Every year, many Lakota families and elders spend some part of the severe South Dakota winters without heat in their home. The present economic situation in this country and the high cost of fuel has made this already desperate situation even worse.

On Pine Ridge the Lakota people are cutting and delivering loads of cottonwood, elm and ash wood to elders and families for heat. This work will continue during the summer and fall to stockpile enough wood for next winter. Last winter when five blizzards swept across the reservation, the men from the wood program were the first out delivering wood to homes where there was no electricity and the wood would be the only heat available for days.

The cost of the manpower and tools to acquire the wood, split it into usable lengths and deliver it to homes is about $15,000 per year. One Spirit pays the men $75 per load delivered, about ½ of the going market rate. To heat a home for the winter requires about 7-9 loads of wood, according to the severity of the weather.

"The winter months are hard here on the reservation. Some of the men have organized a wood project to get wood for the elderly here on Pine Ridge Reservation. We have organized a society of men to prepare for winter. The name is "The Men's Buffalo Society".

“...the best accomplishment cannot be measured by money alone. The men will have made a stand for their community and in a place where there are almost no chances of making a living these men will earn a few dollars for their families in a good way."

John Dubray


You can help

• Sponsor a cord of wood - $75
• Reach out to your coworkers, your friends, your community groups. Ask them to help sponsor 1 or more cords of wood.
• Send information about this need to people on your email list.

And thank you for caring about this need and about the Lakota people.

For more information, contact Jeri Baker at