The Okiciyap (we help) Community here at Daily Kos is asking for your help.
Welcome to the second day of the Okiciyap Quilt Auction, to benefit the Okiciyap Food Pantry on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
Take a good look at this quilt.
Lean in and take a closer look at this section.
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 second row center block
It is a dreamcatcher.
When Georgia Little Shield founded Okiciyap, she had a dream and a vision:
that nobody should ever go hungry on the Cheyenne Reservation and that youth should grow up to be healthy adults free from the current scourges reservation: suicide, alcoholism and low educational attainment.
That dream has become a reality, but dreams must be sustained.
I hope it this will catch your attention and help turn dreams into food.
Bid.
(To see where the bidding stands now, go to the comments section)
If you can't afford to bid, you can make a donation.
Bid, or donated already? Help by rec'ing this so other folks will see it.
You can also help by posting this to facebook, or other social media networks, tweet it, email it... everything you do will help make the conditions of Native Americans more visible.
This country was founded in tragedy for the original inhabitants.
We can't go back and change history, but we sure can go forward and begin to address the shameful conditions the majority of our First Nations people live with every day.
Too many of us have never set foot on a reservation.
Too many of us have never even met a Native American.
Sadly, that will continue to be true.
Many of us live in cities where there is no large "off-rez" population.
According to the census "In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that about 0.8% of the U.S. population was of American Indian or Alaska Native descent."
These numbers, and the locations of reservations, have made it easy for Native Americans to be rendered virtually invisible.
Take a look at the pantry photo gallery.
Visible food and supplies.
Most of you reading this today know where your next meal is coming from. Food is a basic human need, and far too many people on the rez are struggling to just eat.
Okiciyap, with your help is fighting to make a difference.
For me, this is personal.
I was one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to be embraced and invited to spend time with the Lakota people. I had no idea what to expect went I traveled to South Dakota to work with the men and women who would become my brothers and sisters of the heart and spirit.
This black New York City gal got a real wake-up call when I arrived. I had never been to a reservation, though I had worked with Native issues in my home state.
Folks on the rez had very little in the way of material goods.
Life in a railroad flat apartment in East Harlem was luxury living in comparison to the daily life on the rez, in trailers, eating a steady diet of fry bread and beans. Never thought I be making trips to an outhouse.
Yet in spite of the harsh conditions, homes were opened, stories were shared, and room was made for me, at the table, and in the hearts of everyone I met.
During that first trip, I had a business credit card. I figgered I would return the hospitality of my hosts by taking them all out to a big dinner in town, at a nice restaurant. I called ahead, made a reservation and we showed up on time. Twelve of us. We were seated, but got strange looks.
Other people came in—white people—were seated and served soon after. We waited, and watched. We were not served. We waited longer. I called the waiter over and complained. He looked uncomfortable, mumbled that I should talk to the boss. I did, making a stink and naming codes he was violating, while dropping the name of the Federal agency I worked for at the time. An hour had passed and he grudgingly said we would be served. I went back to the table, apologized to my friends, and we got up and left. Jim Crow didn't only happen in the South, and this was in the early 80's.
I didn't know this happened to Ndns. But I did after that.
We stopped and bought groceries and went back to the rez. The story of getting shot at while walking back along a dusty road is a tale for another time and place.
Just another day of being "a skin" in South Dakota I was told.
I have many memories from those days, and some of the people I met then are still fighting to both survive and bring justice to the people. Others have passed on, but will not be forgotten. I returned to the East with a renewed commitment to pay more attention to the struggles of my native sisters and brothers. I've kept that commitment.
There are twelve panels in the quilt being auctioned today. It made me think of the twelve of us at that table.
Other than the memories of that time, my most precious gift came from a young woman I met there named Wallea Feather. Before I left, she gave me a gift I cherished. It was a worn, often washed, faded quilt.
A star quilt.
Her grandmother had made it.
I still have it today.
Join us below the orange squiggle to make your bids, get more information about how you can help, and be part of the conversation.
NEW HIGH BID
NEW HIGH BID $620.00
Each block of the quilt has a special spiritual and symbolic meaning, which Aji explained in her diary "Feeding the Body, Feeding the Spirit: Okiciyap (We Help)".
