One aspect of our project is the use of local builders. Those who hope to help with construction on Native American reservations often bring crews of skilled labor from off the reservation. The approach can be an efficient one, but it does mean that local residents do not themselves gain experience with directing projects on their own. They may assist with low-skill tasks, but the supervision and skilled labor iare done by others. When the work crews depart, they take their expertise with them.

For the Stronghold Project, we are relying on local skilled labor. Thanks to a generous grant from the Evangelical Education Society, we are able to employ an instructor in the Applied Science program at Oglala Lakota College as a superviser and hire some recent graduates of that program as carpenters.

Bob Prichard