LHS junior Ava Polzin has been working to establish an exchange program to host a Lakota Native American girl in the Chicago area this July.

        Polzin, who is also the DOI Features Editor, was originally inspired by a friend of a family friend, started a test program in 2009. Her inspiration was a Lakota elder. After hearing about the man’s struggles and hardships on the reservation, located on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, Polzin was determined to make a difference.

Polzin emphasized that Lakota girls certainly do special things, she strives to give the girls more opportunities and a perspective on a different culture to empower them. Polzin hopes to share a new perspective and culture with girls often in abusive and hard situations at home.

In addition to staying with a Chicagoland family, the girl will participate in the Girls Rock! camp  for the stay, and also to further “empower the girls,” said Polzin. According to the Girls Rock! Chicago website, “[the camp is a] nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering girls’ creative expression, positive self-esteem and community awareness through rock music.”

        However, the program was proposed for girls only due to the potential danger involved with bringing a Lakota boy off of the reservation. According to Polzin, there is a significant amount of violence on a daily basis with young men in the community. It’s still not a risk the young program wants to take in bringing a male.

Also, with the reservation being very patriarchal in nature, it is not uncommon for females to be abused. Therefore, such empowerment from the camp could be very beneficial to many Lakota females.

   According to Lakota woman Thunder Hawk Martinez in a National Geographic article from August 2012, “We’re [Lakota females] all in constant danger of losing ourselves, losing our identities.  It’s a daily struggle for each and every one of us to be fully Lakota. And sometimes we lose the struggle, and then the men take out their feeling of worthlessness on the women, the women take out their feelings of worthlessness on themselves, and everyone takes out their feelings of worthlessness on the children.”

       Although there were some speed bumps hit initially, the program has since made progress from the initial test run in 2009. Some issues were an undeveloped screening process for the applicants, as well as family and emotional issues the Lakota girl experienced while in the area that made the stay difficult. As a result, a shorter stay of six days is now planned. Polzin also admits there was culture shock in the situation. Although expected coming from such a different way of life, the differences in the girls proved to be more prevalent than first thought, and proved to be difficult, as there were more differences than expected emotionally and from a maturity perspective.

   With the re-worked program, Polzin plans to bring 17-year-old Lakota girl Tyrees Red Owl for the July 27-August 3 camp. Polzin is currently in the process of finding a suitable host family, and is awaiting a particular family’s decision.

Although the camp is officially for girls ages 8-16, Polzin explained that the exception was made as Red Owl had prior experience away from the reservation, and seemed mature enough for such an endeavor. Such variables made her a prime candidate, as Polzin had looked for someone ready for such an experience, and Red Owl seemed to fit that role.

   In the future, however, Polzin hopes to place emphasis on fundraising and an open application process, rather than running into financial problems and hand-selecting students. Polzin, who hopes to raise $1,000, emphasized that “fundraising is so big for this program.” This is primarily due to the lower income in the Lakota reservation, and for travel costs.

   In order to make this goal, Polzin sold handmade sweet pecans with the help of NIKI’S NUTS, “as a thank you gift for contributing to the Lakota Cultural Exchange Program.” These gifts were given to those who donated $12 or more, and were made around the holidays. In addition, DOI is fundraising by offering $2 for a valentine’s day message, or $3 for a turnabout message.