Oglala Lakota Nation Unit

Porcupine, South Dakota

The Oglala Lakota are indigenous people who live in a sovereign nation within the boundaries of the state of South Dakota. MCC has been working alongside the Lakota since 1973. This unit is actively working to challenge racism in the actions, policies and systems that perpetuate oppression against native people.

Mennonite Central Committee's Oglala Lakota Nation (OLN) unit has been in operation on the Pine Ridge Reservation since 1992. MCC has been involved with housing, youth, economic and peace building initiatives through churches and grassroots, tribal, and non-profit organizations. MCC evaluates all work at the Oglala Lakota Nation through the lenses of restorative justice, anti-racism, and respect for the sovereignty of the Lakota Nation.

Karissa Ortman Loewen and Carl Meyer (pictured above) currently serve with MCC at OLN.