Dear Mr. President -

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ............ - PEOPLE AT BOTH CROW CREEK & PINE RIDGE ARE FREEZING TO DEATH - THIS IS A STATE OF DIRE EMERGENCY!!!!! WE MUST ACT NOW!!!!!

According to many news article posted on CARE2.Com -  this one in particular, written by one of our Care2 members, which I'd like to bring to your attention and address an urgent need to assist the people of the Crow Creek Reservation.

The following was stated ....Monday December 7, 2009, 5:19 am
"During our trip to DC, we were notified by reservation officials and residents that Central Electric Cooperative was once again shutting off power on the reservation, (Crow Creek) despite the protection policy currently "in effect." I was both appalled and angered that as we stood there receiving promises from government leaders - and even the President himself - the people of Crow Creek were once again left in the cold. We must use this opportunity to make our voices heard to restore the rights and the lights of the people of Crow Creek.

These actions are blatant human rights violations and a direct destruction of this community.

Losing power is not just an inconvenience, it's life threatening. When a person gets their power cut, they not only lose their heat and lights, but they also lose their food and often times water. Due to freezing temperatures , water pipes can break costing the residents thousands of dollars in repairs which many can simply not afford. With limited job opportunities, the majority of these residents are denied the basic right to earn a living and are often denied government funding. Most families are forced to live on $25 per person, per week in food stamps, yet are charged higher rates for their power than any other region in the state. Many of these households have elderly family members or children whose lives depend upon electronic medical equipment such as nebulizers. With an unemployment rate of 80% and an average annual income of $5,000, it is extremely difficult for residents to pay these inflated bills. - And here's the kicker, the hydro electric damn that generates the power, is located on their reservation!

Despite CAN-DO's overwhelming documentation and shocking evidence, Central Electric Cooperative continues to terminate power though they claims that, "Central Electric does have a winter disconnect procedure whereby no meters are disconnected in cold or inclement weather." Yet, this continues to happen during the "protective policy" time period.

These are unacceptable conditions. This must be brought to the attention of the mainstream media and government officials and addressed as an emergency situation. The call to action is now!....

We are heading into winter and at night, temperatures are already dropping below zero. Power has been shut off in numerous homes leaving infants, veterans, and families in the cold."

Yet, Mr. President, today these conditions remain....
Do not let these abuses continue on our own soil. This momentous error has caused children and elderly to die - freezing to death.

These "poor" people are not residing in Haiti - they live here in the United States. You have stepped forward representing our country and given aid - to a devastated country - willingly and lovingly doing the right and proper thing, can you not also step forward for the American Indians of this Nation and make right so many of the 100's of treaties that these people in good faith signed and this "government" signed which were never honored?

Your correcting this terrible wrong, giving back heat - electricity and the means to prepare a simple meals - or to obtain water, would in fact be the most humanitarian event any President would have ever done for a Nation of Individuals so horribly mistreated. Your assistance for the Crow Creek Reservation would show the world and these people that the correction of this "error" would be the first step any President has taken to righting wrongs against their own people.

So many treaties have been broken by the United States in regards to the Indians. So We/I the undersigned, therefore ask that you search your heart and please allow these people the benefit of correcting this momentous wrong. Please allow an emergency bill to be enacted thereby restoring basic needs to this Reservation and all the Reservations that are suffering from inhuman standards of living. This course of action would symbolize a "first step to healing relations with OUR Native American People" .
Thank you for all your efforts in restoring a sense of dignity between the United States- the American People and The Native American People and their respective Tribes.

We/I implore you to gather leaders from all the Tribes - Reservation Representatives and the Tribal Council to form a committee to address these issues. We/I beseech you to not allow the "talks" to simply remain as talks - We/I implore all those people that you utilize in order to correct these wrongs actually to act - please do not simple talk.

All of us including those people whose lives we hope to touch and change for the betterment of future generations Thank You, for reading our petition and willingly stepping forward to make A Momentous Change.

STATE OF EMERGENCY AT PINE RIDGE
Target: Lacreek Electric Company, The White House, The World Sponsored by:  Cherokee Chastain Ash Although the eyes of the world are currently on Haiti, and justifiably, I would like to bring to light a current situation within our own borders of our own First Americans, mainly Elders and children. There have already been deaths due to the lack of simple necessities such as food and warmth. Below, please find the post from a friend that has crabbed my attention. I hope it grabs yours. Thank you in advance for any interest you can offer.

"A State of Emergency has been declared on the Pine Ridge Lakota "Sioux" Indian Reservation. People have died. Many more people are at risk of freezing to death. Another cold front is coming in, yet where is the national media coverage?

Does the 'Lacreek Electric Company' - a non-Indian utility often thought to be prejudice, care that people are suffering, since they are pulling meters every day? (which is illegal throughout the rest of the u.s. during the winter months).

What will Obama and the federal government do about this? While they dig out Haitians, indigenous people right here may freeze to death. What are we going to do about it?

Help put this message out for help. The children and families of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation need our help now. It is urgent that all 40,000 residents of the Oglala Nation have electricity and propane.

