Team of Midwestern women leads home-grown fight against Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis

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Day after day, Lily Mendoza works to heal family and community through the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. She dedicates her life to saving the lives of others.

Lily Mendoza aims to reconnect with her Lakota roots over the next two years so that she can bring songs, prayers, and traditional ceremonies back to the families she serves. (Courtesy of the Bush Foundation via Grand Forks Herald)

Mendoza, a citizen of South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, founded the society eight years ago to alleviate the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. She advocates for resilience through building cultural identity among the Lakota people.

Since 2016, women in the Northern Plains area have joined the society to organize events, assist families, and raise awareness of the issue. Mendoza consults, travels, and speaks, often without remuneration. Based in the Black Hills, she focuses on the surrounding areas in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana.

Now Mendoza can continue her work with a grant from the Bush Foundation, which specifically serves the same geographic area.

“She will seek teachings from Lakota elders, tribal leaders and sacred sites — and take time to heal herself so that she can lead from an informed Indigenous perspective and help more families find healing in Lakota lifeways,” the foundation website states.

Her Bush Fellowship, announced June 11, is among 24 available spots in the annual competition. Recipients receive grants of $100,000 each to fund leadership plans. Fellowships last 12 to 24 months.

Grief and the loss of a loved one set Mendoza on this path. Her son died of diabetes when he was 21 years old back in 2012.

“You know, when you lose a child, or you lose anybody, but specifically a child, you go through a lot of grief,” Mendoza told Buffalo’s Fire. “My other son was very close to his brother and we were just falling apart as a family. I started as a mother, as a parent, a grandmother, trying to help my children heal, bringing everybody together.”

Early during her MMIP work, she met another mother who was grieving a child.

“When I reached out to that mother, she said nobody had asked her in a really long time, ‘How are you doing?’ She had lost her daughter who was 11 years old.” The girl had gone missing and was murdered. “So we just began building a relationship,” Mendoza said.

“She was doing the same things that I was doing –– sitting on the couch, sitting on the bed, just not wanting to do anything anymore,” said Mendoza. “And she had been doing that for quite some time.”

Mendoza provided emotional support that family members of MMIP often don’t receive. The two formed a friendship stimulating the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. “Now she’s able to go out and speak, be a voice for her daughter. Some of the other women I’ve reached out to are also part of the society,” Mendoza said.

The group name originated with the decision to wear jingle dresses and red ribbon skirts at events to spread awareness. The color red often symbolizes the MMIP victims who have been silenced.

According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, around 4,200 missing and murdered cases remain unsolved. Approximately 1,500 missing American Indian and Alaska Natives are registered in the National Crime Information Center. The Not Invisible Act Commission issued a report last November providing details of the national crisis of MMIP across the country. The Interior and Justice departments responded to the commission’s Not One More report.

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For the last 35 years Mendoza’s base has been the Black Hills where she and her son own a small book business specializing in literature by Native American authors. This location is where she’s raised her children and grandchildren. She grew up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, where she graduated from high school before moving on to Black Hills State University for her degree.

The Red Ribbon Skirt Society now has about 25 active members in and around Rapid City, S.D. The group is all-volunteer and doesn’t accept any federal or state funding. “We are just a group of women that volunteer our time to this cause,” said Mendoza. It consists mostly of mothers, grandmothers, and members of those families that have lost individuals,” she said. “They go out and speak, they spread awareness and they really are a voice for their lost one and for other women and children as well.”

In addition to hosting events and amplifying the voices of families, participants help families through court processes. This includes meetings with attorneys general, victims’ assistants and investigators. Mendoza said Red Ribbon Skirt Society members accompany community members to court hearings when asked by families uneasy with the legal system.

Prayer is a significant part of the group’s activity. At events, Mendoza usually asks if someone can speak or sing in Lakota. She sometimes finds no one to recite certain prayers in the Native language. “We need to smudge and we need to put tobacco down to prepare for this,” said Mendoza.

The Bush Fellowship is to strengthen her Lakota roots. “It’s to reconnect and learn about my traditional ceremonies, because I need to learn these things,” Mendoza said.

Throughout the next two years, Mendoza expects to learn her songs, how to help run a sweat lodge ceremony and better ways to commune with nature. “I’m going to the sacred sites that are here in South Dakota and also beyond,” said Mendoza. “There’s a sacred site in Wyoming, which I will be going to as well. And just in spending time there, connecting to the land, connecting to the person I need to be, a Lakota woman.”

She plans to share the knowledge of her cultural heritage with others in the Red Ribbon Skirt Society and families needing support. She wants families to incorporate these teachings into their healing journeys.

“I hope that somehow in the future that I can carry on those teachings and pass those on to younger women,” said Mendoza. “As well as to pass those on to still those women that are my age and older.”

This story was originally published on BuffalosFire.com.

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U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum joins calls for Biden to drop out of presidential race

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U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum is the second Democrat in Minnesota’s congressional delegation to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the campaign and allow another candidate to take his place.

