Evidence

"All I have seen teaches me 

to trust the Creator 

for all I have not seen."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you can't see evidence of God at work on Rosebud,

then you aren't paying attention.

Forget the statistics about substance abuse,

unemployment, teen suicide, domestic violence

and poverty.

Well, don't forget them, 

they're staggering 

and evidence of the work that still needs to be done.

But the powers of darkness are NOT the only ones operating in this place -

even if the power of love is harder to see.

Emmanuel has been coming to the reservation since the 1990's.

Yet, for the very first time, 

one of our participants was asked 

by a business contact
(seemingly out of the blue)

if anyone on the reservation had use of sewing machines 

and bolts of leftover fabric.

Since it was his first time to join the group 

and he didn't know, he contacted me.

I immediately remembered hearing something about a micro-finance business 

which had been slated to start in the fall 

in a community adjacent to where we stay on the reservation.
That was the extent of what I knew.

Contacts were made to clarify need 

and a few weeks later

 12 bolts of fabric and 2 completely refurbished industrial sewing machines

were loaded into the van for the long trek across the Midwest.

It all seemed so random...

until we went to Harvest Winds LLC

"Sewn in America by Native Americans"

and met Cheryl Bartlett

 and her brother, Joe.

 Their vision of employing Native Americans,

not only to give them work skills and experience
but to empower them financially
has been a dream come true for the people they employ.

They started with 5 employees last Nov
and have now doubled their staff.

To get them going, 

they obtained a time limited (11 mos) contract from the Federal government 

to sew microfiber towels for our troops overseas.

When that contract ended, they decided,
as a company,

 to turn their newly acquired skills 

to sewing Lakota star quilts 

for which their people are traditionally known. 

Cheryl now employs both men and women, 

some working in the shop and others at home;

people with no other opportunities for employment

in their community;

people with no history of either marketable work skills

or knowledge of what it means to be employed.

They've started from the basics...

you show up and clock in;

you take a defined break;

family members may not walk in and ask for cigarette money;

if you're sick, you call and let your boss know why you can't come in;

whatever feud, argument or disagreement is going on in the community 

it stays on the other side of the workshop doors.

Once they're inside, they're family 

and everyone has each others backs.

Cheryl didn't minimize the culture shift this has been for her workers;

she didn't deny that it had been - and continues to be -  hard,

but lives are being changed 

in all those ways that earning a living 

and making a contribution to something greater than yourself

can change lives.

It was really exciting to see such a successful venture 

in the heart of what outward appearance would lead you to believe 

is a town with no hope.

You see that pile of  Lakota star quilts?

We helped reduce it by 10!

Our group (Emmanuel and Christ Lutheran)
plan to organize a fabric drive when we get home
since they can use all the material we donated - and more!

All you quilters and sewers out there 
with cotton fabric remnants of at least half a yard - or more -
plan to give us your remnants!
I promise you it will be put to good use.

Your scraps can help someone else piece together a new life -
and there's nothing random about that!