ARCHIVED LINK NEXT WHICH REVEALS DETAILS ABOUT MISSION OF OMS!
http://web.archive.org/web/20070831224707/http://www.operationmorningstar.org
Thought I would start this blog with a few words about this KKK Schmuck (Yiddish = “little penis”) named Scott Prentice who started messing with me because he is one of those Satan led he/she androgynous closet Nazi’s who hates Native Americans! He hacked into my web page removed content and THEN committed a “unforgivable sin” and REMOVED THE RADIO RECORDING OF A SUICIDE PROGRAM THAT WAS SAVING NATIVE LIVES IN THE ROSEBUD RESERVATION. But that is who this Free Masonic Sodomite is…a Lucifer worshipping demon in the flesh after the order of a George Custer! Someday “we shall meet”!
Next are a few “archived” links for your reading pleasure to get a idea of what Operation Morning Star was and did. I was able to find a few news articles but the majority were “server removed” by the Independence Examiner’s new KKK BOY PUBLISHER Steve Curd. The Kansas City KKK Star did the same thing. This area is a Indian Hating area…just look at it’s history and what I had to deal with like with HY VEE, INDEPENDENCE EXAMINER, KANSAS CITY STAR, ALL THE COUNTRY STATIONS IGNORING FOOD DRIVES, KCXL 1140 AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY!
This blog is a bit sloppy but…it’s the content…not the style! 🙂
Hey Mr. Free Masonic Sodomite…SUE ME!
Scott Prentice, South Dakota Race Hater Of American Indians
2/12/13 by Richard Boyden -Founder of Operation Morning Star -United States Marine Corp Combat Veteran
THIS Operation Morning Star web page was hacked and deleted on Feb. 8/9, 2013 (as was my (Richard Boyden web page) by South Dakota racist and hater of American Indians, Scott Prentice. He deleted this page for one reason only, he considers them “SAVAGES” and thus totally rejects their history and claims to treaty land etc. as well as delegating them to a “sub-human” status equal to that of animals.
I consider Prentice to be a representation of and a historical and spiritual reincarnation of another fellow Free Mason/ KKK member, President Andrew Jackson. Jackson who was founder of the modern Democratic Party and greatest Indian killer of all American Presidents.
Prentice agrees with Jackson’s urging of United States troops “…to root out from their ‘dens’ and kill Indian women and their ‘whelps'” (Stannard, p. 240).
Prentice’s hero Jackson adopted the habit of cutting off his victims’ noses as trophies to commemorate his exploits. He earned the name “Sharp Knife” from Creek Indians for his penchant for skinning victims and using the cured and braided tissue as reins for his ponies (Takaki, 1994). Connect this historical dot to why the Operation Morning Star “index page” was deleted by Prentice and you then understand the seething demonic hate that rules this mans heart.
Prentice further confirmed his hate for American Indians by removing every single story and link that exposed the “same spiritual and temporal racism” of Whites like Jackson among others.
In other words, Prentice the KKK/Free-masonic racist agrees totally with the United States Government, Whites, Jews, and Church’s, of the hateful and evil treatment of those who he calls “SAVAGES”
In talking with a representative of the Justice Department, this is a federal crime and which is being reported to the FBI with the help of a Black Congressman and friend of Attorney General Eric Holder. And we all know how Holder feels about White/KKK racists!
Questions? Contact me at richardboyden@gmail.com
THESE LINKS HAVE GOVERNMENT HISTORY OF DRUG IMPORTING INTO RESERVATIONS AND HISTORY WITH PHOTO’S OF TRIPS TO RESERVATIONS…IF YOU ARE INTERESTED THAT IS!
http://web.archive.org/web/20130616040633/http://afrocubaweb.com:80/montananarcomurders.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20031224121701/http://www.operationmorningstar.com
Suicide work and radio program deleted by catholic church PEDOPHILE PRIEST JOHN HATCHER…ROSEBUD RESERVATION http://web.archive.org/web/20090102184441/http://www.operationmorningstar.org:80/Catholic_Church_Removes_Suicide_Prevention_Program.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20140331085502/http://www.operationmorningstar.org
Referral Letters
This letter is in reference to the 0/4 Full Semi Load delivered for a “Christmas Giveaway”! About 30 tons of “GIFTS” for distribution to this community.
Unfortunately, while I was away from the high school gym, that night, 3 pick up trucks and a van came and filled up before the “give away” on the 26th! GRRR! This theft was witnessed by 3 members of the community. How sad and NO, I did not report it to the police. I will let the Creator deal with “them”. He always does sooner or later 🙂
Sat, 31 Dec 2005
Mr. Boyden,
On behalf of the residents and community members of the Red Shirt Community of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, we would like to humbly thank the sponsors and people who opened their hearts and donated much welcomed articles of clothing, gifts, the gift of warmth and food for our residents.
