Walking Shield
When a group of Native Americans took over Alcatraz prison, protesting generations of injustice, Phil Stevens decided he wanted to do something to help. As a successful businessman, he hadn’t thought much about his Lakota Sioux roots until he visited the reservations. “Our people are refugees in their own land,” he told his family upon his return. This is the story of how Phil used his business savvy and connections to find ingenious ways to bring desperately needed clothing, medical supplies, and housing to the reservations. “The most important thing we are doing is providing hope for our people,” he says. His organization, Operation Walking Shield, is helping people rebuild their hopes, their dreams, and their dignity. “I tell the young people they need to learn to live in both cultures — with a moccasin one foot and a tennis shoe on the other,” Phil says.
