A love for humans: How one Wisconsin couple are making a difference for the Oglala Lakota in Wanblee, South Dakota
Now and then I find an opportunity to write stories about the present-day life of Native Americans in Wisconsin, namely the Hoocąk. This story however stretches outside Wisconsin and has a unique tie to our state. The story involves the people of the Oglala Lakota tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation, in South Dakota.
Recently, our neighbor Sharon was visited by her cousin Mary Grimme-Epps and her husband Bob Epps. Sharon mentioned to me that Mary and Bob lived on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Of course, this perked my interest. Sharon shared that they had moved out there from the Madison, Wisconsin area a while back to help the people in Wanblee, a small Oglala community on Pine Ridge.
As co-founders of Families Working Together, the Epps are making the term “Eradicating Poverty One Family and One Reservation at a time”, a reality one day at a time.
I asked Sharon if the Epps would be willing to give me an interview on their work. A day later, I spent a couple hours listening to an amazing human story.
Normally, I use media to enhance my articles, but my spirit told me this story was deserving of a taped interview that would give our audience a more personal connection.
Thank you to our neighbors Jeff and Sharon White for hosting this interview in their home.
For more information and how you can help, visit Families Working Together on Facebook or the web.
Editor’s Note: At about 8:18 into the video, a small glitch took place. I decided to leave it in for the sake of humor.