In a statement released Friday, McCollum, who has represented St. Paul and the east metro for more than two decades, said Biden should step aside. She joins a growing chorus of Democrats calling for a new presidential nominee as doubts grow about the 81-year-old Biden’s age and fitness for office.

“Winning in November and defeating Trump’s dangerous, hate-filled agenda must be Democrats’ sole focus,” McCollum said. “To give Democrats a strong, viable path to winning the White House, I am calling upon President Biden to release his delegates and empower Vice President (Kamala) Harris to step forward to become the Democratic nominee for President.

McCollum said delegates to the Democratic National Convention in August should consider adding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the ticket, citing the need for a “strong Midwestern running-mate.”

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., speaks before President Joe Biden at the Earth Rider Brewery, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, in Superior, Wis.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A growing number of Democratic members of Congress are calling for the president to step aside and allow the vice president to take his place in the race. As of Friday afternoon, more than 30 had called for Biden not to drop out.

McCollum is the second member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation to call on Biden to end his reelection bid. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, who represents the south Twin Cities suburbs, called on Biden to step aside earlier this month.

Dean Phillips, who represents the west metro suburbs and attempted to run for president himself, has not called on Biden to step aside, though he has said he believes the president is too old to run for a second term.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith have not called for Biden to step aside. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents a district that includes Minneapolis, has been a vocal supporter of Biden.

Walz has not called for Biden to step down and has been a vocal supporter of the president — even as concerns grew about Biden’s poor performance in his June debate with Donald Trump.

After a meeting of Democratic governors at the White House earlier this month, Walz said he believed Biden was “fit for office.”

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Five questions as the second half of the Twins’ season gets underway

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The beginning of the Twins’ season was unlike any other. Good play followed poor play and the cycle kept repeating itself, the highlight being a 12-game winning streak and the low light a seven-game losing streak.

“I couldn’t take any more of that streaky stuff,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It was more than a little bit. It was excessive.”

It sure was.

But the Twins eventually settled in, found some offensive consistency and started rattling off series wins. They finished the first half of the season with a 54-42 record, on pace to win 91 games and in line for a playoff berth.

Here are five questions facing the Twins as the second half of the season gets underway:

Will the Twins make a move at the trade deadline?

The trade deadline is fast approaching — it will fall on July 30 at 5 p.m. CT this year — and the Twins currently are in position to be buyers. Holding a Wild Card spot at the moment, the big question will be how much the Twins want to push to supplement this roster.

After a slow start, the offense has been among the best in the majors. It seems as if contending teams could always use bullpen help at the deadline, but the Twins’ group could be getting major reinforcements soon in the form of injured relievers Brock Stewart and Justin Topa.

But the status of the starting rotation is more of a question.

The Twins have Pablo López, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Simeon Woods Richardson and Chris Paddack currently in the rotation. But their starting pitching depth is thin. And the Twins will need to continue carefully monitoring Paddack’s workload in his first full season since 2019.

Would they swing a trade for a starting pitcher? And how much would they have to part with to do so? They have a little over a week to figure that out.

How healthy will the Twins be?

The Twins limped into the all-star break, forced to play a catcher, Christian Vázquez, at third base last Saturday due to a string of injuries to their infielders.

After staying mostly healthy for much of the first half of the season, both Kyle Farmer (shoulder) and Jose Miranda (back) landed on the injured list and Carlos Correa (more on him below) was sidelined with a foot injury.

Austin Martin was already on the injured list at the time, though his return could be quite soon. Fellow infielder Royce Lewis, whom the Twins said early in July they would re-evaluate after the all-star break, was too. Lewis is dealing with an adductor strain that the Twins expected would keep him out for a few weeks.

Stewart appears to be near a return — which could provide a big boost to the bullpen —rehabbing with the Triple-A Saints last week after missing two months with shoulder tendinitis, and Topa (knee) could be moving toward making his season debut.

The Twins haven’t said much publicly about Alex Kirilloff’s status since he landed on the IL a little more than a month ago, though it’s hard to see how he fits into the picture at the current moment when he is healthy.

How big of a problem will Carlos Correa’s foot be?

Carlos Correa was scratched from the lineup on Saturday and imaging revealed plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The all-star break came at a good time for him, and if he does take the field on Saturday, he would have had seven days to rest.

But how serious is the injury?

The early word is that it is less serious than the plantar fasciitis he had in his left foot last season, but it still has to be a concern considering how much he was limited by his foot a season ago.

Correa said last Sunday if he could have done things differently last year, he would have taken more time off when the issue started to make sure that the pain doesn’t worsen.

But how much time is enough time? And how much will plantar fasciitis affect and limit Correa, who has been the Twins’ team MVP to this point?

What will the Twins do with Brooks Lee when Royce Lewis returns?

It’s a good problem to have, certainly, but what will the Twins do with their No. 2 prospect when Lewis makes his return?

Lee was called up from Triple-A when Lewis landed on the injured list, and his performance in a small sample size has impressed those around him.

Though he’s primarily played third base since he got called up, and was drafted as a shortstop, he had an very notable day in the field last weekend at second base, making multiple nice plays, which drew praise from manager Rocco Baldelli.

