It is believed that Columbus landed in the “New World” on  October 12, 1492. For many reasons, it has long been a commitment of Plenty’s to connect with the descendents and cultures of the people who were already here when the Europeans arrived. Apparently, the original inhabitants hadn’t gotten around to a strict immigration policy and very soon found themselves overrun. As our Lakota friend at Pine Ridge, Milo Yellow Hair has said, “What happened was a clash of two cultures, one that was good at taking, and one was good at giving, and we ended up with nothing.”
    
Plenty Board member, Robert Reifel and agriculture advisor, Dennis Limon, were back up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in September. Dennis was continuing his work assisting the family and community gardens project that we first got involved with in 1985. Robert, who’s been in the construction business most of his adult life, helped put a roof on  a gardens program equipment storage barn.

I interviewed Robert when he returned and, commenting on Milo’s quote, he said, “We do this in our own society day-to-day to each other and we do it throughout the world and its really one of the causes of our economic collapse. An economy built just on accumulating stuff is not sustainable. An economy built on love and respect and generosity and health, and the desire for our neighbor to be happy and free—that’s something that’s sustainable.”

He said he was in one of the gardens that’s part of the project and there was a stream of folks coming to pick a few vegetables. He was impressed by the fact that they only picked a little, even though they were told to take as much as they wanted. They didn’t want to take more than their share! He realized the gardens are little islands of hope across the Reservation where 40,000 Oglala Lakota descendents of the people of Crazy Horse and Red Cloud and American Horse struggle to survive in the midst of suffocating poverty.

We keep getting great letters from teachers, librarians and parents who have witnessed the benefits of our Books To Kids project. The latest one comes from Dawn LaFont, recently retired as Principal of Oaklawn Jr. High in Houma, Louisiana. Previously she had been the Principal of Pointe Aux Chenes Elementary School for 10 years. Ms. LaFont wrote:

“The [book] donations that found their way to Pointe Aux Chenes changed an entire community. I have had the privilege of seeing the lives that were changed. Some adults who did not read well have become readers with their children/grandchildren. Grandparents raising their grandchildren have found a great deal of support within the school to keep their grandchildren reading and academically successful. The education they did not have available to them is now afforded to their grandchildren. We can never underestimate the power of books. The height of all reason, knowledge, inspiration, and inquiry begins with a strong foundation in literature. In a time when the world can change in a second it is more important than ever that the American people have a firm foundation in the basic principles that our country was founded upon. Knowledge is power, learning must continue outside of the classroom and we must learn to question things we are not confident about. We must read.”

Here at Plenty’s headquarters on The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee we’re celebrating a couple of anniversaries this year: 40 years for The Farm and 25 years for Kids To The Country. Just doesn’t seem like it’s been that long but, you know what they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun!”

As we were assembling the fall Bulletin there were so many great photos we ended up putting in as many as we could fit. They convey the essence of the projects more clearly and directly than anything we could say. As you look at them, remember, none of this would be happening without your support. They help to remind us that we are not powerless to make a difference, to promote kindness and fairness in spite of the forces of… (we’ll let you fill in the blanks here with the usual suspects). So, once more, from the bottom of our heart, thank you for caring!

                                                                                      Gratefully yours,
                                                                                      Peter Schweitzer                               
                                                                                      Executive Director