Can I get a bid from the North?
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 top left block
Can I get a bid from the East?
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 top center block
Can I get a bid from the South?
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 top right block
Can I get a bid from the West?
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 second row left block
Do we have a bid from an elder? If you are like me, being wrapped in a quilt is like being hugged.
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 second row right block
Can we get a bid for a youngster (what a wonderful gift this would be to pass down for generations of your family)
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 third row left block
Let's hear from someone bidding for a birthday gift!
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 third row center
Have a special anniversary coming up? This is the perfect gift to give.
So bid.
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 third row right block
A new baby on the way? Momma can wrap herself in this quilt, and later baby can be embraced in it too.
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 bottom row left block
Wooing a special someone? You will bring a shine to their eyes with this gift (and feed others at the same time)
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 bottom row center block
Selfish? You want this for you. You are allowed, cause it ain't selfish to enjoy something beautiful, when it also gives to others.
Okiciyap Quilt 2013 bottom row right block
If you can't bid, remember you can still give. If you don't have a credit card, or paypal, you can send a direct donation. Every donation counts!!!
Address for direct donations to the: Okiciyap (we help) Food Pantry
P.O. Box 172
Isabel, SD 57633
OKICIYAP QUILT AUCTION RULES 2013
1) Auction begins on Wednesday, March 27th. Bids will first be accepted in the diary published that day by GreyHawk. The final day of the auction is Sunday, April 7, 2013, at approximately 7:00 p.m. CT. The last two+ hours of the auction will be held online from 5:00 p.m. central until 7 p.m. central in the DKQG diary. If no higher bids are posted by 7:10 p.m. the best bid before 7:00 p.m. central will be declared the winner.
1.1)The auction will end as soon as no higher bids are posted within 10 minutes of the highest bid received. Final bids will be decided by the time posted on the message. The decision of the judges on winning bid is final.
1.2)After the final bid is decided and the successful bidder notified, the donation to the pantry will be made, and once confirmed, BeadLady will send the quilt to the lucky winner! The pantry is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization, this donation will be tax deductable.
2) Bids will be accepted by making comments in diaries, as well as by kosmailing weck and/or glorificus at any time to make arrangements for anonymous or absentee bidding.
2.1) If you wish to remain anonymous, you may set that up with weck or glorificus in advance, and we will use a number when we post your bids in a diary. (example = Anon-02)
2.2) If you want to leave an absentee bid, you may do that with either weck or glorificus. We will need to know the highest amount you are willing to bid and we will place those bids for you in 10 dollar increments as the bidding progresses throughout the auction. If the bidding goes higher than you first authorized, you may contact the same person again with a new top limit, or bid in the diaries. Absentee bids should be
placed with weck or glorificus as far in advance as possible.
3) Bidding by groups, businesses or organizations is allowed, as long as only one contact name is used. Please let us know the details of your group, business or organization and who is the official spokesperson for the group or organization.
4) Bidding is in minimum increments of $10.00. You may bid in higher increments that can be divided evenly by $10.00.
4.1) Bids must be in U.S. funds.
5) weck and glorificus will do their best to inform all bidders of the newest high bid. To receive this information in you Kosmail box, please ask weck or glorificus to join Daily Kos Quilt Guild Auction Alliance group.
5.1) We will send groupmail to everyone (Each member will be made an editor for the duration of the auction) Reminder*A groupmail won't show up on your main page; you will have to check for messages manually.*
6) A PayPal link will be included for other donations to Okiciyap. While we cherish the thought that you may choose to donate to Okiciyap during the auction, there is no advantage in the auction to doing that. It is not necessary to donate through the PayPal to Okiciyap to participate in the auction. To use the paypal link, click on the link that goes to the Okiciyap Pantry's new website. http://okiciyap.weebly.com/...
7) The winning bidder can make payment arrangements that are not through PayPal with weck or glorificus. We know that some folks don't use Paypal.
8) The winning bidder will have 48 hours to confirm their success. After 48 hours, the judges may, at their discretion, offer the second highest bidder the opportunity to redeem the quilt. The decision of the judges is final.