Standing Rock Medicine Wheel Living Park

A Sustainable Solution on Standing Rock

Standing Rock is faced with many problems like poverty, obesity, poor health issues, lack of good organic food, depression, addiction and suicide. Although our project focuses on sustainability, through the SR Medicine Wheel Living Park we are committed to ending our unhealthy lifestyle by educating and working directly with people in an effort to transform their lives into a more healthy productive lifestyle and reconnect with Mother Earth.

With the Standing Rock Medicine Wheel Living Park, we instituted a 'living' aspect to the existing technology of parks in that every tree not only provides shade but also has food and by planting many trees together can create a food forest and our many gardens are edible and/or medicinal instead of just park greenery. Our living shelterbelts provide food not just windbreak. We also have visions of implementing existing technology in the future when we add solar and wind to provide energy to our food processing building in the future. 

• Drip line irrigation to water the 350 tree orchard
• Tractors, plow & lawn mowers (we currently are fundraising for our own equipment, until then we borrow or hire these forms of technology)
• Internet - website & Facebook for advertising

• continue to manage the community garden area & orchard
• Plant an additional 200 fruit trees
• Hold a community gathering “Summer Solstice Celebration’ at the park June 22-24, 2018 promoting sustainability practices and the Park
• Fall Harvest - community feast from food from the Park
• Set up non-profit status
• New signs

• planting 200-500 more fruit, berry & nut trees per year
• additional living shelter belt of native berries, lining the East and South side of the Park
• Earth building as a visitor center/food prep area for the start of a "Lakota Made' business of canned & dried organic foods. Proceeds will go towards sustaining the Park & creating jobs
• Bee hives - to provide local honey
• Start a Medicine Wheel Living Park in communities of Little Eagle and Wakpala, SD

• The first year we had a plentiful harvest and were able to follow traditional Lakota teachings and we gave all the food away to the elderly and handicapped of Bear Soldier.
• In the summer of 2017 we had enough wild plums for the entire Standing Rock community to harvest for their families

• The Standing Rock Medicine Wheel Living Park is centrally located and within walking distance of nearby neighborhoods
• Community members can attain a garden plot for free 
• During the summer the Park sets up a stand to sell fruits and veggies at an affordable price for people in the community (giving growers a chance to make money as well as give people afford prices and organic food- which is not available in local grocery store)

*Eventually we will create a Park business selling canned & dried fruit/veggies

• 300-500 families in and around the surrounding area
• Families are directly affected by the Park because they have place to grow food, take walks, pick native berries, have picnics and gatherings, all creating a healthier life

• within the next 12 months, we will continue to serve about 300-500 families
• In the next 3 years we want to build a Living Park in Little Eagle and Wakpala, SD which would serve approx. an additional 600 families

So far we have used about 10% of the 65 acres we have to work with and have more land if needed in the future. We have fruit trees and berry shrubs that will give food for many years and will be preserved.

Some SOLVE representatives came to Standing Rock and we both believe in sustainability and alternative energies. I believe technology can work together with ancient Aboriginal Indigenous wisdom and create a better world for the people of Standing Rock and beyond.

Our reservation has 90 % alcoholism and hard to find volunteers and is in the

3rd Poorest county in the nation and hard to raise money for needed equipment, seeds etc.

SOLVE can help us implement alternative energy technology with Ancient Aboriginal Indigenous wisdom to make a better world for all