For the past two summers and winters I have made trips up to one of the poorest areas in the United States, the Rosebud Native American Reservation in South Dakota. I am a Native American registered with the Iowa and Nebraska Tribe. My time spent on the reservation has influenced me greatly. Some of my favorite memories are at Rosebud and words can’t describe the experiences I’ve had. In the summers we worked at different work sites and also at the kid’s club. We got to interact with kids that have grown up in a really tough situation. At the work sites you really got to see the poor conditions that this community lives and works in. In the winters we helped out with the Toys for Tots program that is held every year around Christmas time. I got to see such a different environment than what I am used to. I have seen kids who look like they haven’t eaten in days. I have seen men walking around with a bottle in their hand at noon just wandering around. I have seen dumpsters that look more suitable to live in than the housing on the reservation. I thought I knew what poverty was before I went to the reservation. Now my idea of poverty has changed completely.

The Native American community lacks several things, medical resources and knowledge being one of them. Having these resources and supplies alone would be very beneficial to them. Native Americans can be skeptical of outsiders. It is important that more Native Americans are given opportunities to bring medical expertise and programs back to the Native American communities. The nonprofit organization I work for, Advocates for World Health (AWH), distributes medical supplies over seas to third world countries. I have been looking into redistributing some of that supplies to hospitals on the reservations so that Native Americans have better access to treatments. Many of the residents have to travel very far to get