A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe is bringing attention to the impact of methamphetamine addiction from within the walls of the South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre.
37-year-old Heather Shooter from Eagle Butte started the Sober is Sacred group– or SIS.
Shooter says non-natives are welcome in SIS as well.
In their first year, she says they’ve put on two anti-meth rallies at the women’s prison, including one late last month (May 24).
Shooter will be released in the next few months, but she plans to continue working with the Sober is Sacred program.
Women’s Prison warden Wanda Markland says over half of the inmates are incarcerated because of drug related crimes and she’s encouraged by the progress the Sober is Sacred group has already made.
Shooter spent months filling out forms to give the group non-profit status, which opens up doors for funding and finding speakers. She says the application was finally approved last month (May 10).
May 24, 2019, anti-meth rally:
Hear more from Shooter on the SIS program in this KGFX Beyond the Mic podcast.