Women on Pine Ridge Reservation Create Girl Societies – VOA News

To celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, VOA News shared a powerful video segment covering the women of the Lakota tribe on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, who are offering the younger generation of women new opportunities through a partnership with IMAGEN.

In the video, you can see IMAGEN partner Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation lead a community meeting to address the importance of mentorship and reclaiming matrilineal traditions to create safe spaces for girls.

“With the historical oppression that Native American people have experienced here in the U.S. family structures are often broken down,” explains Dr. Kelly Hallman from IMAGEN. “So girls have a lot more on their plates than boys do in terms of pregnancy risk, in terms of dropping out of school, and in terms of having to shoulder the responsibilities of heading a family.”