Sometimes things go so well, the goodwill overwhelms the Good Samaritan.
That was the case Wednesday morning when a half-dozen non-Native volunteers struggled to find a way to transport piles of donations they gathered over the course of several days to help the
Santee Sioux Tribe.
The group had begun loading the toilet paper, bottled water, baby formula, shovels, buckets and cleaning supplies into their own trucks and SUVs when one of them decided to contact her company’s beer distributor.
Sarena Freet, manager of The Hot Mess, a downtown Lincoln bar, managed to reach the bar’s distributor and he agreed to send one of his drivers to the group’s donation site.
Donations gathered in Lincoln, Nebraska to help the Santee Sioux Tribe in the wake of devastating flooding wait to be loaded onto a truck on the morning of March 20, 2019.
Photo by Kevin Abourezk
Just minutes later, Joe Bernadt of Mills Transfer pulled up in his box truck and, with barely a word spoken, he began loading the donations atop pallets before wrapping them in plastic and hoisting them into his truck using a lift.
Why did Mills Transfer agree to haul six pallets of donations from Lincoln to Omaha, where the
Ponca Tribe planned to take the load on to northeast Nebraska and eventually to the Santee Sioux?
“It’s a good thing to give, help people out in need,” Bernadt said.
Indianz.Com on SoundCloud: Santee
Sioux Chairman Talks About Flooding and Relief Efforts
Last week, dozens of
communities across Nebraska saw historic flooding following a devastating snow and rain storm that was preceded by several weeks of record snowfalls. When the snow melted, the state’s rivers and creeks swelled, leading to the collapse of dams, bridges and roads throughout the state.
The state’s tribes, especially those with land and properties in northeast Nebraska, have been impacted by the flooding. The Santee Sioux Tribe suffered a water line break and a brief power outage after five power lines were toppled by floodwaters and ice. The tribe was forced to evacuate some elderly citizens and families with children to its casino just south of its main community.
The tribe has since managed to
repair its water system enough to allow water to begin flowing again, though it won’t be drinkable for several more days.
In the meantime, the community has had to depend partially on the goodwill of others, including the Ponca, Winnebago, Yankton Sioux and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribes.
Volunteers, including Nick Svoboda, left, and Joe Bernadt, right, load donations onto a pallet on the morning of March 20, 2019.. The donations are bound for the Santee Sioux Tribe, whose reservation in Nebraska was hit hard by a winter storm.
Photo by Kevin Abourezk
Santee Sioux Chairman Roger Trudell said Wednesday that the tribe still needs bottled water and baby supplies, such as diapers, baby formula and baby powder.
He expressed appreciation for the donations gathered in Lincoln.
Those donations were gathered primarily through a nonprofit called the Dandelion Network, which focuses on providing disaster relief to disenfranchised communities that are often forgotten when disasters strike.
“In desperate disaster relief situations, the folks that are already vulnerable are even more vulnerable than usual,” said Brady Usher of the Dandelion Network.
He said systems of oppression throughout the world continue to protect those in power when disasters occur, leaving already poverty-stricken communities to fend for themselves.
“We’ve just been focusing on trying to find those voices that maybe aren’t being heard, that don’t have access to aid where they are,” he said.
The Dandelion Network gathered supplies to send to Santee at several locations throughout Lincoln.
Jordan Hasselbalch of The HUB, a youth empowerment organization in Lincoln, said the nonprofit provided storage space for the donations gathered by the Dandelion Network.
He said he doesn’t want the two organizations to be considered “white saviors,” providing support to people who couldn’t survive without them. Rather, he said, their motivation in providing support to the Santee Sioux was also an act of self-preservation.
“We just recognize our interdependence and that’s why something like mutual aid support of our neighbors in northeast Nebraska is important to us,” he said.
Freet said she didn’t expect to see so many donations provided for the Santee people.
“It’s incredible,” she said. “I guess I didn’t really know what to expect. I don’t think any of us did.”
And she reiterated how important Mills Transfer’s contribution to ensuring the donations got to where they needed was.
“We really appreciate them donating their time and their truck for helping us out,” she said. “Otherwise we maybe would have been in over our heads.”
Ways to Help
To assist the Ponca Tribe with flood relief efforts, visit
poncatribe-ne.org and click on the "Donate to Ponca Flood 2019 Relief Efforts" button at the top of the page.
Danielle Red Owl has
posted on social media an extensive list of ways to assist the Santee Sioux Tribe. A
PDF version is available.
Additionally, Owl's company, Owl Dreams Company, is selling t-shirts to raise funds for impacted flood victims of Nebraska. More info can be found at this link:
goo.gl/uYZ55S
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