Red Shirt currently has a population of roughly 200 people who are residing 56 miles from Pine Ridge, and 40 miles from Rapid City. Our unique rural area has both advantages and disadvantages. Located on the edge of the Badlands National Park, the residents of the Red Shirt Community have a great need for self sufficiency and economic development. The solution lies within us and the ability to look forward and actually envision a future is paramount to the development of our community in the areas of jobs, housing, economic development.
My name is Roxanne Two Bulls and I am the Chairwoman elect in this community and believe strongly in capacity building efforts by this community to help us help ourselves. Your unselfish acts and generosity made a huge impression on this community and we are thankful for all of the staff of Operation Morning star and also the kind people who opened thier hearts to those in need.
Pilamaya!
Roxanne Two Bulls
Dec. 29, 05
Hello Richard,
I just wanted to email you and thank you for coming to our community. There was so much, I took things to an extended family in Rapid City. I recently let my son (Hunter) go live with his grandmother and dad in Rapid city. I took things to them also. While you were here, you told me about the website, operation morningstar. I finally had time to get online and take a look at it. It’s nice. I am wondering if you would be able to help my son’s grandmother, Lucy Little? Hunter’s aunt Marta had a terrible accident in the first part of December and she was sent to Minnesota. Rochester, I think. She had a major operation and the outcome isn’t very good. I know it will break Lucy’s heart if she dies over there. I don’t think she can bear losing another one of her kids. She had two sons die, one back in the 80’s, he was the twin to Dave (the one you met at the gym) and he was in the Marine Corp too. If there is anything you can do, it would help tremendously.
Well, Happy New Year.
Patsy Two Bulls, Red Shirt Community, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
This letter was in 98 when I interviewed Melissa Buckles when no one else would. I was a talk radio show host in KC Missouri and she shared information about US Govt. involvement in the smuggling of drugs from Canada into the US through her “reservation”. Over 35 tribal members were killed in connection to what was going on and the number rose after and with no interference or investigation by the FBI…hint hint! 🙂
Hau Koda,
Caze Mitawa Wamni Wakan Wiya, Emakiyabi MelissaBuckles, enrolled on the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux
Tribes, Reservation in Montana and residing thereon.
I read a response you sent to Richard Boyden regarding his website and content.
I have known Richard Boyden since approx. 1997. At that time he was a talk show host on an AM radio station in Liberty, Missouri. He had heard about the corruption and sanctioned drug trafficking here on our reservation as well as my efforts to bring the issue to mainstream media. He offered to interview me and others regarding our problems. As a result of his kindness and understanding in providing us one of very few media voices, he suffered. He assisted in bringing attention to our situation which has had its effects on the corruption we are dealing with. He took a chance on us and gave us a voice when no one else would.
Since that first interview I have come to know him professionally as well as personally. I know him to be a man of his word, he is not a well intentioned “bring the Indians to Christ” advocate, he is a man who does good works and views our native religion with the utmost respect, just as my people are taught to respect all religions.
Through my legal work with our local treaty organizations and the contact we maintain with numerous tribes, I am also aware of his work on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota.
His website provides many links and the key words do not necessarily reflect the content of the documents or sites.
I would hope that you would review the content of the links offered on his site. I hope that you would put aside whatever “past experiences” (which all of us have had as Native People) and look with an open mind at the work this man is accomplishing and work together in raising volume on our Native Voices throughout the world.
I hope that my writing has not offended you in any manner. My intentions were to give you some insight as to who this man is and the work he has done & continues to do.
Pidamaya,
Mitakuye Oyasin
Melissa Buckles
This letter is one of about 5 from my former students at Haskell Indian Nations University where I taught “Introduction to Radio Broadcasting”.
I created this accredited “3 credit hours” class which was approved by Haskell. My students stated it was the best class they ever had and I am a FULL BLOODED WHITE MAN! 🙂
Tribal Chairman, Tribal Council, and people of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation,
The class “Introduction to Radio Broadcasting” taught by our Instructor Mr. Richard Boyden, and which was offered at Haskell Indian Nations University this Fall 2000 semester, was an eye-opening experience. The material matter covered in class is information which is not widely available to the vast American Public.
I am thankful to be aware of such matters as Freemasonry, disease-causing-vaccinations, Native American rights, and a vast array of other topics. I enjoyed researching my chosen radio program topic weekly. This exercise helped me to understand the issues mentioned above with deeper meaning. My weekly research was the best part of the class, because it was a consistent exercise in investigative journalism.
I also enjoyed the weekly class discussions. Being able to be broadcast live on the radio in Kansas City, Missouri was the highlight of my experience in “Introduction to Radio Broadcasting.” The topic I chose to research was “The Presidential candidates and how their election may affect Indian Country.” This was fruititous because it happened to be the Thursday before the election.
