Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, based on the Pine Ridge Reservation, will be hosting a series of town hall discussions in the coming month. The talks aim to provide a platform for reservation residents to use their voices.
The two town hall discussions will aim for an educational, empowering tone for community members.
Kevin Decora is a regional equity director for Thunder Valley CDC. He said it’s an effort to give a platform to grassroots voices.
“For example, there’s just a lot of a disconnect between what people are doing and what policies, laws, and resolutions are being put into place and how they don’t match up," Decora said. "Not only that, but some of the policies, laws, and resolutions that people want to discuss and talk about somehow never make it to the council floor. In other words, some of the grassroots concerns are kinda left out in the open.”
While Decora said the forum is an opportunity to voice concerns, it will also be an opportunity to learn about resources available right now.
“One is the SNAP program, another one is Medicare/Medicaid," Decora said. "People utilize those, but you don’t get that knowledge and that education – but also some of the laws and resolutions that people put into place here on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with the Oglala Oyate here that actually are very meaningful to our people.”
Decora also included environmental goals and water codes on the meeting’s docket.
He said it’s all to empower residents.
“Eventually our plan is to step away so they can continue them and keep it going in the communities," Decora said. "And so that does give them a voice because they are talking about policies, laws and resolutions, and things of that nature, that are going to benefit those people in those areas. I think that’s when we talk empowerment, that’s when we talk about people getting their voice back – they literally are.”
The first of these town halls will be held November third from 6:00-8:00 PM Mountain Time at the Space and Art Center in Kyle. The second will be held at the same time November fifteenth at the Prairie Winds Casino in Oglala.
Registration for the meetings can be found at the following LINK.