For the Cheyenne River Youth Project, it all began with a little building affectionately called “The Main.” In the fall of 1988, a volunteer-run, drop-in youth center for children opened its doors in a former Main Street bar — and the rest, as they say, is history.
CRYP no longer makes its home on Main Street; the Native-led nonprofit moved to East Lincoln Street in 1999, when it opened the doors to a new youth center. In the years to come, it would add a garden, teen center, public art park, social enterprises and a beekeeping operation to its Eagle Butte campus, with an arts and culture center on the horizon in 2025-26.
According to Garreau, founder and chief executive officer, the youth project’s DNA remains unchanged despite this tremendous growth. The evidence can be found at the campus’s entrance, in a 4,000-square-foot building with a colorful playground next door.
“The Main still welcomes children ages 4-12 every day to our after-school program,” Garreau said. “It serves as our first point of impact with our community’s children. They are free to drop in between 4 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and our staff and volunteers will greet them with games, arts and crafts materials, healthy meals and snacks, and plenty of fun.”
They also benefit from positive role models and mentors during their time at The Main. CRYP’s programs assistants, all young people from the Cheyenne River community, are responsible for preparing developmentally appropriate activities for each age group, and they provide guidance and connection every step of the way.
“It’s a wonderful experience for me, and for the other staff members,” said Hayley Dupris, who works alongside fellow programs assistants Inalei Bulgarin and Nation Cowins and youth programs trainee Sarah Berndt. “Although I cannot speak for the children, I can see on their faces that they are enjoying fun experiences and an engaging environment each day after school.”
On a typical day, staff hand out coloring sheets at the beginning of the afternoon. Children then move on to an activity that allows them to practice gross and fine motor skills, such as making bracelets and playing musical chairs.
They have an opportunity to play outside or in the teen center’s gym, depending on weather conditions, and staff also provide beverages and on-the-go snacks. At 5:30 p.m., the children are escorted to the teen center’s cafe for a hearty, nutritious evening meal.
“The most important thing for any child’s healthy development is safety,” Garreau observed. “They cannot focus on learning, self-care or cultural connection if they do not feel safe, so that is our primary objective at The Main. We provide safe spaces and caregivers, we provide nourishment, and we demonstrate every day that they can rely on us. We will be here for them.”
Now serving its second generation of children, The Main is well-known in the community for long-running signature programs like Main University. Founded in 2002 by CRYP volunteer Tracie Farrell and a recipient of a “Champion for Children” award from the South Dakota Coalition for Children, Main University is designed to give children opportunities to take short courses that allow them to explore subjects that might not be offered in school.
Main University’s winter 2025 session kicked off Monday, Jan. 6 and will conclude in late February with a graduation ceremony. In their first month, students engaged in ice-breaking, sensory and physical activities; engaged in role-playing and team-building games; exercised their creativity with arts and crafts; and learned Lakota language, including colors, numbers, seasons and basic introductions.
“It’s wonderful to see our older Lakota youth teaching their younger relatives,” Garreau said. “It allows those young adults to continue to grow into their roles as leaders and culture bearers, and it revitalizes our traditional Lakota knowledge-sharing. I cannot overstate the importance of this, because it is cultural reclamation.”
The Main also hosts a monthly birthday party that allows children to celebrate their friends who have birthdays that month. Each party features a cake, decorations, birthday activities, music, dancing and gifts for all the birthday kids.
The January birthday party boasted the theme “Pajamas & Pancakes.” Dupris and her fellow programs assistants put together a hot cocoa station, healthy and sweet treats, a face-painting station, a pajama dance party, a movie and other organized activities.
And, as always, they were ready and able to pivot when their party guests preferred free time to organized activities.
“It’s an opportunity to let them have fun and reward them for coming to The Main every day,” Dupris explained. “They all told me that day was their favorite day! One child also told me, ‘I don’t have a lot of good days. They’re mostly bad days, but today is a good day.’ That is why we do what we do.”
Always looking for new ways to engage the community’s younger children, CRYP staff are offering a “Lock In” sleepover on Feb. 21-22. Scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Saturday, children will enjoy movies, face painting, arts and crafts, Nerf gun wars, board games, cornhole, hide and seek and so much more.
Staff will serve sloppy Joes and a variety of finger foods, including french fries, chips, fruit and assorted meats and cheeses. Best of all, since the lock-in will take place in the teen center’s gymnasium, the littles get to be the big kids for one glorious night.
To support programming at The Main, visit www.lakotayouth.org/give, and select “The Main Youth Center” as the gift designation. To sponsor a monthly birthday party, simply write “Birthday Party” in the comments box; donations will help CRYP purchase the cake, decorations, gifts for the birthday children and any other necessary supplies.
To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.Main U