Being broadcast live over the radio was helpful in developing my “radio voice” and also to experience first-hand the necessary work which must be put into only one program. It is a lot of work.
Another great experience was the field trip to Kansas University’s radio broadcasting building. I learned how the radio machinery works and how the tight time schedule they operate by is necessary to assure radio quality.
Overall, the “Introduction to Radio Broadcasting” class was the best college course I have taken thus far. I felt excited to attend every class because the way in which class is held is like an open forum, where ideas are shared and better understood. Thank you so much for your cooperation in making this course possible.
Sincerely,
Christopher Stachura
Christmas Trip to the “Green Grass” Community on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in December 0/6.
They include Blue River Community College Students Gifts and a BIG SCREEN TV to the Cheyenne River Battered Women’ Shelter.
These photos are NOT scaled down so if you are “dial up”, it may take a while.
Also, they speak for themselves with those involved here and those Lakota Oyate at Cheyenne River. There is one of Tribal Chairman Joseph Brings Plenty standing next to me in front of the Sacred Heart Battered Women’s Shelter in Eagle Butte where the Big Screen TV went.
SHORT OVERVIEW OF HISTORY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OPERATION MORNING STAR
A Few Photos of Past OMS Activity to the Oglala Sioux Tribe
-
Photos of Christmas Trip to Cheyenne River Sioux in 0/6 We delivered a brand new donated BIG SCREEN TV to the Sacred Heart Battered Women’s Shelter on the Rez. Donated by students from Blue River Community College along with 60 box’s of other needed items, clothes, appliances, furniture, and food.
The 06 Christmas trip was made possible by the Conservative Jewish Congregation of Beth Shalom Congregation in Kansas City, They financed the rental and fuel costs for the Penske Truck used for that trip. It is a LOVING Jewish Congregation under the leadership of Rabbi Scott White. I call them “Jews after the example of Jesus”! 🙂
A donation in late 0/6 of 23 NEW wood burning stoves and piping from Victorian Sales allowed us to deliver “HEAT” to homes without. These went to Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Standing Rock Tribal Members in 12/06 and 2/07…in 2007 because when we returned to CRST in Oct. 0/7, the stoves delivered in Feb. 0/6 were NOT delivered to those in need.
According to the Property and Supply workers under Galan Means, the reason they were not delivered was because the stoves were “to heavy”! With permission of Tribal President Joseph Brings Plenty, I “repossessed” the HEAVY stoves with the help of two men from the substance abuse treatment center, and we delivered them to the families and elders on the original list. The two stoves “missing” apparently went to Means and a “rich” well to do tribal member names Ted Minor.
The semi used in this was from Dave Jungeblat of “Fright Limo”. I drove it all by myself and yes, I have a Class A CDL! 🙂 Thanks also to Local 41 of the Teamsters and OOIDA for allowing for “radio publicity”.
Unfortunately, the night that all the items were unloaded in the high school auditorium, I eft to visit friends in Manderson, there was a theft of some of the best items when 3 pick up trucks and a van came and loaded up. It was an “inside job” by those who were either friends or relatives of the Two Bulls family. One of the “thieves” was Mary Fast Wolf of Red Shirt. There were witnesses and I have the names of those involved. Also, there were families prevented by the Two Bulls family from receiving “gifts”. LAST TIME TO RED SHIRT!
Both organizations assistance made possible the use of TWO “18 wheelers” which were fully LOADED and which totaled OVER 80 Thousand Pounds or 40 TONS of food, appliances, clothing, wood burning stoves, toys, etc!
The Christmas Trip in 0/4 went to Pine Ridge Residents. The full semi-load made stops at Allen at the Tribal Secretary’s home, Donna Soloman, in Porcupine at Wilson Coleman’s home, and in Manderson at Wilda Black Bear’s home.
Over a 11 year span, at least 13 fully loaded 22-26′ box trucks and 10 pick-up w/18′ flat bed trailer loads “collectively” went to the homes of Mildred Alkire in Manderson, Darwin Apple in Manderson, Arlette Loud Hawk at her home in Oglala Oglala, Wilda Black Bear in Manderson, to Loneman High School in Oglala to feed and “house” the ’99’ Tornado Victims with Family Size Tents. All of the above residents live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Besides trips during the year, EVERY CHRISTMAS OMS made a delivery of toys, food, wood burning stoves, appliances and clothes to a Lakota Community since it’s inception.
Operation Morning Star raised over $6700 dollars when I was a “radio talk show host” at KCXL 1140 (they stole my OMS web page) and used that money to purchase, deliver, and set up over 60 large 5 room family size tents for families who’s homes were either destroyed or damaged by these tornados in the community of OGLALA! We got a special deal from Target.
