Grauer School Students Travel to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

ENCINITAS, CA, October 24, 2010 (Press-News.org) Seven Grauer School students recently traveled on a cultural immersion expedition to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a Sioux Native American reservation that is the 8th largest in the U.S., but also the poorest with unemployment between 70 to 80%. The reservation was the site of the Wounded Knee Incident, which began on February 27, 1973 and was a 71-day stand off between the American Indian Movement activists, FBI agents and the National Guard. The students along with local Native Americans visited the historical site and other national monuments in the area, accompanied by Dr. Stuart Grauer.

Dr. Grauer commented, "It was an amazing experience to meet Red Cloud III and the students of the Red Cloud Indian School. Chief Red Cloud fought at Wounded Knee --- it took us four months to get access to the school, as they have suffered 500 years of oppression. When they learned that the Grauer School culture is much like their society in being protectors of the earth, we were given an open invitation. We attended sweat lodges and powwows, rode by horseback into the Black Hills, and lived in a teepee on a permaculture ranch. We brought our students into their classrooms and we studied together, shared ides, hopes, fears and spiritual beliefs. It was a compelling experience to enter their environment; I consider we visited another nation and we have added their flag to our great hall."

The Grauer School is a charitable institution led by a volunteer board; its students commit several thousand hours to humanitarian and ecological service annually, locally and globally. The School, now celebrating it's 20th year in Encinitas, is an independent, grades 6 -12 college preparatory school accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is renowned for its academic balance, attracting $2.2 million in scholarships for its 2010 16-member graduating class. To learn more about The Grauer School experience, and additional Expeditions visit http://www.grauerschool.com or call 760/944-6777.