Announcing V-Day Rapid City 2002 "On Sacred Ground...A Safe Place," with Eve Ensler and Very Special Guests Jane Fonda, Tantoo C

Proceeds to Build First V-Day Safe House on Native Land.

Rate of violence against women in Indian Country is the highest in the nation: According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among Native Americans is 3.5 times higher than for all other races

V-Day, the global movement to stop violence against women and girls, is honored to present a star-studded, gala benefit V-Day Rapid City 2002: "On Sacred Ground...A Safe Place," on April 20, 2002. Proceeds from the event will go to Cangleska, Inc., a private, nonprofit tribally chartered organization, which provides domestic violence and sexual assault services to the people of the Oglala Lakota Nation on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, for the building of a V-Day Safe house. The Safe house will act as a model for other organizations serving Indian Country.

The centerpiece of the benefit evening will be the Rapid City premiere of V-Day Artistic Director and Founder/Playwright Eve Ensler's world renowned play "The Vagina Monologues," starring Ensler with special guests Jane Fonda, Tantoo Cardinal, and musical guests ULALI. The opening ceremony will be presented by Cangleska with members of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Held at the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center, a sumptuous private dinner, and a post-performance reception and art exhibit will round out the evening. PBS (Public Broadcasting System) Head Pat Mitchell will be among the V-Day supporters attending the event.

Throughout the world, V-Day benefits are shaped by their organizers and the local community. V-Day events range from 5000-seat theatrical productions featuring local stars, actresses and activists to 100 person 'rallies' in the town square.

In Indian county, the rate of violence against women is the highest in the nation. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average annual rate of rape and sexual assault among American Indians is 3.5 times higher than for all other races. As an event, V-Day Rapid City 2002: On Sacred Ground...A Safe Place will reflect the spirit and culture of the surrounding community and the money raised will help to stop violence against women and girls by addressing a critical need.

Suzanne Blue Star Boy of the Ihanktonwan Dakota people and Cangleska representative states, "At Cangleska, Inc. we have been struggling to maintain a shelter and provide services in an area with very little resources. Our lease expires next year and we desperately need another shelter. So that we do not go back to the days of women and children hiding in abandoned cars and trailers to hide from their aggressors, we need your help and support. The V-Day Safe House will be a beacon of hope for Indian women on the poorest reservation in America. A building that provides Indian women cover at their most vulnerable moment would stand as a powerful statement to them, that there is kindness and respite in their otherwise harsh world."

V-Day's Eve Ensler comments, "V-Day's mission is to raise funds and awareness for anti-violence groups around the world. From Kabul, Afghanistan to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, women are in danger. V-Day Rapid City 2002 and the Safe House are truly inspiring examples of women effectively and creatively working together to help one another, to empower one another, to stop violence against women and girls."

This will be the second V-Day Safe House. The first V-Day Safe House will be opening in Narok, Kenya on April 8, 2002. The Narok Safe House will have 40 beds and is intended as a safe haven for young girls seeking refuge from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Noted Kenyan activist and V-Day beneficiary Agnes Pareyio, one of the founders of Tasuru Ntomonok (a non-profit organization established to aid in the eradication of Female Genital Mutilation) who works to provide an alternative to the ritual of FGM will oversee the V-Day Safe house there.

Tickets for V-Day Rapid City 2002 are available as follows:

$250 (for the dinner, performance and reception) and $150 (for the performance and the reception) are available through Wild Women Productions at (505) 310-2911 or at [email protected].

$50, $40 and $30 general admission tickets (for the performance only at the Ramkota) are available through the Rapid City Civic Center box office at 1-800-GOT-MINE or on-line at www.gotmine.com

About Cangleska, Inc.:

Cangleska, Inc. (pronounced Chan-Glay-shka) is a private, non-profit 501 (c) (3) and tribally chartered organization, serving the Oglala Sioux Nation (Lakota) on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in Kyle, South Dakota. Cangleska's purpose is to provide domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention services to the people of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Cangleska, Inc. is nationally recognized as the leader in Indian Country in response to domestic violence and sexual assault. Their shelter and outreach advocates provide services to over 800 women per year and thousands of children. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is in a state of emergency regarding the violence within the family and the present facility used as a shelter for women who are battered and their children is inadequate to meet the need.

About V-Day

V-Day is a global movement that helps anti-violence organizations throughout the world continue and expand their core work on the ground, while drawing public attention to the larger fight to stop worldwide violence (including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual slavery) against women and girls.

V-Day is also a day (on or around Valentine's Day in February), for which annual theatrical and artistic events are produced around the world to transform consciousness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. Each year, V-Day promotes a series of innovative productions, events and initiatives that are identified collectively as V-Day and the year (i.e. V-Day 2001, V-Day 2002, V-Day 2003...). In 2002, V-Day has evolved from one day - Valentine's Day - into a 13-week calendar of events and social action campaigns. From January 24 - April 20, 2002, more than 800 benefit productions of Ensler's play, "The Vagina Monologues," are taking place in theatres, community centers, houses of worship, and college campuses around the world.

V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots national, and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In just five years, V-Day has raised over $7 million and was recently named one of Worth Magazine's "100 Best Charities".

V-Day 2002 sponsors and marketing partners:
To date, V-Day's 2002 corporate sponsors include Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Lifetime Television, Liz Claiborne, Marie Claire, and Tampax. V-Day's 2002 marketing partners include Eziba (V-Day's exclusive retailer: http://www.eziba.com/vday), Karen Neuburger (V-Day pajamas), SUNDÃRI, and Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

The 'V' in V-Day stands for Victory, Valentine, and Vagina.