Summer is in full swing at the Cheyenne River Youth Project® in Eagle Butte, and staff and volunteers are hard at work preparing a variety of special events as well as the regularly scheduled youth and teen center programming. In the next 10 days, for example, Cheyenne River’s young people will enjoy “International Night,” Midnight Basketball, Junior Midnight Basketball and a special concert by Tiana Spotted Thunder.
International Night is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, June 21 and will be open free to Cheyenne River community members of all ages. According to Tammy Granados, CRYP’s wellness coordinator, the evening allows CRYP long-term volunteers to share food, cultural activities and information from their native countries.
“It’s fun for them to share a little bit of their homes and heritage, and it’s great for our community, because everyone can experience little tastes of other places,” she explained. “We’ve always said that our volunteer program is a little bit like an ambassador program, where we can share cultures, experiences and ideas. It’s exciting.”
This year’s International Night will include sampler dishes, activities, games and information from Australia (Nicole Calleja), Mexico (Alexa Siqueiros), New Zealand (Sierra Keung) and China (Gwen Xia). In addition, long-term volunteers Marisa Way and Hallie Jackson will share foods and activities typical to family life growing up in Iowa and Tennessee, respectively.
The next night, on Friday, June 22, youth and teens will again congregate for Junior Midnight Basketball and Midnight Basketball. Held weekly throughout the summer, JMBB is held from 6-8 p.m. in the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center gymnasium for children ages 4-12; the teens take over from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. for the long-established and much-loved MBB program.
“We held our season opener on Friday, June 8, and 55 teens came to play and socialize,” Granados reported. “It’s amazing, because we didn’t have time to do much advance promotion; somehow, the word gets out, and it gets around.
“The numbers typically grow throughout the season,” she continued, “as kids remind their friends and encourage them to come. It’s a way for them to enjoy their favorite sport and be together while staying out past Eagle Butte’s 10 p.m. curfew in a positive, safe environment.”
The 1996 brainchild of a former long-term volunteer, Midnight Basketball remains one of CRYP’s most successful and enduring programs. Open to youth ages 13 to 18, it includes music, refreshments and a variety of skills challenges and special tournaments to keep energy levels high.
Again this year, the Walter Miner Police Department is providing security checks throughout each JMBB and MBB event.
“The relationship with our law enforcement officers is essential for the success of this program,” Granados explained. “We wouldn’t be able to have late-night teen activities, especially one that extends past our citywide curfew, without their support. They’ve told us that the program matters to them too, because community crime rates tend to go down on MBB nights. It’s so important for our kids to have something to do, especially during the evening hours.”
All children and teens must be sober to attend Midnight Basketball and Junior Midnight Basketball. No alcohol, drugs, tobacco, abusive language, fighting or gang colors are tolerated. Everyone must sign in on arrival and sign out upon departure, and since teens generally sign out after the City of Eagle Butte’s 10 p.m. curfew, each teen has a 15-grace period after sign-out to get home. Parents are welcome to visit Cokata Wiconi to visit with their children. CRYP keeps all sign-in/sign-out sheets on file, so parents also may call on Monday mornings to verify their children’s attendance.
Finally, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, June 27, the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center will host a special concert by Tiana Spotted Thunder. The event is open free to the public and will be held in the center’s Internet Cafe. Contact Orlando Avery, CRYP’s youth programs assistant, for more details at (605) 964-8200 or orlando.cryp@gmail.com.
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 visitwww.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, visit the youth project’s Facebook “Cause” page. All Cause members will receive regular updates through Facebook.
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.