The charities
For about twelve years, Robideau operated a Dakota Youth Project which finished its activities by the end of 2011. Its bilingual website has been emptied and only provides the info that the project has been closed plus a link to a new project, „Medicine Wheel Healing Community“.
Despite the DYP having closed in 2011, there are still advertisements asking for donations on websites in German, Dutch (e.g.:
http://members.home.nl/fritst/Plaatjes/dyp.htm ) and Polish language (e.g.:
http://www.indianie.eco.pl/dyp/dypkolapl.htm ). Some of these have not updated their recommendations for more than ten years, others were only published when the project was already closed. So e.g. this website which came into being in 2011, with the info on DYP added in September 2011:
http://www.fastweb-indians.de/Seiten/Dakota-Youth-Projekt-Standorte_19For building the first DYP children's home, there are 25 acres provided in the vicinity of Porcupine Butte on Pine Ridge Reservation.
Since DYP is financed only by donations, the time necessary to finish the building depends on the financial means obtained.
Board Members
The DYP Main Board has its seat in Florida.
Board members are:
James Robideau, president – Dakota
David Nez, vice-president – Navaho
Julie Norris, secretary – Mohawk
Therese Dobrowsky – treasurer
Carolyn Johnston - Cherokee
Central DYP (CDYP) is a sub-association of DYP with its seat at Pine Ridge Reservation. Board members are:
Edgar Bear Runner, president – Lakota
James Robideau, vice-president – Dakota
Steve Robideau, board member – Dakota
Charlie Comes Killing, board member – Lakota
Isabella Schön, secretary/treasurer
08.09.2011, 18:35
There is no source provided by the owner of this website. It is, however, safe to say that the site owner copied pretty dated material in 2011, as e.g. Steve Robideau – named as a board member – already passed in 2005.
The DYP, here said to have its seat in Florida, seems to have existed in Delaware prior to the Florida registration, as becomes apparent from another website which published info on DYP in 2001. The info, BTW, is still online today without any changes effected, thus promoting DYP as a still existing charity.
http://www.lakota-info.at/projekte/d_y_p.htmThe Dakota Youth Project, Inc. (DYP) was founded in the state of Delaware in the presence of an accredited lawyer. It is recognised as non-profit since June 25, 1999. […] This youth project, developed by James Robideau, Dakota, promotes a healthy lifestyle among youths and their families and supports efforts to build a sheltered home offering security to the youths, enables access to education, supports the development of certain abilities and offers guidance through advice according to traditional teachings. For youths without families, DYP will establish homes offering the above mentioned qualities.
DYP facilities and coordinators
The main bureau is situated in St. Petersburg, Florida. Regional locations have been founded in the states of Washington and South Dakota.
Every DYP location establishes its own home/homes and supports the respective educational projects of communities.
Homes in South Dakota:
Whirlwind Horse, P.O.Box 575, Allen, SD 57714
Gus Yellow Hair, P.O.Box 484, Allen, SD 57714
Jim Cross, P.O.Box 611, Allen
Steve Robideau, 607 E. Madison, Rapid City, SD 67709
[…]
The Programme
A director or a married couple with knowledge and experience in the fields of Indian traditions, education, social work, parenthood, and life counselling provide a form of „sheltered atmosphere“ in order to support the experience and application of traditional values and teachings.
Education comprises traditional ideals, ceremonies, health and fitness, classes in law and related fields, information technology, smoking cessation, basic course parenthood and life skills, nutrition, health care regarding cancer, heart conditions, fetal alcohol syndrome, diabetes and AIDS, nature study and other fields of knowledge.
Activities
Weekly ceremonies, Christmas project, summer camps, workshops, crafts, box club and other sports.
Therapy and Education
With providing counselling and therapies for youths and families, a balance is realised; education re alcohol and drugs, counselling to prevent relapsing and health education (physically and spiritually) will be in the foreground. Educational and therapeutical measures will be accompanied by material or personal aid from the tribe or the community.
DYP also develops seminar material and teaches knowhow to train Indian youths, families and the public. These cultural presentations, workshops, meetings, seminars, and ceremonies will be performed in classrooms and in communities.
Schools, tribes, communities and groups interested in a presentation or workshop on the issues culture, education or training may contact the main bureau. All presentations include written material, slides or videos.
Project director
The director of the Dakota Youth Project, James Robideau, is a member of the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota. During the last 25 years, he has been an AIM activist, specialist for community education measures and spiritual leader. He has dedicated his life to the task of helping American natives and tribes to survive in a non-native society.
James Robideau's work also comprised:
a legal function as a tribal lawyer to procure a better understanding for Indian culture [sic] and ceremonies
participation in resocialising programmes like e.g. halfway houses
building and direction of a shelter for battered women on the Pine Ridge Reservation
foreman in an agricultural company within the scope of a tribal programme in Oklahoma
director of social services in one of the leading Indian hospitals
planning and realisation of meetings on the issue of „fetal alcohol syndrome within tribes“.
Board members:
[same as above]
[...]