Deliveries of food and clothing have gone to the Community Buildings in Pine Ridge under the “watching eyes” of Eileen Janice…and Mary Long and Ima Jean Charging Elk at the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Reservation (3 full loads). Appliances, wood burning stoves, furniture along with food and good quality clothing were in these “give away” loads.
Close to 20,000 donated garden plants such as tomatoes, squash, beans, peas, watermelon, cucumbers, peppers etc., have been delivered to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud “Sioux” Reservations on two trips, one this year to Rosebud and in 2001 to the CAP Office in Manderson on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Also, gardens planted, mini chicken farm put in place, 1 commercial and over 3 dozen non commercial sewing machines have been given for “work”.
Over (not enough) 70 families and individuals have been “adopted” by OMS supporters and myself personally. Moneys were sent to the grocery stores and propane companies in the name of the families at the Sioux Nations Grocery and PTI Propane and other locations at Eagle Butte on the CRST Rez, at PR or direct to individuals or families or Elders.
Also, Operation Morning Star supporters sent monies to the Standing Rock Rez propane company during the bad winter of 2002 when they ran out of monies for propane for tribal members and elders, some who froze to death!
There have been over 45 new and 70 used wood burning stoves delivered as well as chain saws, axes, and wood splitters, a work trailer in the last 13 years.
We also built a food pantry in Manderson at the home of Mildred Alkire. It was lost in a fire. She was a recipient of a used donated commemorative “Smith and Wesson” van which was given her while I was a radio talk show host. She and her granddaughter Nikki came to Liberty to receive this “gift” and drive it back to Pine Ridge where it now sits broken down because she has no money to fix it.
NEWS PAPER ARTICLES…JUST A FEW OF CLOSE TO 30 OVER 23 YEARS…THE REST REMOVED FROM THE SERVERS OF THE INDIAN HATING RACIST PAPERS AKA THE INDEPENDENCE EXAMINER AND THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Angel of Pine Ridge
{In The Midst Of “Ethnic Cleansing”}
By Paul Beaver, Former Head Photographer for 6 Years of the Independence Examiner.
Maykala White Face, 5, must be an angel. Her pink shirt is emblazoned with the word in large glittering script. Her precious smile melts the heart of the biggest and strongest of visitors to her Manderson, S.D., cluster home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
She does not know that the six friendly visitors during Christmas from the Kansas City area bringing food, toys, wood stoves, appliances and household goods might not also be angels to her.
The six visitors were part of Operation Morning Star delivering about 10 tons of food and other needed items to some of the families of Manderson Christmas Day. Operation Morning Star is a Kansas City metro wide project founded in Independence to collect goods for the people there. A month after Christmas that food was gone.
Woodrow Respects Nothing, 78, and his family were another household visited. Respects Nothing uses his World War II, Korean War and Social Security benefits to help provide food and housing for his two daughters and grandchildren in Manderson. Respects Nothing earned three Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts from the wars.
| Paul Beaver, the Examiner John Yellow Bird Steele, right, lives with 23 members of his extended family in the house house behind them. Steele is president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Mattresses are laid throughout the house for people to sleep on at night and stored away during the day. |
He reluctantly lives in a HUD house for now but hopes someday to move back to his land on the reservation where he was raised and where he has a small herd of horses. The log cabin on that land is six miles and a half-hour’s drive off paved road. The now-abandoned cabin is where Woodrow lived until he was nearly 50 years old. It has no electricity or running water or plumbing.
His granddaughter Anna, 17, takes the other children in the family there regularly so they can ride his horses and get away from the cluster housing conditions that offer few opportunities for Lakota children to play safely and experience that part of the Lakota heritage. The group of visitors watched the children come to life when they were able to go to the land of their grandfather and ride his horses.
Richard Boyden of Independence founded Operation Morning Star six years ago. It is dedicated to providing relief to people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. In perhaps 14 trips to Manderson within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation more than 45 tons of food and other needed items have been delivered because of the response of donations from Kansas Citians.
There were a few old and worn out chairs in Wilda Black Bear’s house at Christmas. The couch that was once there that was also a bed had fallen apart and was gone. A mattress lay in the middle of the living room floor where Maykala sometimes sleeps with two or three other young children. There are not enough beds for the extended family of 17. A small freezer sits in the corner of the living room, no longer working. Now, a month later, neither does the used washing machine that was delivered at Christmas to her house
| Paul Beaver, the Examiner Woodrow Respects Nothing, 78, grew up in this log cabin and lived here with his family until the 1970’s. He would like to fix it and move back to this land where he keeps a small herd of horses. Currently he lives in a HUD house in Manderson with his two daughters and grandchildren. |
The visitors were offered coffee and asked if they were hungry. They were given food from a family who has little to eat.
