My Nonprofit Reviews

For many years I have supported numerous organizations that ask for charitable contributions to improve the lives of the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

I first learned of One Spirit and the remarkable leadership of its Founder and Director, Jeri Baker, in 2008.

From the very beginning it was clear to me that Jeri Baker/One Spirit was making lasting differences in the daily lives of the Lakota People, and that any contribution I made would be gratefully accepted and used with extreme care to maintain the organization’s existing programs and to provide new and innovative “issues-based” solutions to long-standing impoverishment.

Here is a partial list of One Spirit’s ‘support of’ and ‘support to’ Lakota families in a single year: 2008:
• 700 coats for children and teens along with innumerable hats, gloves, scarves and socks
• Food and supplies for the Big Foot ride, an annual commemoration of Wounded Knee
• 500 radiator heaters for distribution to elders and families
• Wood cutting and handling equipment as well as a stipend to the men on the reservation for cutting, splitting, stockpiling and delivering wood to elders and families who could use the wood for heating their homes
• Monthly delivery of nutritious food (Food Boxes): more than 100 families being fed, representing about 1000 people.
• Maintenance of the Okini sponsorship program that enables rapid responses to the urgent needs of children, families, and elders. Volunteers responded to those needs by shipping needed items directly to Lakota families
• During one of the worst blizzards ever recorded on the Reservation, One Spirit responded immediately to support the Lakota in delivering wood, food, blankets, lamps, and other emergency supplies
• 1000 sponsors sent food, fuel for heat, household items, clothing, coats, shoes, books, and diapers to families and elders

Look closely to see the Jeri Baker difference:
• Swift, accurate responses on the part of sponsors and donors who trust Jeri and her team of volunteers
• Practicality and strategic action: Food from One Spirit is distributed during the time when food is most scarce (the last week of one month and the first week of the next.)
• Recognition and respect for the culture and heritage of those she serves
• Courage to dare every obstacle from minimal infrastructure to unprecedented weather conditions, to poor nutrition to heartbreaking teen suicide rates to pervasive unemployment complicated by government shutdowns, failed government programs, and cutbacks in federal funding
• Profound respect for the self-image of those she serves - by providing stipends, leadership opportunities, closer ties to the underserved and endangered elders, and hope for adolescents and for children

Just 3 years later, 2011 turned out to be a landmark year for Jeri Baker/One Spirit:
In November of that year, One Spirit became the only non-profit organization to be formally recognized in a resolution adopted by the Tribal Council of the Lakota people:

WHEREAS, all of One Spirit’s programs are developed in response to needs identified by Lakota people, and
WHEREAS, One Spirit’s programs include but are not limited to providing food, wood, home repair, home heating support, youth support, and child sponsorship to the Lakota people,
and WHEREAS the Tribal Council has considered the matter and determined that it is in the best interests of the Tribe and its members to support the One Spirit Organization, now THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Tribal Council hereby expresses its support for the One Spirit Organization.

Fast forward to an extraordinary list of hand-in-hand-with-the-Lakota accomplishments inspired by Jeri ‘s leadership since then:
• Inclusion in the One Spirit Food Boxes of game taken by native hunters on the Reservation – a small but vital first step toward demonstrated self-sufficiency
• Construction and complete furnishing of a SAFE HOUSE serving 17 to 20 adolescents who find new hope daily in a home away from home, free of violence,
addiction, and gang activity,
• A greenhouse and an organic gardening program that allow families to raise and share fresh food – some of it contributed to the Food Boxes
• 2011: One Spirit announces the groundbreaking for a groundbreaking vision: The Charging Buffalo Meat Processing House that will provide modern, first
quality facilities meeting all applicable regulations for food handling, meat processing and food production. Serving hunters, families, and employees, the facility
will contribute food to the Food Boxes, provide steady employment, and, with time, fuel a market for unique, Pine Ridge-branded food products for sale to the
public.
• 2014: One Spirit announces the groundbreaking of the Allen Youth Center requested by the Lakota to serve a remote area and to provide activities, mentoring,
tutoring, and a gathering place for Lakota youth (celebrating its 5th anniversary on March 28, 2020)
• To meet the needs of school children during the summer months of 2015 when school lunches are/were not available, several communities on the Reservation set
up food pantries to serve one communal meal each summer day. One Spirit supported and empowered these efforts to reduce hunger for both children and
elders.
• 2015: A complementary vision: stock the pantries (and the Food Boxes) with garden-grown vegetables and traditional foods such as buffalo meat, flat bread, choke
cherries, buffalo berries, and wild turnips.
• September, 2015: The Bring Back the Buffalo Project is born with a challenge grant from a generous donor. By November, the Charging Buffalo Meat Processing
House is under roof and has reached the half-way point. The project has provided employment, skill-building opportunities, pride of craftsmanship in construction,
and hope.
• 2016: One Spirit begins work with the Tribal Department of Parks in the development of a plan for integrating buffalo meat into the One Spirit food program.
• 2017: The Greenhouse and Organic Garden project comes full circle as garden vegetables -- tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, onions, turnips, beets, and corn--grown on the
Reservation are included in the One Spirit Food Boxes for September.
• 2018: The One Spirit Wood Stove Program is initiated with a call for donations in April. The program is aimed at preventing the devastating house fires that have
resulted from unsafe and deteriorating woodstoves that are the sole means of heating some homes during the brutal winter season.
• 2018: July 8th dawns on the Grand Opening of the USDA-approved Charging Buffalo Meat Processing House.
• 2019: One Spirit Food Boxes (often filled with food sourced from local farms as well as the Reservation’s gardens and hunting grounds) are providing fresh
nutritious food to more than 500 families representing more than 5000 people, every month. This while providing food regularly to the Allen Youth Center, the
Rosebud Soup Kitchen, and the summer pantries that make up for the absence of school lunches by serving one community meal each day for the youth and
elders.
• 2021: Despite the challenges of the Corona Virus pandemic, ALL programs initiated by One Spirit have been maintained and expanded systematically, reaching and assisting increasing numbers of families.

Partnerships established along the way include Solar Power model systems to be installed on the Allen Youth Center and the Charging Buffalo House; fresh vegetables to be
purchased by One Spirit from local farms, and wood donations from an out-of-state lumbering company delivered directly to the Wood Program. One Spirit has
also expanded its resources to assist other self-help operations on the Reservation, including a one-woman Meals on Wheels who delivers food at her own
expense to elders and the homeless.

It should be apparent that every one of these extraordinary accomplishments bears Jeri’s hallmark: the purposeful cultivation of dignity and self-sufficiency of the Lakota.
The somewhat daunting motto of One Spirit – Lakota Op Sagiya Unkinajinpi – means “Standing Strong with the Lakota”, and this she has done since the founding of the organization.

Jeri is admired, respected, and esteemed by all who share her vision and marvel at what “we” have accomplished under her direction.

I recently learned that the Lakota refer to Jeri as “Grandmother” -- a perfect indication of their affection and respect for an honored elder.
What finer personal recommendation could there be?

Dr. April M. Bly-Monnen (One Spirit Board Member since summer, 2020)