Melva Clifford started life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, one of the top 5 poorest counties in the nation. She graduated near the top of her class from Red Cloud Indian School. She later left for Missouri, where she received her file clerk degree, and then moved out to Toppenish Washington to work in a nursing home. It was there, caring for the sick, that Melva established her ultimate goal of becoming a nurse.

She held onto that goal after returning to the reservation – even when, as a battered woman, she was driven into shelters twice. Melva believes that this was her wake up call. A single mother with seven children, she decided that the best way to support her family, educate herself and be a role model for her children and other women on the reservation was to leave and pursue her nursing degree. She did just that – and received her RN certification in December 2004!

That’s amazing enough – but how many people do you know that will take their 7 children to college with them! Melva would not leave her children behind, believing they deserved to see what this world has to offer, and learn that there is a choice in where they can receive their education. Most people on the reservation are in awe, and continue to wonder how she has made it. She says she has her faith and that is what carried her this far.

There are many Lakota Women on the Pine Ridge Reservation who are watching her progress and wish they could do the same – and seeing Melva do it will help! Melva believes in herself, and what she wants most is for the Lakota women to believe in themselves also.

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