According to the NDN Collective, the Collective Abundance Fund grant opportunity is intended to support the re-building of generational wealth, while beginning to address the wealth gap.
This opportunity to re-build generational wealth allowed me to fulfill my goal of, "to decolonize Indigenous mental health through business development."
This goal was inspired to me by my grandmother, Millie Tin Cup.
Millie was a kind hearted woman with her own mental health struggles, including addictions.
In 1978, my grandmother, Millie Tin Cup, a full blooded Lakota woman, attended a party for the last time and became a Missing Murdered Indigenous Woman.
Her intergenerational/historical trauma contributed to my father being forced into one of the last remaining boarding schools at age 6-years-old in Pierre, South Dakota. In boarding school, my father experienced many injustices and traumas that continue to impact him to this day. My father could have given up, but his perseverance provided me a chance to pursue an education. As a result, I graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2014 with a triple major in American Indian Studies, Liberal Arts for the Human Services, and Sociology. I also graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2016 with my Master of Social Work degree. With my families' perseverance, personal history, and through my educational experiences, I figured out my purpose in life. My purpose is to help others in need through the Lakota virtues of generosity and compassion.
Fast forward 9 years, and the NDN Collective grant provided me the opportunity of a lifetime. It provided me the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong passion of creating my own private practice specializing in Indigenous mental health care. I am now able to provide generosity and compassion through an Indigenous lens.
My private practice is called "Tin Cup Counseling & Consultation PLLC" inspired by my grandmother. Although, I was never able to meet her, I believe she would be proud. Over the past year, I have acquired an office space, I have created my own business, I have created my own business logo, and I have acquired an Indigenous caseload throughout Minnesota and South Dakota.
Physical health-wise, I have been able to develop two Indigenous gardens near my physical office space. I plan to use these gardens to help alleviate Indigenous food insecurity and help eliminate our peoples reliance upon boxed goods. Additional fresh foods like deer, elk, buffalo and antelope will also be provided to folks through relationships I have established with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
