Andrew Bentley

Andrew Bentley, AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer serving in South Dakota

Hello, my name is Andrew Bentley and I am an AmeriCorps VISTA serving with National Relief Charities in Rapid City, SD. I am an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, but was born and raised in Maryland as a result of a mass Lumbee migration to Baltimore in the 1950s and 1960s. As my grandfather once put it, “Baltimore was the first city of the North and last city of the South.” Baltimore was a place of promise for Lumbees looking to escape rural poverty in the city’s thriving industrial sector.

My grandfather helped establish the South Broadway Baptist Church and Baltimore American Indian Center to serve as a hub for the newly established community coping with urban life. Perhaps it could be said that I’m following in his footsteps, living my life to honor his.

In 2011, I graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA with a B.A. in Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media. As an undergraduate student, I participated in a Service Immersion Program on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in 2010 and 2011. The experiences I had on Rosebud reshaped my thoughts on us being spirits on a humanistic journey. As a result, I have spent the time since then wanting to return to the region to serve the people for a longer period of time. AmeriCorps VISTA and National Relief Charities provided an opportunity to make this a reality.

This is my third experience serving Native American communities in the Great Plains region. Things beyond myself brought me to this place, brought me to this moment. Here I am sitting here in my office writing this introduction, preserving this moment with word. The moment is here and as you read this, it is long gone. Still, it lives on.