If you want to learn more about this project, please contact James Robideau directly at:
Wer noch mehr über dieses Projekt wissen möchte, kann sich direkt an James Robideau wenden:
James Robideau Email: dakotayouth7@xxxx
If your command of English is not good enough, please contact Isabella Schön who will be glad to help translating questions and answers:Isabella Schön Email: ischoen@ xxxx
Kultureller Unterricht an der Montesori Schule in Charlotte, N.C.
Published: June 6, 2001 / last update: June 28, 2001
The info seems to exploit the fact that the difference between the words for a foster home (i.e. a family raising foster children) and a children's home (i.e. an institution housing and taking care of children in need, from dysfunctional families, or orphans) may easily be blurred. The text therefore evokes the impression that there are four such institutions operated by DYP in South Dakota, while in fact they may only be speaking of private foster homes. There is also no info provided whether the persons named as directors are qualified in any way.
Robideau's merits are apparently brushed up a bit. E.g. his alleged „legal function as a tribal lawyer“ seems to indicate Robideau graduated from law school which he apparently did not. Perhaps someone stumbled pretty badly when writing up the info text and did not know (or perhaps tried to blur) the difference between a lawyer and an advocate. A racist aspect is the use of the singular form when speaking about „Indian culture“ – but at least the author(s) was/were quite sure there was more than one „Indian ceremony“ and chose the plural form there.
participation in resocialising programmes like e.g. halfway houses
Now this makes one wonder. Again, such a position as indicated would require expertise, but the term „participation“ again is quite ambiguous.
building and direction of a shelter for battered women on the Pine Ridge Reservation
At least over here, such a position will not be held by a man – persons with a job in such shelters are women, on all levels of employment.
director of social services in one of the leading Indian hospitals
Apart from the remarkable fact of the hospital going unnamed, such a position should require adequate training and previous positions – which do not get mentioned in this list of qualifications and jobs.
In 2010, shortly before closing down DYP, Robideau joined another project, the Medicine Wheel Healing Community. The project seems to have been founded by two persons who passed within six weeks in the summer of 2011 and was located on property owned by them. As the MWHC website explains, a two-story building was erected on this property which is announced to be up for sale; there is, however, no update informing the site's visitors as to whether the premises having been sold successfully three years later.
http://www.medicinewhl.org/aboute.htmMedicine Wheel Healing Community was formed in 2010 by Carol Koski, Rollin (Ron) Holton and James Robideau. The dream was to develop a Healing Community which will help Native youth in continuing to recover after alcohol and drug treatment by utilizing practical knowledge and strategies of modern addiction psychology, along with the ancient traditional insight, wisdom, and healing methods of the elders.
Medicine Wheel Healing Community was also planning to hold educational experiences that will lead Native people to healthy lifestyles.
Carol Koski built a two-story building on her property which was near completion when Ron passed away in June 2011. Six weeks later Carol also passed away. The property is up for sale now.
James Robideau, as the only remaining Board Member, found four new Board Members to ensure a fully functional Board.
Medicine Wheel Healing Community is a 501 (C) (3) Non Profit Organization in active status which is incorporated in the State of Nebraska.
The site informs about the board of directors saying:
Board of Directors
James Robideau, Dakota Nation - Board Officer, President
Thomas Cook, Mohawk Nation - Board Officer, Secretary
Joseph American Horse, Lakota - Board Officer, Spiritual Advisor
Isabella Schon [sic], German - Board Officer, Treasurer
This site, same as the DYP one, also comes with English and German language sections, thus clearly including the German-language audience to raise donations. This is also apparent in their Facebook site (
https://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Medicine-Wheel-Healing-Community-Inc/237146976384520 ) which also carries bi-lingual news. Two of them are announcing ceremonies, one sweatlodge for children and their families, the other one the MWHC's participation in a sundance. Furthermore, the reports on MWHC activities are not exactly numerous: four in 2014, three in 2013, five in 2012 (two of the entries announce the addition of the German-language section of the MWHC website).
Despite MWHC aiming at providing info re healthy nutrition to the inhabitants of Pine Ridge, one of the entries from Dec 25, 2013 says:
On December 24, 2012 Medicine Wheel Healing Community delivered Christmas bags with fruit, nuts and candies to families on Pine Ridge Reservation. Thank you to everybody who helped to make this happen.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all friends and supporters of MWHC!
According to Guidestar (
http://www.guidestar.org/ViewPdf.aspx?PdfSource=0&ein=27-2777061 ), MWHC has only submitted tax forms for the years 2010 and 2011, and none for the following years. While donations in 2010 seem to have amounted to $5,000, this amount was down to $ 500 in 2011, but there was an amount of some $118,000 declared as „other income“. From the declaration which Guidestar publishes as a PDF (
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2011/272/777/2011-272777061-089a5970-Z.pdf ), this amount seems to have been left to MWHC after the death of one of their founders.
Many of the results presented in the Google search of MWHC are from sites rating resp providing info on charities. The first other result in English language is the blog of a Nuager (
http://tchiya.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/medicine-wheel-page-at-tchiya-com/ ) who e.g also promotes Manataka.
