OLCJC’s Larry Swalley sings a traditional song to honor the Culture Bearers who have shared their knowledge, traditions, songs, and ceremonial processes over the years.
Background
The Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center (OLCJC) program exists for all Lakota children and their families in the nine districts of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation who have been traumatized by sexual, emotional, or physical abuse. The OLCJC program uses contemporary methods along with traditional Lakota customs to provide safety during times of crisis through the transitional process with collaborative placement agencies and ongoing traditional therapy through ceremony. Services “strengthen the spirit” of the child to overcome past trauma through re-education by teaching traditional cultural ceremonies and re-acculturation by knowing and practicing the Lakota culture. The OLCJC program collaborates with law enforcement, the Child Protection Agency, Case Management Services, and court system. In addition, the OLCJC program provides community awareness and education through public forum discussions, trainings on child abuse, and mandatory reporting requirement/procedures.
Goals and outcomes
The project will examine the effectiveness of the OLCJC program in one or more of its components (i.e., traditional therapy through ceremony, advocacy, collaboration, and community education) as it relates to children, adolescents, and adult behavior associated with child maltreatment.