A journey of cultural reconnection and community leadership Lily Mendoza receives Bush Fellowship

Lily Mendoza, founder of Red Ribbon Skirt Society moderating a roundtable discussion titled “All Our Relatives” with guest speakers; artist Jennifer White, owner of Post Pilgrim Gallery, Leya Hale, director of documentary “Bring Her Home,” and artist Rachel Berg, owner of Liv Artfully in Sioux Falls. (Photo by Chantelle Blue Arm)

By Marnie Cook
Native Sun News Today
Correspondent
RAPID CITY – Lily Mendoza was both excited and anxious when she found out she had been selected for a 2024 Bush Fellowship. Excited because this will allow her the time and the money to walk the 300-miles to retrace the steps of Chief Big Foot and his followers. Anxious because of the nature of the fellowship.
The Bush Foundation is a place-based foundation that invests in people and ideas in Minnesota and the Dakotas and the 23 Native nations in the area. Each year, up to 30 Bush Fellows are chosen by the community reviewers. They are then brought together for a kick-off retreat. Mendoza was unaware of the level of competition for the awards. “I didn’t really realize, until I went to the retreat, just talking with other fellows saying that it is a prestigious thing to have to get. To be honest with you, I never thought of it in those terms.”
Fellows are chosen for their outstanding leadership in the service of their communities, people who are making and can make positive impacts in their communities. A successful businesswoman and activist, Mendoza had founded the Red Ribbon Skirt Society (RRSS) in 2016 to promote education and awareness around the issue of Missing and Murdered Women. The long-ignored issue had become a crisis. “Working with MMW in my eighth year now and the Red Ribbon Skirt Society, I was really encouraged by some young women who told me that I should apply. Once I dove into it, it was really challenging for me because it’s not really about a project but about you, so that was a real struggle for me.”
The fellowship is known for its focus on individual development. Mendoza found it challenging to frame the fellowship in terms of self-improvement rather than as a community project, but this process provided Mendoza with an opportunity to reflect deeply on her role within her family and community as well as her relationship to her cultural heritage. Working with the families of the missing and murdered is emotionally intensive. “I started to look at being healthy and healing. I think a part of the healing is going to help my work, in the end, working with families, who are so deep in death. It surrounds them all the time, having lost their daughters and granddaughters.” She realized she too had a lot of healing to do and wondered how she could be helping the families heal if she was struggling also.
As Mendoza continued her work with the RRSS she realized it was essential that she know the traditional prayers, songs and ceremonies for not only her healing journey but also her ability to support the families. “I remember an incident where we went up to Billing to testify for MMIW. They held a huge hearing there. I knew it was going to be hard for the families to testify. Before we went into court, I said that we needed to go outside, and we needed to pray and smudge and lay tobacco down so that you can be in a good place when you testify. I asked if anyone knew how to say our prayers in Lakota. Nobody knew how. Including myself. I said ‘That’s okay, that’s okay. We will just pray for each other.’ And so, we did, we prayed as best that we could and then we went back in, and the women were able to testify. It was in that moment that I thought I needed to learn how to do this. It was that moment that I decided this is what needs to be my journey.”
By learning traditional practices, Mendoza is now better equipped to guide and support others in cultural practices. “I have to speak from my own experiences. As far as healing, I participate in inipi. I’m also a sundancer. I’m also a pipe carrier. With that comes responsibility. I knew that when I took this on and so I had to find my way within all of that. For me, it only made sense to connect to our land, to spend time and be present on our land, to be able to learn those ceremonial songs, to be present, to be able to be out there.”
Mendoza said the Fellowship will allow her to continue the journey that she has already started. “Now, I’m going to be fortunate enough to be able to take this time. And you need money to take time. So now I’ll be able to go out and spend time, be close to the land in prayer. Over the next two years that’s my journey.” This part of her journey includes walking in the steps of Chief Big Foot and his fellow travelers as they attempted to preserve Lakota land and traditions.
She said her start date will be December 15, the same date in 1890 when Sitting Bull was assassinated by the U.S. Army at Standing Rock and Chief Big Foot and his followers fled for refuge. “I might have to go out a little bit earlier. I’m looking at averaging maybe 10 to 15 miles a day and starting at Bridger and the Cheyenne River. I think I’ll be starting at least a week out or more before the ride actually starts.”
Mendoza said she won’t be able to walk the exact path. There are concerns about the weather and heavy snow. “I’ll be walking closer to the road. I won’t be totally alone. My family will come and check on me. I’ll have a satellite phone so if I’m running out of supplies then I’ll be able to call.” She said she had been thinking about taking a small sled but then though about actually having to pull it.
She said she is going to create maps of the journey. “I want to leave that behind as part of my legacy for my children and other young women. I also will be journaling. I will also be doing a winter count. And then I will put the winter count on a buffalo hide or deer hide.” She will be documenting her experiences and knowledge, serving as a valuable resource for future generations.
Through her personal growth, Mendoza can now encourage and inspire other community members, especially women, to embark on their own healing journeys. “That’s one of the things I really try and talk with and visit with the families, I know it’s hard to lose someone that’s so close and you love but we have to figure out how to get on with our lives, because other people, as women, depend on us. We really are the backbone of the people.”

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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