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Hi John,

I recently visited some friends on Pine Ridge Reservation. My friend, Larry, is an Oglala Lakota cultural advocate and lives on the land of his ancestors.

Larry received a home that was donated to him after Hurricane Katrina that has running water from a well he built himself and electricity that he wired himself. His land is enclosed by a fence he built with barbed wire and wood pikes.

He and his wife each have a refurbished car that he’s learned how to repair—while I was there, his wife’s car refused to turn on and Larry set about learning what transmission diagnostic codes mean and how to fix them. His own truck has brakes that are beginning to fail, so when we were driving together, he was unable to brake hard and point out an eagle. This was the same truck he dropped me off at the airport with—there was no other, safer vehicle that we could’ve taken.

If you ask Larry, he will tell you that his situation is better than most others living on the reservation. He has a job, he has transportation, he has shelter and his own land. He lives without healthcare but prays in Sweat Lodge for good health for himself and his family.

Larry spends his time advocating for reservation children and for suicide prevention through cultural enrichment. In his free time, he learns how to fix and build everything he and his family might possibly need. Sometimes, he goes to golf with his brothers. He asked me if I found any buffalo golf club covers in my journey through life, that I would think of him and send the buffalo golf club covers his way. That’s the only thing he’s ever asked me for.

Larry’s wife, Yolanda (Yoli), works at an arts company and is always knitting or drawing something. The arts company is also working on suicide prevention. Yoli mentioned in passing that the phone calls she kept receiving while I was with her were “annoying loan people.” That’s when I found out that Larry and Yoli had been caught up in a predatory student loan scheme. Those schemes prey upon parents like Larry and Yoli—parents who just want better lives for their children.

I have stood for student debt cancellation since the very beginning. And I will fight for Larry, Yoli, and everyone else who desperately needs that relief. If you’re ready to fight with me, donate now:

Donate Now

Like so many Americans, predatory lenders have made Larry and Yoli’s lives so much worse.

I asked to review their student loan accounts and I found that one loan had already gone to collections, destroying their credit scores.

Another loan, for their son, hadn’t yet. I helped their son learn how to check his account—something that no one had taught him how to do.

Another loan company had called Yoli and convinced her to consolidate two other loans with them, which she had done because she didn’t understand what they were talking about but thought it sounded like a good deal.

All Larry and Yoli want is a better life for their children. In total, Yoli has $55,000 in student debt. Her annual income is $13,000. As a reminder, her only mode of transportation, which she uses to get to her job, broke while I was there.

Forty-five million Americans are counting on student debt cancellation. That 45 million includes people living in deep poverty who are surviving without guardrails. They are looking to better their own lives and the lives of their children through education—the same American Dream that we were all sold. The student debt crisis is dire and life threatening. Student debt must be cancelled. Lives depend on it. Education should be free.

Student debt cancellation is an issue that affects so many of us, that it could make the difference between getting enough voters to the polls in November—or too few. So will you help me get this message—and the voters—out?