Call LaCreek toll free at 800-655-9324 or (605)685-6581 to see how you can help pay into a customer%u2019s account, example $5 into ten customers would require a $50 donation by you. Tell LaCreek to make sure tanks are full for ALL area residents between the months of November to March %u2013 and to collect any delinquent payments between April and October.

Also, check out this non-profit to see if it is appropriate for you:
Arlene Catches The Enemy 605-867-5771 Ext 13.
Tax Deductable, Non-Profit (501-c-3). She can take credit cards over the phone: Pine Ridge Emergency Fund, C/O Economic Development Administration
PO Box 669, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-0669

And call Lakota Plains Propane at 605-867-5199 and find out what homes have elderly or children and if they need money put down on their account to be able to have a warm home tonight.

List to assist Elders at Pine RidgeShare

Below are several Elders in the Kyle Community of Pine Ridge that are in immediate need of assistance. The contact information has been confirmed and permission has been granted to share their information with you.

There are several ways I will mention where assistance is needed and I'll share here before I begin the information for where you can assist in paying for Propane for those who need it or to contact a local grocery store to pay for food for families who need this. Other ways of assisting the individual families will be listed with their contact information below.

To pay for propane for any individuals listed below use the information here and be sure to make your payment to the account of the individual(s) you choose to help. The propane company requires a minimum order of $120 of fuel before they will make a delivery to the individual. You can also pay for a persons propane and they will credit the individuals account so that when they do run out of any fuel they may have at the moment they can simply call and the company will deliver more.

Lakota Plains Propane (will take credit card)
Highway 407
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
605-867-5199
Be sure to request a receipt and use the contact for the person you are helping to call and followup to be certain they received the help you paid for.

Kyle Grocery (will take credit card)
Owner: Liz May
605-455-2824
Again be sure to follow up with the person you make a donation for to be sure they received the appropriate credit for purchasing food.

Elders in need are as follows:

Adolph Bull Bear
605-454-2190
He remains in need of continued assistance for propane, his son who is disabled lives with him and he is in need of food assistance which you can contact Kyle grocery (above) to make a donation for food. He will also need help with his electric bill.

Arlene Talks (age 72)
605-407-8243
She has a daughter and a granddaughter (age 7) who lives with her and is in need of propane and food assistance and you can contact the propane and grocery above to assist. You could also contact her for mailing address to send items for her granddaughter such as clothes, etc.

Janice One Feather (age 61)
605-455-2889
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 44, Kyle SD 57752
For Propane Delivery give House # 307
She has two grandsons living with her. Asa Steele age 7 and Dillon Westover age 9. You can mail donations for the two boys to the mailing address above for her and if you mail by fedex, UPS, etc use the house #307 Kyle SD 57752. She is in desperate need of food assistance and propane and you can use the info for propane and grocery companies above to pay for those items.

Donna Garnette
605-455-2527
605-441-7541
She has two grandchildren (Boy and girl), you can contact her for an address to offer assistance in clothes, etc for the children. She is in need of Propane and food assistance and you can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that.

Lilly Mae Red Eagle (age 88)
605-455-2612
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2, Kyle SD 57752
For propane delivery give House #HC2
She is in need of Propane and food assistance. You can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that. For deliveries by fedex, ups, etc use the house #HC2 Kyle SD 57752

Perlene Yellow Wolf (age 65 approx)
605-455-1458
She is in need of propane and food assistance. She lives with her daughter Crystal and three children. You can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that. They have a lot of problems with pipes freezing so if anyone in the immediate area could help with this, that would be greatly appreciated.

May you be richly blessed for sharing your blessings with these elders and ensuring some relief to their suffering. Please help now as the need is immediate but please remember to help again in the future if you are able to as their needs are continual. Thank you in advance for sharing your love and helping these elders."
Although the eyes of the world are currently on Haiti, and justifiably, I would like to bring to light a current situation within our own borders of our own First Americans, mainly Elders and children. There have already been deaths due to the lack of simple necessities such as food and warmth. Below, please find the post from a friend that has crabbed my attention. I hope it grabs yours. Thank you in advance for any interest you can offer.

"A State of Emergency has been declared on the Pine Ridge Lakota "Sioux" Indian Reservation. People have died. Many more people are at risk of freezing to death. Another cold front is coming in, yet where is the national media coverage?

Does the 'Lacreek Electric Company' - a non-Indian utility often thought to be prejudice, care that people are suffering, since they are pulling meters every day? (which is illegal throughout the rest of the u.s. during the winter months).

What will Obama and the federal government do about this? While they dig out Haitians, indigenous people right here may freeze to death. What are we going to do about it?

Help put this message out for help. The children and families of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation need our help now. It is urgent that all 40,000 residents of the Oglala Nation have electricity and propane.

Call LaCreek toll free at 800-655-9324 or (605)685-6581 to see how you can help pay into a customer%u2019s account, example $5 into ten customers would require a $50 donation by you. Tell LaCreek to make sure tanks are full for ALL area residents between the months of November to March %u2013 and to collect any delinquent payments between April and October.

