The Indians Aim to Take Back Manhattan

   In 1624 the Indians sold the Island of Manhattan to the Europeans for about $24.  On November 4th, 2012, Lakota Marathon Runners will participate in the prestigious New York Marathon and judging from their performance in the recent Badlands half-marathon, they aim to win back New York City.    

On September 22, 2012, three of the five Lakota young people who will be participating in NYC, competed in the Badlands half-marathon.      In a field of about 50 runners, Nupa White Plume, Kelsey Good Lance, and Alex Pine took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishing the 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 37 minutes - a time of 7 minutes per mile.

Lakota Runners Represent ONE Spirit

The runners from Pine Ridge are truly modern day heroes, and against all odds, are competing in the most prestigious marathon in the world in an effort to raise funds and awareness for the Allen Youth Center.

Through the sacrifice and hard work of the Lakota Five, we hope to raise $18,000 to donate to the Youth Center.  Your donation will support these young role models in their courageous efforts and will help inspire the young people of Pine Ridge, as well as giving them an amazing Youth Center.

                       Who Are They?

Kelsey Good Lance is 20 years old.  He says the Lakota people have always been runners and he hopes to be a positive role model for young children on the reservation by encouraging them to pursue running instead of gangs or alcohol that are so frequently a problem for Lakota youth. He also runs to honor his family and his People- he even dreams of running and wakes up smiling!  Kelsey's training paid off recently when he won the Oglala Lakota Nation 10k race.  This win is most impressive because kelsey actually arrived late to the race, aftert the other runners had begun, and STILL won.

Kelsey is being helped by coaches Dale Pine and Lynelle Long, also from Pine Ridge. When we mentioned to them that Kelsey had WALKED THE 15 MILES IN 90* HEAT TO MEET US,  they said, “ Yep- that’s Kelsey!” We’re so proud of this young man and we applaud him for courage.

Nupa White Plume is a 27 year old father of two children.  Nupa is an all-around athlete, has competed in the Iron Warrior events and is an experienced horseman. Last year, he auditioned for and won one of two spots in the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, which is a modern version of the same event that chief Sitting Bull was part of over one hundred years ago.

At present, Nupa is running about 20 miles a day, 4 or 5 days a week over the hilly terrain of the reservation.  Join us in Cheering Nupa on.

Jeffrey Turning Heart Jr.  Jeff is a dedicated runner who has already run a total of 2,107.9 miles this year.    He runs for the pure joy of running and has great fun with crazy running outfits, wild funky socks and even a hot pink Mohawk.  Running in the NYC Marathon is a dream-come-true for jeff...literally.  He has wanted to run in the marathon since he was old enough to wartch it on TV and says it's a HUGE honor to run the marathon as a representative for ONE Spirit!   Join us in supporting Jeff Turning Heart Jr.

Alex Wilson is an accomplished runner who placed fifth in the State Cross Country when he was only in the eighth grade and went on to win the State championship in that event as a high school senior.  Alex has continued to run and wants to inspire other youth on the reservation to follow their dreams.   Join us in rooting for Alex.

Amanda Carlow  has joined Team One Spirit as Runner Number 5.  Amanda teaches at Red Cloud School on Pine Ridge Reservation and is the Cross Country Coach.  She has a long history of running, including marathons and is a Sun Dancer.  

Welcome Amanda to the team!!   

A huge thanks to all One Spirit supporters for your contribution in giving the youth of Pine Ridge an opportunity to show that they are MORE than negative publcity.