SUPPLY DRIVE TO BENEFIT THE LAKOTA NATION

People of Color Organize (POCO), is sponsoring a supply drive to contribute to the Pine Ridge Emergency Relief Aid program. This is a program created by the Lakota Nation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota to mitigate the deplorable conditions that the United States continues to impose on native people.

In the Pine Ridge Sioux community, euphemistically known as “Reservations”, Lakota men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, the infant mortality rate is 300% more than the U.S. average, and the median income is approximately $2,600 to $3,500 per year. These statistics represent only a few of the conditions the Lakota are forced to live under due to U.S. policy in so-called “Indian Affairs”.

Please donate dry and canned goods, new clothing (all ages, all sizes), paper products (napkins, plates, cups, etc.), and school supplies for the T.R.E.A.T.Y school to the Lakota people. All donations can be sent to P.O. Box 667233, Houston, Texas 77266-7233. Donations will be accepted through December 15, 2010.

We also encourage you to visit the Lakota website at www.republicoflakotah.com/humanitarian-relief and make monetary donations to them directly.

POCO was founded on the understanding that people who desire social change must consolidate their resources to strengthen our communities. As People of Color, we are all colonized in this system of oppression and we must organize collectively in order to build strength for humanity. That strength, once realized, is a significant step toward building a better world for us all.

Nov201008

Zari Sundiata

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