Also, check out this non-profit to see if it is appropriate for you:
Arlene Catches The Enemy 605-867-5771 Ext 13.
Tax Deductable, Non-Profit (501-c-3). She can take credit cards over the phone: Pine Ridge Emergency Fund, C/O Economic Development Administration
PO Box 669, Pine Ridge, SD 57770-0669

And call Lakota Plains Propane at 605-867-5199 and find out what homes have elderly or children and if they need money put down on their account to be able to have a warm home tonight.

List to assist Elders at Pine RidgeShare

Below are several Elders in the Kyle Community of Pine Ridge that are in immediate need of assistance. The contact information has been confirmed and permission has been granted to share their information with you.

There are several ways I will mention where assistance is needed and I'll share here before I begin the information for where you can assist in paying for Propane for those who need it or to contact a local grocery store to pay for food for families who need this. Other ways of assisting the individual families will be listed with their contact information below.

To pay for propane for any individuals listed below use the information here and be sure to make your payment to the account of the individual(s) you choose to help. The propane company requires a minimum order of $120 of fuel before they will make a delivery to the individual. You can also pay for a persons propane and they will credit the individuals account so that when they do run out of any fuel they may have at the moment they can simply call and the company will deliver more.

Lakota Plains Propane (will take credit card)
Highway 407
Pine Ridge, SD 57770
605-867-5199
Be sure to request a receipt and use the contact for the person you are helping to call and followup to be certain they received the help you paid for.

Kyle Grocery (will take credit card)
Owner: Liz May
605-455-2824
Again be sure to follow up with the person you make a donation for to be sure they received the appropriate credit for purchasing food.

Elders in need are as follows:

Adolph Bull Bear
605-454-2190
He remains in need of continued assistance for propane, his son who is disabled lives with him and he is in need of food assistance which you can contact Kyle grocery (above) to make a donation for food. He will also need help with his electric bill.

Arlene Talks (age 72)
605-407-8243
She has a daughter and a granddaughter (age 7) who lives with her and is in need of propane and food assistance and you can contact the propane and grocery above to assist. You could also contact her for mailing address to send items for her granddaughter such as clothes, etc.

Janice One Feather (age 61)
605-455-2889
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 44, Kyle SD 57752
For Propane Delivery give House # 307
She has two grandsons living with her. Asa Steele age 7 and Dillon Westover age 9. You can mail donations for the two boys to the mailing address above for her and if you mail by fedex, UPS, etc use the house #307 Kyle SD 57752. She is in desperate need of food assistance and propane and you can use the info for propane and grocery companies above to pay for those items.

Donna Garnette
605-455-2527
605-441-7541
She has two grandchildren (Boy and girl), you can contact her for an address to offer assistance in clothes, etc for the children. She is in need of Propane and food assistance and you can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that.

Lilly Mae Red Eagle (age 88)
605-455-2612
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2, Kyle SD 57752
For propane delivery give House #HC2
She is in need of Propane and food assistance. You can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that. For deliveries by fedex, ups, etc use the house #HC2 Kyle SD 57752

Perlene Yellow Wolf (age 65 approx)
605-455-1458
She is in need of propane and food assistance. She lives with her daughter Crystal and three children. You can use the info above for both companies to assist them with that. They have a lot of problems with pipes freezing so if anyone in the immediate area could help with this, that would be greatly appreciated.

May you be richly blessed for sharing your blessings with these elders and ensuring some relief to their suffering. Please help now as the need is immediate but please remember to help again in the future if you are able to as their needs are continual. Thank you in advance for sharing your love and helping these elders."
I am appalled that people are dying within our own borders from the lack of food and warmth, things so simple. Many have died, and many more face the rick of freezing to death on the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota as another cold front moves in. Yet the Lacreek Electric Company is still pulling meters everyday, which is illegal during winter months in the U.S.  The Oglala Nation has the most impoverished reservation in the U.S.

We the undersigned demand that Lacreek Electric Company abide by the laws that the rest of the cold climate energy companies are bound to. Pulling meters during the cold months is not only inhumane, it is illegal. Help stop the unnecessary deaths.
Mr. President .....As a Nobel Peace Prize Winner...... (see below)

{October 2009

(CNN) -- President Obama said Friday that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

President Obama, speaking Friday, said the award was "an affirmation of American leadership."

The committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Obama said he viewed the decision less as a recognition of his own accomplishments and more as "a call to action."}

we ask you to consider the significance of the award bestowed upon you and to utilize that humanitarian symbol to help those of our own country.
THESE RESERVATIONS NEED OUR HELP NOW - YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!

Dear President Obama -
 The following Petition is addressed to you and the Tribal Council so that
1. you may join together in order to help both the Crow Creek Reservation and the Pine Ridge Reservation in there time of urgent and desperate need and
2. to actually take a momentous first step in healing the despair these Native American people feel and have suffered due to treaties never honored.
As a Nobel Peace Prize winner surely you have the compassion - the moral intergrity and the wherewith all to enact a measure that would begin to right wrongs.
We/I the undersigned sincerely Thank You for taking the time to not only read this Petition but, to use it as a tool to act with dignity.