LAKOTA

LAKOTA Team is a three-way partnership between Purdue University, Oglala Lakota College (OLC), and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT).  Since the Fall of 2017, LAKOTA team here at Purdue has been working towards the goal of combating issues relating to food sovereignty on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota as well as assisting with cultural learning on OLC campus.  Pine Ridge is considered to be one of the poorest counties in the United States and suffers from a lack of access to fresh foods.  Many residents have to travel long distances in order to get basic essentials.  Throughout its almost three years of existence, LAKOTA has evolved to have multiple subgroups and projects working towards fixing the issues facing the people on Pine Ridge, with the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic we have added two more sub-groups to help give access to information about the spread of the Coronavirus to those in impoverished areas, like the Pine-Ridge Reservation.