If Lee continues to perform, the Twins could opt to shift him over to second, letting him play a little bit of third and possibly even short, as well. That could free up super utilityman Willi Castro to move around the field as needed.

Can the Twins catch Cleveland?

The Twins hit the all-star break 4½ games behind the division-leading Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central division and they will spend the second half of the season trying to track them down.

Despite the ground to make up, FanGraphs gave them a 38.1 percent chance to win the division (behind Cleveland’s 53.3 percent).

The Twins will play seven games in the second half against the Guardians — they went 0-5 against them in the first half — and will have an opportunity to gain some games on Cleveland then.

If they are unable to catch the Guardians, they are still well positioned to make the playoffs currently. As it sat at the break, they held the second Wild Card spot — matching them up for a series in New York against a historically-dreaded playoff foe: the Yankees.

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In defense of the day trip

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Lacey Pfalz | (TNS) TravelPulse

As the days get longer and the sun gets hotter, we’re often encouraged to leave our local areas for places farther afield, or we sit tight and wait and plan for travel during the changing seasons ahead.

Yet what about that charming town just an hour’s north, or that gorgeous nature preserve even closer to home, which you haven’t yet visited even though you’ve heard amazing things about it?

This summer, let’s rediscover the joy of visiting new places closer to home. Let’s look at the familiar world around us through the enthusiastic eyes of a traveler. Who knows? Perhaps you’ll find more to appreciate than you expected.

Day trips are short, often day-long or half-day-long trips that a traveler can complete in a single day. They might take a few hours’ drive or only a half hour, but either way, they encourage locals to experience places, parks, towns and attractions that are new to the traveler.

Since coming back from my first trip to Europe, I began viewing my local world with new eyes. I’ve become more curious about visiting places near me that I’ve never visited before, such as Port Washington, a small Wisconsin port town off Lake Michigan that is home to the first artificial harbor in the Great Lakes and is absolutely charming in the summer.

After spending an afternoon wandering around the waterfront area, visiting historic landmarks, practicing my photography and drinking coffee in the town’s adorable cafes, I asked myself only one question: Why hadn’t I visited this place sooner?

It’s something like traveler’s blindness. We become so focused as travelers on heading farther and farther away from our homes, convinced that the further we travel, the more miles we roam, the more we will learn, the more we will enjoy it, and the more we will return refreshed, renewed, and yes, even more respected by our traveling peers.

Surely you understand me. How many of you have heard someone humbly bragging about their trip to an exotic locale, as if it makes them a better human being for having traveled all the way to Vietnam or Greece or Argentina?

The sad truth of the matter is that this desire to visit the places that are most different to our own hometowns blinds us to the joy of discovery while we’re here, at home.

Yet I’m convinced that we can look at the world around us through the same eyes as the ones we use when we explore some of the world’s most beloved destinations.

A few weeks ago, Orange Cone Season (the Wisconsin slang term for summer) forced me to take an unexpected detour on my way to a nearby town that I’ve begun visiting to work remotely for a few hours. For a long while, I had no idea where I was headed, but without that detour, I never would’ve discovered the last covered bridge that still stands in Wisconsin, tucked away in a charming rural park.

When was the last time you got in your car and hopped onto your local freeway, but took it east instead of west, purely out of curiosity to discover where it might lead you? When was the last time you left your county for the promise of a nearby summer festival you’ve always heard about, but never thought to attend? When was the last time you chose to go somewhere wholly new — without ever leaving your home state or spending a night in a hotel?

This summer, make it a goal to take at least one day trip, either spontaneously or planned. I guarantee you will not regret the experience.

Reasons why you should take a day trip

It’s good for you. While I don’t have the psychological stats to back it up, I do know that when we visit new places, no matter how near or far, it boosts our curiosity and makes us happier, more fulfilled human beings. It also creates memories, especially when we do it with other people. So what are you waiting for? If you have a car, then there’s no stopping you!

It’s good for your local economy. If you live in a place that isn’t well-known for its tourism economy, then chances are, domestic (in-state) tourism is the main tourism driver for many of the places you’ll visit. Even when you take a day trip, you’re supporting your local parks, business owners and restaurateurs with every purchase, meal and experience you have, and that contributes to the overall health of the communities you visit, which is pretty great.

It’s short — on time. Even if you don’t have a flexible work schedule, it’s still possible to enjoy day trips in your free time. With summer’s longer daytime hours, you can get off work in the afternoon and enjoy several hours of daylight in a nearby locale before heading back home, and why not enjoy a nice meal in that new place while you’re at it? Or, if you want to save money, you can plan a visit to a free park and pack your own lunch or dinner to have while exploring.

You might just end up liking your corner of the globe. I know, I know, we all love to disparage where we live. Yet there’s so much to discover and appreciate! Local farmers selling the freshest produce, neat historical landmarks, charming towns and villages, native wildlife, fascinating cities and stunning parks. No matter where you live, there’s sure to be something that’ll open your perspective, widen your worldview and maybe, just maybe, give you a newfound appreciation for your little corner of the globe.

So, what do you say? Do you want to take a day trip?

________

©2024 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.