Hi, my name is David Espinoza II, I am a rising senior at the Saint Francis Indian School. I am from the Rosebud Indian Reservation which is in Todd County, South Dakota. I am an avid hunter and fisher. I have been hunting since I was 9 or 10 years old. I have been fishing longer. I play football, basketball, and Lacrosse. Lacrosse is, by far, my favorite sport because it is played for a whole different purpose other than a win. Lacrosse resonates a lot with my culture and beliefs. My Lacrosse team, the Lightning Stick Society which is an All-native team, just recently won the South Dakota State Championship. We faced a lot of adversity, but we never forgot who we played for and we ended up on top.
This will be my second year interning with Ogallala Commons. I look to do most of the same work as last year. Which was helping with the community garden. But also harvesting and learning about traditional plants which were used as either food or medicine in my culture. I would like to share what knowledge I gain with the people in my community. I want to make a map of my Reservation that shows where you can find all of these traditional plants. By doing this, I hope people will start harvesting and using the plants.
My dream is to bring back the Lakota culture into my community and to make my community as sustainable as possible. I believe Ogallala Commons will help me by connecting me with people who know a lot about sustainable energy and getting me more involved in my community.
(Me during the State Lacrosse Championship which my team won 16-15)
( One of 3 deer I took last year’s hunting season)
