Since 2004 The Quality Inn and Suites of Winona has supported the Diversity Foundation and the City of Winona in their Dakota Outreach drives (clothing, food & toy etc) and their efforts to "Welcome" the Dakota descendents back home to Winona (formerly Wapasha Prairie) for their annual Great Dakota Gathering and Homecoming and other visits! Roger Trudell, Santee Dakota Tribal Chairman says "Since early on, the Quality Inn of Winona has become a "Home away from Home" for myself & many other Dakota people!
These are some of Diversity Foundation's pickup and distribution photos of its recently completed 2009 "Toys for Tots" Program, where we were able to provide toys & "Hope" to over 10,000 Native youth on some 13 disadvantaged Dakota/Native Reservations across the Great Plains and Canada!
These include the Crow Creek Sioux and Lower Brule Tribes of South Dakota, the Santee Sioux (Neb) the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota, Ft. Peck, Montana & the Sioux Valley, Birdtail & Pipestone Reserves of Manitoba, Canada among others! DF/Dakota elder advisor (the late Rod Steiner) helped initiate DF's Crow Creek/Dakota Outreach & Reconciliation programs shortly after his Crow Creek Memorial sponsorship & speech in 2002! See Rod's Crow Creek speech & Diversity Foundation's Tribute to Rod on website at www.Diversityfoundation.org
CROW CREEK SIOUX TRIBE Ft. Thompson, South Dakota 57339
From: Lisa Lengkeek September 27, 2006
Distribution Coordinator
To: Lyle Rustad, Ex Dir.
Diversity Foundation Inc.
Dear Lyle & Diversity Foundation;
I am writing this letter on behalf of the people of the Crow Creek Sioux
Tribe. We want to say THANK YOU ALL, for your generosity and compassion shown to our people by your Minnesota communities. As you know we are considered the poorest County & reservation in the US, with very little help or concern from our neighboring communities in South Dakota.
Thank you is not enough for everything that your people have done for us here in South Dakota over these past couple years! It is good to know that there are people like you out there that still care and we are not forgotten. The daily struggles that we go through here on the reservation just to keep our families feed, clothed, the lights on are often overwhelming. Therefore even the simple things mean alot to us!
The help that has come to us from you and Minnesota is unbeliveable, we cannot express how grateful we are. Once again THANK YOU ALL.
PS. There are alot of people here at Crow Creek that want to come to next years gathering and homecoming in Winona, so we hope to someday actually meet you all and to thank you in person.
PRAYERS & HOPE TO ALL
Lisa Lengkeek
Crow Creek & Diversity distribution coordinator
n Wapapa Popcorn now online & being marketed for fundraising
efforts for
Diversity Foundation, Inc.visit the website at:
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