This is the spirit of generosity seen among the Oglala people. It is a tradition of love and giving from those who have very little. It is humbling to the visitors.
Emmery Black Bear, Wilda’s husband, has no job. He is a carpenter and wants to work, like so many other Oglala Lakota men. But, there is no work. There is only the economic assistance program that does little to supply the basics promised by treaty right of food, shelter and other needs. He does what he can to keep up their dilapidated HUD cluster house. But, without money, he is unable to do all that is needed.
Now black mold has been found inside their home and hundreds of others on the reservation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs say it is a result of sewage backup and other excess moisture sources. This black mold can cause flu and allergy-like symptoms that can include skin rashes, inflammation of the respiratory tract, bloody noses, fever, headaches, neurological problems, suppression of the immune system, and in some cases, even death. Some forms of black mold are known to cause cancer.
| Paul Beaver, the Examiner The day before Christmas about nine tons of goods are passed from the 22-foot box truck at right to an unused trailer at left to later be given to residents in Manderson on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. |
The houses will have to be sanitized, or more likely the houses will be condemned and will result in hundreds of displaced Lakota families with no place to live.
What was a problem of roaches is not as important anymore. Nor is the sliding of the house on its foundation. Nor is the insulation that has disintegrated to the point of giving little benefit. Nor is the leaking plumbing needs as important as before.
Instead the primary fear is when will they become homeless while getting sick during the waiting process.
John Yellow Bird Steele is the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a Vietnam veteran. Steele explained to the group of visitors the fight he is involved in for his people and the assault upon the national sovereignty of his tribe by the Federal Government and the state of South Dakota. Land rights, water rights, legal rights, among other treaty rights, are all under attack, he says.
| Paul Beaver, the Examiner Two Operation Morning Star visitors carry a sewing machine, bench, and several small items to a woman in this house on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. |
He cites the 85 percent unemployment rate, the per capita income of less then $2,800, more than 60 percent of tribal members are living below the poverty level, 1/3 of the houses are without running water or electricity.
He says the Oglala have an 80 percent alcoholism rate, the nation’s highest suicide rate, eight times the national rate of diabetes, five times the rate of cervical cancer, twice the infant mortality rate and a life expectancy equal to that of Haiti.
These provide the groundwork, Steele says, for the economic destruction of his people while at the same time creates social conditions that cause the further deterioration of the people physically and spiritually. Steele chooses his words carefully and calls this “ethnic cleansing.”
Steele, who lives with his wife, Anna, in a small HUD house, has an extended family of 23 children including their own. Beds materialize at night when mattresses are laid out on the living room floor.
For more than one month, Steele said to the group, the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have done nothing to release the trust money checks owed to more than 300,000 American Indians. This is money the residents depend upon to buy food and pay bills.
The six visitors were reluctant to say “goodbye” the day after Christmas. They had grown to love them deeply.
There is no word in the Lakota language for “goodbye” because the circle of love among the Lakota can never be broken because of distance or circumstance.
There are plans on the drawing board that Steele and other tribal leaders are interested in for geodesic homes at $16-23,000 each to replace the HUD homes. These can be built in one to four days. Also, an “Aqua-Ponics” food production system costing and initial $4,000 would provide food for a family of four more than a year’s period time.
In the Kansas City area, Operation Morning Star responds to ongoing needs of the Oglala Lakota people by asking for gifts of food, wood burning stoves, chain saws, working appliances, washing machines, dryers, beds, good furniture, hybrid seeds for gardens, tools, compressors and even good running trucks and cars, including a diesel tractor and trailer.
Paul Beaver is the photo editor at The Examiner and was one of six visitors from this area who visited the Pine Ridge Reservation over Christmas and helped deliver food and goods.
To make a contribution to Operation Morning Star, contact Richard Boyden at 816-461-6666 or email him at operationmorningstar@gmail.com For more information, go to Boyden’s web page at www.operationmorningstar.org
Mailing address for donations is 213 1/2 West Southside Blvd., Independence, MO 64055.
The Washington Times
Program lends hand to poor Indian tribes
By Valerie Richardson
December 20, 2007
Photo by Paul Beaver – Independence Missouri
Agnes Running Enemy, 78, who lives on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Indian Reservation in South Dakota, has received groceries and other essentials through the Adopt a Lakota Family program. (Richard Boyden/Special to The Washington Times)
The plumbing in Arlette Loud Hawk’s small home on the Pine Ridge Reservation hasn’t worked in more than three years. Her furnace broke four years ago, but she doesn’t have the money to fix either.
That could soon change, now that the 48-year-old Sioux woman has been “adopted.” She is receiving fuel and food credits from several donors through Adopt a Lakota Family, an innovative program designed to give direct help to the poorest of the Indian poor.
