Thank you to all of our wonderful donors for sponsoring the 2021 ISU - Crow Creek Service Project! With the help of your donations, we were able to serve 348 cats and dogs and 138 horses in both Crow Creek and for the first time ever, Big Bend! A team of 42 students, clinicians, technicians, and volunteers worked with tribal members of the Crow Creek Sioux* Indian Reservation along with members of the Rosebud Sioux* Reservation [*”Crow Creek Sioux” and “Rosebud Sioux” are the official names designated by the U.S. government and not how tribal members refer to themselves]. During the trip, we had the opportunity to not only practice our skills as veterinary practitioners, but learn about the culture, practices, and immense wisdom of the tribal members. It is through partnerships like this that we can communicate and learn from one another, grow, and become better people.

Due to systemic barriers to access to resources, these communities have been underserved on multiple facets. During our time in South Dakota, we heard countless stories of the toll that COVID-19 has taken upon the community. In these smaller communities, the loss of any one person results in a very large impact and loss for the people. Many elders who were cherished for their wisdom and knowledge were lost, and many in the community have experienced great suffering. As they work to recover, they were kind enough to let us stay in their hotel, visit, give us lessons about their people, and let us use both their fire hall and rodeo grounds. Their kindness and willingness to share helped to drive us as we worked on spaying and neutering animals, giving vaccines, providing preventative care medicine, performing dental procedures on horses, and so much more. It was your donations that helped us accomplish our goals of supporting these independent nations and the amazing relationships that they have with their animals. Thank you again, from the bottom of our hearts.

-          The 2021 ISU Crow Creek Service Project Crew

Thank you, everyone, for your generous donations!  We still have 12 hours left in our campaign and we have reached our initial goal.  We are still accepting donations even though we have reached our goal.  Please continue to share with your family and friends!

Participants of the project in Iowa, Michigan, and in Fort Thompson have been busy over the last months meeting to discuss how to organize the clinic, sorting through our inventory, figuring out what we need for this year’s clinics, finding clinicians, contacting companies for product donations, arranging lodging for the team, and brainstorming what we can do to make this year’s clinic run even better than our last clinic.  In these last two weeks, with your help, we will be purchasing supplies and making our final preparations.

 Veterinary students will start their fourth-year rotation Clinical Practice in Diverse Communities on June 21. They will spend three days before we leave learning about Lakota culture and history, reviewing clinical skills that will be needed in the equine and small animal clinics, and packing our equipment for travel.

We will travel to Fort Thompson on June 24.  Tribal members have planned a potluck dinner for our arrival that evening. On Friday morning, we get to start our work, offering veterinary care to the dogs, cats, and horses on the reservation.  

We can’t wait to share pictures with you of this year’s clinics when we return.

Thank you for caring about our project and the students, animals, and owners who will benefit from your contributions.