Lakota Internship Project

The Wild Horse Butte Community Development Corporation (WHBCDC) proposes to implement the Lakota Intern Project (LIP). The purpose of this project is to develop and build a workforce to serve the victims of the WHBCDC Service Area, which includes the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and two adjacent counties, Bennett and Jackson, in South Dakota. At least six interns (two cohorts of three interns each) will be recruited from surrounding Tribal colleges and among community members in the service area. The interns will receive training on various victimization and professional skills-related topics and will serve in internship positions for 18 months. Internship placement will be at the Sacred Shawl Society Women’s Shelter, which serves Lakota victims of domestic violence and sexual assault living on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation. Internship sites could potentially be expanded to other organizations serving crime victims in the area, but those sites are to be determined.