Ms. Loud Hawk would definitely qualify. She hasn’t been able to work steadily since a diagnosis of breast cancer, which now has spread to her lymph nodes. She has no car, and depends on friends and relatives for rides to Rapid City, S.D., 70 miles away, for second-stage chemotherapy.
“I’ve had a lot of help with groceries already, which is really helpful because I’m dependent on the reservation,” said Ms. Loud Hawk, who lives with two of her five children and three grandchildren.
Adopt a Lakota Family is the brainchild of Richard Boyden, a former Kansas City, Mo., radio talk-show host who now works full time to alleviate what he describes as the “Third World poverty” on Sioux reservations in North and South Dakota.
His charity, Operation Morning Star, pairs churches, businesses and individual donors with needy Lakota or Sioux families and senior citizens. Donors have the option of sending checks to the charity or directly to power companies and grocery stores in the family’s name. All donations to Operation Morning Star, a nonprofit, are tax-deductible.
“We’re unlike the Red Cross or Salvation Army where you send them money and it’s redistributed to various causes,” Mr. Boyden said. “You say you want to adopt a family and help with utility bills, foods, school supplies, and we connect you with a family. Then you can send money directly to the grocery store or utility company.”
Some donors send their adopted families gift cards to Wal-Mart, which operates stores near most of the reservations. Others send letters and Christmas gifts to the family’s children. The process helps reduce worries about whether the money is used for its intended purpose. “People are leery of charities,” said Mr. Boyden. “This way you know where your money’s going.”
It would be difficult to find a more desperate group of Americans than the North and South Dakota Sioux. The unemployment rate tops 80 percent and most residents live below the poverty level, with the average annual income on the reservation less than $3,200.
The casino-driven economic boom enjoyed by some tribes has bypassed the Sioux, whose remote location puts them beyond the reach of most tourist traffic. The result is a host of social ills ranging from suicide and substance abuse to crime and homelessness.
At the heart of the plight is the lack of decent housing. Most Sioux live in dilapidated trailers and creaky federally built houses, cramming as many as 20 persons into single-family structures. Many homes are infested with black mold, which may be contributing to high disease rates.
“The need for homes affects just about everything else,” said John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Sioux tribe at Pine Ridge, who testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on the housing crisis in March. “You have two to four different families living in one home. It means the kids don’t have a place to study and there’s conflict between people who have to live together.”
Randy Stires, president of Victorian Sales in Fenton, Mo., donated a company van and 23 wood-burning stoves last year after seeing photos of the deplorable living conditions on the Operation Morning Star Web site, www.operationmorningstar.org, where contact and donation information are available. “It’s cold here in Missouri, but in the Dakotas it’s cold-cold, and I look at those houses and say, ‘How are they staying warm?’ ” said Mr. Stires, who is giving another 27 stoves this year.
Operation Morning Star has proposed a long-term solution in the form of modular geodesic dome homes. For as little as $15,000, the charity can purchase the kits from their designer, Bob Conroy, and use tribal labor to build them. The homes are airtight and use radiant-floor heating, which is more efficient and less expensive than propane or gas, said Mr. Conroy. But $15,000 is big money on these reservations, and Operation Morning Star doesn’t have any deep-pocket donors.
Part of that lies with Sioux pride. “I find it difficult to say, ‘We need help,’ ” said Mr. Steele. “We don’t want to appear pitiful. We make do.” It’s also a result of widespread stereotypes, Mr. Boyden said. “Indian Country is either portrayed in a negative light or a diversionary light, like, ‘Oh, they’ve got casinos now. They’ve got the government.’ ”
“You have all these charities going to Africa and Mexico,” he said, “but people forget about what’s happening in their own back yard.”
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Independence man helps Oglala Lakotas survive on South Dakota reservation
By NICOLE GULL – The Kansas City Star
Date: 12/16/01 22:15
Alex White Plume, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, said the majority of his people are “just existing.”
He raises buffalo and horses on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Manderson, S.D., where he has lived all his life. He said he does not know how his people will survive.
White Plume said that well over half the families on the reservation live in poverty in rotting homes. Food is scarce, he said, and winter is just setting in.
Needs, he said, are many.
For the past six years, Independence resident Richard Boyden has been trying to meet those needs through Operation Morning Star. And this year, he’s preparing to do it again.
Boyden has made the 14-hour drive to Pine Ridge three to four times each year with food, toys, new clothes, wood-burning stoves, chain saws and sewing machines.
Over the years, Boyden said, he’s provided the Lakota people with more than 35 tons of goods.
This year, Boyden will pack up Saturday and, with a dozen other volunteers, drive the familiar 750-mile route in pickup trucks pulling 16-foot box trailers.
The volunteers will stay two or three days and help the Oglala Lakota people with chores, repairs and whatever else they need.
