{"id":40020,"date":"2026-04-16T13:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/art-rave-focusing-on-solutions-and-resilience\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T13:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T18:58:15","slug":"art-rave-focusing-on-solutions-and-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/art-rave-focusing-on-solutions-and-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Rave: Focusing on solutions and resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Art<\/a><\/p>\n

Art Rave, Director of the Cheyenne River Long-term Recovery Group. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COURAGE PROJECT<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Reprinted from West River Eagle<\/em><\/p>\n

Some people focus on problems: blaming, complaining, and criticizing. Art Rave (Cheyenne River and Oglala Lakota) would rather focus on solutions, uplifting the community and collaborating regionally, nationally, and internationally to serve the \u201cHighest Good of All.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by his maternal uncle, Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota), Rave channels his compassion into acts of service for his community. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the youngest of nine children, Rave says he was a \u201crelocation baby.\u201d His father, a welder and Navy veteran, moved the family to Cleveland to work in a General Motors plant building tanks. Rave and his family visited the Cheyenne River Reservation during summers while he was growing up.<\/p>\n

After graduating in 2001 from Ohio State University, Rave worked in industrial site redevelopment in Ohio for 12 years. Feeling as if his life was \u201cmissing something,\u201d he decided to move to Cheyenne River.<\/p>\n

He relocated and became the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) Tribal Inspector. In that position, he became aware of the deplorable housing conditions many tribal members were forced to endure. He worked to improve housing and helped build a hospital, a movie theater, recreation venues, and other public facilities.<\/p>\n

Rave noted that many homes on the Cheyenne River Reservation, built by the federal government as promised by treaties, were never designed to withstand the extremes of heat and cold in South Dakota. These improperly built homes are often poorly maintained and deteriorate quickly.<\/p>\n

Since 2010, the frequency and intensity of storms has increased, causing widespread damage. After these disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) often arrives late or not at all. Displaced individuals or families are then forced to move in with others, creating more wear and tear on overcrowded homes. Others are forced to live on the street or relocate to live with relatives elsewhere. Those who move to cities often end up in shelters or halfway houses.<\/p>\n

Rave stated that there is currently a shortage of approximately 1,000 to 1,200 homes on the Cheyenne River Lakota Reservation. At best, federal funding provides for only four to 10 new homes per year.<\/p>\n

To address these needs, Rave and others formed the Cheyenne River Long-term Recovery Group (CRLTRG) in 2018 with seed money from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur work is about building systems of resilience led by the community, not imposed from the outside,\u201d Rave said. \u201cThrough CRLTRG, we focus on disaster preparedness, housing recovery, and long-term stability so our people are safer before, during, and after emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Award from the Courage Project<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Courage Project recently awarded Rave a nationally competitive grant as Director of the CRLTRG. According to the organization, Rave has \u201corganized volunteer first-response training, emergency communications, and housing repair initiatives that help residents protect and support one another\u2026 fostering connection and hope across historically underserved Indigenous communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rave\u2019s award comes in the form of a \u201cPay It Forward\u201d grant, allowing him to recommend a grant to a values-aligned 501(c) (3) nonprofit. Rave has recommended that his award be donated to Dr. Diane Sharp of the Oglala Pine Ridge community and the Indigenous Community Empowerment Network. CRLTRG and the network are currently collaborating to bring shipping container homes to South Dakota.<\/p>\n

Rave serves as the Vice Chair of Western SD Community Action Agency (WSDCA), a nonprofit anti poverty corporation. He works to coordinate resources from both CRLTRG and WSDCA to fill unmet needs.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Rave participates in a cohort organized by the CDC Foundation to improve the public\u2019s health and safety in small, isolated rural towns. The cohort meets monthly to discuss solutions; Rave will attend the CDC Foundation\u2019s annual conference in Atlanta, Georgia, later this year.<\/p>\n

Last month, Rave spoke at a conference in Denver for the American Clean Power Association, exploring renewable energy resources to replace the outdated energy grid serving the reservation and other rural areas.<\/p>\n

The CRLTRG has provided life-saving training to 120 volunteers on the Cheyenne River Reservation, as well as others across South Dakota. Volunteers learn first aid, CPR, \u201cStop the Bleed\u201d techniques, and disaster assessment. CRLTRG has also provided fire training that has saved homes, public buildings, and lives.<\/p>\n

On April 2, 2026, the South Dakota governor\u2019s office announced that CRLTRG has been awarded $250,000 in opioid settlement funding. These funds will support mobile crisis response and cultural healing programs in northwest South Dakota, specifically focused on Narcan outreach and education to combat the fentanyl epidemic.<\/p>\n

Rave hopes to see continued unity among the people of Cheyenne River. \u201cJust as it takes a village to raise a child,\u201d he said, \u201cit takes a village to protect a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Art Rave: Focusing on solutions and resilience<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

Art Rave, Director of the Cheyenne River Long-term Recovery Group. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COURAGE PROJECT Reprinted from West River Eagle Some people focus on problems: blaming, complaining, and criticizing. Art Rave (Cheyenne River and Oglala Lakota) would rather focus on solutions, uplifting the community and collaborating regionally, nationally, and <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> April 16, 2026<\/p>\n

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