Points North From Pine Ridge to the Gunflint Trail By Shawn Perich
What’s happening this summer actually began on a cold winter night several years ago. Sitting in her warm home, Sarah Hamilton, owner of Trail Center Lodge on the Gunflint Trail, received an email from Bob Deschampe, then Cook County commissioner and now tribal chair of the Grand Portage Ojibwe, with a link to a HuffPost story about a firewood shortage on the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation in western South Dakota, where many homes are heated with wood. Hamilton decided to do what she could to help bring firewood to Pine Ridge. She contacted One Spirit, a charitable organization working with the Lakota that was mentioned in the news story, and began raising money to help them obtain firewood and distribute it across the reservation. In doing so, she became friends with Jeri Baker, the executive director of One Spirit. A frequent conversation topic with the two women was economic development on the reservation. With unemployment hovering at 80 percent on Pine Ridge and a constant shortage of seasonal employees on the North Shore, Hamilton thought she could help.
Standing on the deck at Trail Center are Donovan [WITH PADDLE], Zach and Maya. | SUBMITTED “It’s a big step to go away from home,” Hamilton said. “They are so family-oriented that it’s actually very hard on them. One young man went home, because it was just too hard for him.”
“The chronic shortage of seasonal employees on the North Shore is not new,” she said. “Many employers hire J1 foreign workers, which can be a hassle, an expense and difficult because of Covid. Why not hire American kids instead?” Hamilton hired two young men from Pine Ridge to work at Trail Center. As word of the employment opportunity on the Gunflint Trail got around on reservation, she began hearing from other young people who were looking for work and an adventure away from home. She and Baker began developing an employment program. Hamilton found other Cook County employers who were willing to hire the Lakotas. She and Baker worked out the logistics of transportation so the young people are driven to the Rapid City airport and picked up by someone at the Duluth airport when they arrive. Baker’s grandson, Quentin Badie, built a website for One Spirit where employers could advertise jobs with specific information about duties, wages and housing. While some young people on Pine Ridge wanted to head north for work, their parents and grandparents needed assurance 18
AUGUST 2021
Hamilton and Baker had high hopes of bringing 20 or more workers to the North Shore this year, but just six arrived. They discovered this was a blessing in disguise, because they’ve been able to work out some of the kinks in the program. “What we’ve learned this year will help us be more organized in the future,” Hamilton said. “We’ll start offering the jobs earlier and move the young people here in groups, so employers know when they are coming.”
Gloria is taking orders with a smile. | SUBMITTED
Shelton and Gloria show some Northwoods covid style. | SUBMITTED
the jobs were on the up and up. One Spirit brought several of them to the North Shore to see the place and meet Hamilton. All were impressed with the employment opportunities and graciousness of the community.
Hamilton had two young people from Pine Ridge working at Trail Center the first two years. While they required some support to deal with homesickness and adapting to a culture very different from their own, she discovered they were eager to learn and willing to work.
NORTHERN WILDS
She’s also going to limit the job opportunities to a closer radius to Trail Center, essentially the Gunflint Trail and Grand Marais. This makes it easier for her to provide support to the young people when they need it. They also remain in close contact with family members and others on Pine Ridge. Hamilton will also get support she needs from individuals and various community entities. Badie, Baker’s grandson, has been working summers at Trail Center and provides companionship and support to the young people. The county government,