“I would like to get up there six times a year with people who want to get involved on an ongoing basis, not just Christmas,” said Boyden, a former radio personality. “The conditions up there are ongoing. The needs are ongoing.”
Wilda White Face, another resident of the reservation, said Boyden had brought loads of donations to her home in Manderson, including canned food and tomato plants.
“I gave out a lot of food to a lot of people,” said White Face, who said she uses food stamps to feed her family of 18. “Everybody came and got what they needed.”
White Plume said that the Oglala Lakota people were thankful for the effort of Boyden and other volunteers.
“What most people need around here is wood stoves,” he said. “And last year he brought a bunch of them. A lot of people just had a good winter because of him.”
Boyden said that if people were interested in helping, he’d like to set up a fund from which tribes could draw to pay for heat. He also said individuals may “adopt” Oglala Lakota families.
In addition to items such as commercial sewing machines, sleeping bags and wood stoves, Boyden said he needed a donated diesel truck with a 16-foot box trailer so he could haul as much as possible.
Boyden has set up two drop-off locations for his trip:
- From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Budget Muffler, 720 W. 23rd St., Independence, will accept nonperishable items. Frozen and perishable foods may be dropped off only after 3 p.m. Saturday.
- Overland Park Jeep, 8775 Metcalf Ave., will accept donations from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday.For more information about Operation Morning Star, visit www.boydenweb.com, call (816) 461-6666 or send e-mail to richard@boydenweb.com.To reach Nicole Gull, call (816) 234-7805 or send e-mail to ngull@kcstar.com.
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20 Oct 2002 – 16 Dec 2004
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| Web posted Friday, December 28, 2001 |
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Richard Boyden of Independence and Essence White Face, 7, of Manderson, South Dakota, feed grain to two horses of a small herd belonging to her grandfather Woodrow Respects Nothing and his family on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, Christmas day. White Face said she had never been close to her grandfather’s horses and was afraid. Boyden grabbed a piece of plywood with grain on it and coaxed the young horses to him so she could pet one.Paul Beaver/The Examiner |
Operation Morning Star founder would like city to adopt Pine Ridge MAKING A DIFFERENCE
By James Dornbrook
The Examiner
Imagine an area where the average family makes $2,800 per year, there is an 85 percent unemployment rate and basic needs such as food and shelter from the winter cold are often unmet.
No, this isn’t the Third World. It’s Shannon County, S.D.
Shannon County is one of the poorest counties in America, and is the home of about 35,000 citizens of the Ogalala Lakota Nation. There are 2,000 to 3,000 homeless people on the reservation right now.
Richard Boyden of Independence went to visit the Pine Ridge Reservation about six years ago, and was shocked at the conditions he saw.
“I weep when I go there, because the conditions are so bad. People have no idea about the suffering they go through on a daily basis,” said Boyden. He described an area filled with contaminated water supplies, houses with inadequate insulation and no heat, malnourishment and unsanitary conditions.
“The needs they have are all things we take for granted. They don’t have diapers for their babies or toilet paper. The women don’t have sanitary items. There’s no dish soap or laundry soap or any cleaning supplies. They have no beds. They sleep on old mattresses on the floor with inadequate bedding. Many don’t even have wood stoves to keep warm.”
Boyden decided to act once he saw the conditions the Ogalala Lakota were living in. He formed Operation Morning Star, an organization which collects supplies and takes several trips a year to drop off gifts to the Ogalala Lakota. Boyden has been going for the last six years, ever since he first laid eyes on the place.
His most recent trip was over Christmas. People all throughout Independence and the metro area sent gifts for Boyden to give to the reservation’s residents.
Boyden collected between four and five tons of food, bedding, wood burning stoves, toys, good quality clothing and construction supplies. The collection sites were at Budget Muffler in Independence and an Overland Park Jeep dealership.
Bobby Hewlitt, owner of Metro Ford in Independence, loaned Boyden a truck and a 23-foot box trailer. The trailer was jammed as full as it could get with supplies, and the group took off for South Dakota to spread Christmas cheer.
“All this came together within two weeks, that’s the miracle of it all,” said Boyden. “I wasn’t going to make a trip this Christmas, because I didn’t have enough stuff. Then Frank Haight wrote a story in The Examiner and several pastors at churches around the area put leaflets in their church programs. We got a huge response from all that. It was a miracle. Everyone who has been involved in this has allowed these people to be blessed this Christmas.”
Boyden was adamant about how important these gifts were to the American Indians at the Pine Ridge Reservation.
“These are not people who fit the stereotype some people have of a bunch of drunken Indians. These are a proud people who are survivors of United States Indian policies which have historically only caused them grief on a spiritual and physical level. Without our help, many would have no food and no heat. No heat! This is South Dakota in the winter time,” Boyden exclaimed.
“This last trip we sent them a couple of wood burners so they can keep warm. Without these many would probably freeze, because the U.S. government recently cut off the trust fund money they rely on to buy fuel to heat their homes.”
The trust fund money comes from agreements with American Indians which allow grazing, mining, logging, oil drilling and other activities on reservation land, in exchange for fees paid to the Indian Trust Fund. The money is then distributed to those living on the reservation.
Boyden said that on Dec. 5 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior, shut off the computer system which handles the delivery of trust fund money to Native Americans on the reservations. The computer system was shut off by a court order, right in the middle of reorganization and an investigation into a possible misappropriation of funds.
This shut-down completely isolated nearly all the information available on the Internet regarding the trust fund. Almost every Web site related to the Bureau of Indian Affairs is also shut down. Attempts to telephone the media department at the Bureau of Indian Affairs were not answered.
Boyden said many of the Native Americans who rely on the Indian Trust Fund now have no income and can’t wait for the government to figure out what the heck is going on. These people need help now.
“What I would like to see is the City of Independence adopt these people. They need a city of God-fearing people who want to reach out and help. They need a loving group of people who want to want to end their suffering. This would be my challenge to the Independence City Council,” Boyden said.
“Americans have organized to help out the children in Afghan istan and elsewhere around the world, yet the suffering going on right here within our borders seems to have gone unnoticed.”
Operation Morning Star makes a trip to visit the Ogalala Lakota whenever there are enough supplies to justify the trip. Boyden said the greatest need right now is for food, wood burning stoves and building materials such as insulation for windows and doors.
To donate supplies contact Operation Morning Star at 816-461-6666, or send funds to Operation Morning Star, 110 West Ruby Street, Independence, Mo., 64050.
“There are other ways to help than donating money and supplies. If anyone wants to teach vocational skills such as plumbing, carpentry or electrical, there is a great need. This would enable them to learn how to help improve their community and also teach them a valuable skill,” Boyden said.
“This is an opportunity for the people reading this article to make a difference. I hope God touches people’s hearts and the principle result of their faith is action. Action is how you make a difference.”
To reach James Dornbrook e-mail jamesd@examiner.net or call 350-6322.
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Some 150 to 200 impoverished Oglala Lakota Indian families on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are again looking to Richard Boyden and his humanitarian Operation Morning Star program to meet their Christmas needs.
For the sixth consecutive year, Operation Morning Star is soliciting donations and Christmas gifts for the Pine Ridge residents, many of whom, Boyden says, live in conditions “equal to or worse than those found in Third World countries.”
It was these squalid living conditions the Independence man saw while visiting the reservation in 1996 that moved him to reach out to these American Indians.
“I felt led to try to make a difference by starting Operation Morning Star,” which has delivered more than 35 tons of items to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation over the past five years.
Between now and Dec. 22, Operation Morning Star is collecting food, new clothing, furniture, wood-burning stoves, appliances, bedding and more, as well as financial assistance for propane and utility bills.
Donations can be left at Budget Muffler, at 720 W. 23rd St. in Independence, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. To make other arrangements, call 461-6666.
Boyden and other supporters will deliver the donations to the Pine Ridge Reservation. They will leave Dec. 22, and return Christmas Eve.
The gifts, Boyden says, will be distributed from homes of families who have worked in the past to make the distribution of gifts equitable to those families in need.
Calling Operation Morning Star the true spirit of Christmas, Boyden says he is “hoping and praying” that the public will respond to the ongoing needs of these people.
“I am hoping that this Christmas there will be a kingdom of God response so much needed among these people, who very seldom see any expression of the love of Christ in their midst by outsiders.”
Boyden, a former radio show host, continues to use the media to promote Operation Morning Star, as well as through his Internet Web page, www.boydenweb.com.
Operation Morning Star is making a difference.
Boyden related the story of a mother of three, who, because she could not find food for her children, went into deep depression and started drinking heavily.
However, when Operation Morning Star made food available for her family, “She stopped drinking, got her life back in order and was able to set a good example for her children … all because of the charity and love shown by those who gave through Operation Morning Star.”
All Christmas gifts must be new. They should be Christmas wrapped and labeled either “boy” or “girl.” Clothing donations for all members of the family should be new or nearly new, Boyden said.
Always in demand are blankets, sleeping bags, beds, refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers and good industrial grade sewing machines, as well as chainsaws, wood-burning stoves and non-perishable food.
Boyden says he desperately needs a large boxed trailer and a diesel-powered towing truck to either be donated or loaned to Operation Morning Star.
For Boyden, who will be spending Christmas Day with his family for the first time in five years, Operation Morning Star “translates Christmas into a living demonstration of the love that Jesus demonstrated when He was here on Earth, and thus enables me to taste that same spirit.”
To reach Frank Haight Jr., d e-mail fhaight@examiner.net or call 350-6363.