RAPID CITY, S.D., Sept. 17, 2026. Sina Okigwa-Paints Robe has been recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, effective August 2026, and has launched its website, sinaokigwa.org, where supporters can now make tax-deductible donations.
Incorporated in 2024, the nonprofit formalizes work its leaders have carried in Rapid City and on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for more than a decade.
“This work is generations old. What’s new is the container. Federal recognition lets us carry it forward on our own terms.”
Programs include
- Šuŋkawakȟaŋ Uŋ Wičozanikte (Healing with Horses Camp), a youth camp at Lakota Homes in North Rapid City, covered by the Rapid City Journal, KOTA, NewsCenter1, and the Lakota Times
- Wednesday Cultural Nights at the Oyate Center: ribbon skirts, beadwork, ledger art, moccasin making, and singing for girls
- Lakota singing and drum, lacrosse, hand games, and coming-of-age ceremonies
“Our young people are learning to ride, to sing, and to know who they are. That’s healing.”
Donations fund horses, camp supplies, food, and stipends for the elders who teach. In-kind gifts and volunteers are also welcome.
Sina Okigwa-Paints Robe is a Lakota-governed South Dakota nonprofit (EIN 99-1602892) providing cultural education, wellness, mental health, and land-based programming to Lakota communities. Built by relatives, for relatives. Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ.