By Christopher Johnson – Kalihwisaks
Diane Jourdan clearly recalls the first time she saw a large amount of clothing that could have gone to many less than fortunate families in Oneida and many other Native American reservations around the Midwest. Back in 1996 Jourdan was working in Oneida’s Environmental Department and initially wanted to recycle used household items. “Back then we had large recycling containers donated to us from Waste Management at the Oneida Warehouse,” Jourdan said. “I started noticing people were throwing away perfectly good dishes, clothing and shoes. Unfortunately all of that had to be thrown in the garbage but that was what prompted me to start collecting the clothes.”
Having been a single mother raising three kids, Jourdan fully understood the struggles that many Native American families endure simply trying to put clothes on their backs. “I was hard pressed to afford the prices that the thrift stores were charging even back then,” Jourdan said. “So when I started doing this it made me feel better knowing that somebody else was going to benefit from this, because looking back I wished somebody would have availed that to me.”
Jourdan noticed that the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) ran a clothing pantry that provided women who were getting back out into the work field with nice clothing and business attire. “I was just getting back into that area myself,” Jourdan said. “So I went there and I was able to pick up coats, dress pants and blouses. I thought if they can do that then I can provide that to the community members as well.”
She began putting out notices that she was collecting and giving away clothing and even though that first year drew modest interest at the Holy Apostles Church, by 1997 Jourdan had to set up shop at Parish Hall in Oneida because word had spread and interest skyrocketed. “Suddenly I had close to 800 pounds of clothing,” Jourdan said. “And that was just the clothing. That didn’t include the shoes, the purses, the kitchenware and the blankets and pillows.”
As the years progressed and the amount of donated clothing continued to grow, she began bringing vanloads to other reservations around Wisconsin and finally to others around the entire Midwest. “The tonnage literally got to the point where I had to get it out to other reservations around the country,” Jourdan said, “primarily the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota because I knew they’re in dire need of everything.”
By 2009 Jourdan’s program was bringing in so much clothing that she obtained the old Tower Foods building in Oneida and filled it to half capacity. It was during this period that she was regularly bringing in 2,500-3,000 pounds of clothes.
Her endeavors aren’t without a certain amount of risk. Jourdan says a delivery to Pine Ridge a few years ago during the winter was met with a blinding blizzard. “My daughter obtained a donated 16-foot Penske truck,” Jourdan said. “The Dakotas were in the middle of a really bad snow. Everything was frozen and nobody was getting on or off the reservation and she was almost to the border before the state police turned everybody back. So she had to come all the way back with the delivery of toilet paper, water, food, cereal, bedding, clothing, coats, mittens and hats. But we were eventually able to get it all out there about a month later with some of our younger tribal members, Cheyenne Powless and her friends, who ended up making that delivery for three years running.”
These days Jourdan runs her program out of the garage at her home with assistance from her sisters Judy Jourdan and Henrietta Daly along with other volunteers like Noel Cleven and Karen Jordan. Her clothing initiative, called “Lucky U Clothing Exchange,” will once again be collecting clothing, household items, blankets, sheets and towels for this spring’s annual clothing exchange. She asks that people kindly refrain from donating furniture.
“My doors are going to open the weekend after Mother’s Day,” Jourdan said. “So anybody that wants to bring clothes, dishes, shoes and coats I’ll be open on Saturday, May 14, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Monday through Friday after that from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. This is my thing. This is what I do.”
Jourdan’s address for donations is N6961 Cornelius Circle in Oneida. For questions feel free to contact her at (920) 288-7730 or email her at jourdandi@yahoo.com.
