community that I would not have come into such close contact or collaboration otherwise. I think that an alternative break can be the gateway to guiding your passions if you’re open and humble to the experience. Lucia Lozano Robledo is a first year honors fellow from Bogota, Colombia. Her majors are in French and International Studies with a minor in Latin American Studies. She is very interested in immigration reform and social justice issues, and is currently considering going to law school after she graduates from Elon. Any Elon student can participate in an EV! Alt Breaks program, regardless of major. Visit the EV! Alt Breaks page to learn more.
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