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As we honor Tomas Streicher, here in our home community, the daughters and son-in law of Tomas plan, organize, and travel to Pine Ridge Reservation to honor an age old tradition of waiting one year to hold ceremony and memorial for a loved one. Pine Ridge Reservation, the poorest spot in our nation, was dear to the heart of Tomas. This is where the spark first began. Tomas traveled quarterly to the reservation bringing his big heart, and the many necessities and extras that might relieve some poverty of flesh, spirit, and soul to many in the communities that make up Pine Ridge Reservation.
A Ceremony will be held at the Hall where he gathered folks every year. It was only after Tomas’s trips to Pine Ridge that his work with those experiencing homelessness and poverty begin here in Nevada City–his home. I can only imagine that he was touched by his experiences on the reservation to walk in service wherever he might be. We are collecting fabric for quilting to send along in April 2014. ♥
Divine Spark got its start at Pine Ridge
By Scott Gilbert
For the Nevada City Advocate
December 2010
Divine Spark is headquartered in Nevada City, but it began as an effort to help people on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Thomas Streicher, who holds a PhD in psychology, had gone there to pursue one of his passions, the study of Native American spirituality. He was appalled by the conditions many people were living under and determined to do something about it.
Locals in Nevada County came up with enough freeze-dried food to fill up a pickup truck, and that was the beginning. Since that time, Streicher and others have brought food, children's clothing and other donations to the Lakota people. They have helped to build two greenhouses and establish an annual Thanksgiving celebration in Oglala, South Dakota.
One of the most interesting endeavors is the Lakota Quilts project.
Over the years, hundreds of sewing machines have been donated and transported to the reservation. In one of the poorest areas in the United States, these machines have helped traditional Sioux artists to preserve and pursue their art form - quilt making, and especially star quilts.
To get links to pictures and more information about the quilts, visit www.lakotaquilts.com.
My name is Cora Marie Red Hair, and I am a tribal elder of the Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. I was born on the neighboring reservation called Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, which is about seventy miles from Pine Ridge. My family. and I moved to Pine Ridge when I was a child. All my relatives, many generations, have lived on Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations for as long as I can remember and have been told.
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During the past two years, Tomas Streicher and I have become friends through our common interests in Native American spirituality. There are many Natives living on the reservation that cannot meet the necessities of life. Tomas and I work together to reach out and be of service to our people. What I like about Tomas is that he not only gives people food and clothing but talks with the people and has a deep interest in our well-being. He helps Indians and gives them hope. Tomas likes to make the best of a difficult situation, just like the time the truck got stuck in the mud while we were trying to deliver some food to a friend. He worked hard to get us out of there and we also laughed together about it. Tomas and I continue to be of assistance to the needy in my Indian community and work in harmony towards serving the basic needs of my poeple.
Two years ago I founded a non-profit corporation named Divine Spark. This organization was formed to serve the sanctity of all beings and especially the Lakota tribal members living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Since then, I have made seven trips to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota, mostly delivering food, clothing, and rendering services to the Native Americans that live in one of the poorest communities in our country. although they lack much in material things, I also found there to be much love, kindness, and spirituality among the Natives and considered my time with them to be sacred. I highly valued their acceptance of me into their culture where they taught me much about their way of life and their Native American spirituality. I share this wisdom with others through presentations, articles, radio shows, and personal contact with many people.
Cora Marie Red Hair, esteemed Lakota tribal elder, and I worked together in dispersing the food and clothing to the Natives that needed assistance. Sometimes Cora and I would drive great distances to remote places on the reservation where she knew of people that needed this food, clothing, and other resources we had to offer. We became friends and enjoyed our time together where she taught me much about her homeland and all her relatives that she loves deeply. I became a good listener of a very wise woman and her relatives.
Over the past two years, I have received ten-fold in return for the thousands of pounds of food delivered. I have gained their respect, trust, and love-this is priceless. I am now able to call on some of the Natives and talk with them and just spend time together when appropriate. They invited me to their most sacred ceremonies including the Sun Dance where I escorted Cora Marie Red Hair. The Natives also had me participate in pow-wows, sweat lodges, and vision quests, as well as in a Native American burial-I brought the casket to the cemetery for them at the request of a medicine man.
My mother was born and raised in Austria and my father's ancestors migrated from Hungary. I was born in Milwaukee. From my early childhood, I was surrounded by Native American influences, through the many cities named in Indian languages and the contributions of native Americans to Wisconsin's past and present. I took an even greater interest as my own personal past-life as a Native American was revealed to me. It was a sign for me to connect, or maybe re-connect, with as many Natives American people and culture as possible. I wanted to be more of service, so I started a non-profit organization called "Divine Spark", to serve the sanctity of all beings and especially the Natives suffering in Pine Ridge.
In conclusion, Cora and I are in much appreciation for this opportunity to share our story with you. Cora and I hope to continue our focus on Native American spirituality and to help the Natives meet their basic needs in the years to come. In return, we hope that the White culture will benefit from the Native American wisdom so apparent in their culture. We will continue to recognize and utilize the ultimate unity, goodness, and love that permeates throughout the universe.
"Mitakuye Oyasin" - a Lakota phrase meaning "In All Our Relations"
All Images by Thomas Streicher, Ph.D.; Copyright © 2010