Nearly 150 community members of all ages gathered at the Cheyenne River Youth Project on Friday, Oct. 17, for its 13th Annual Harvest Festival Dinner. Presented in partnership with the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, the free community event commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden and the 25th anniversary of its stewardship under CRYP.
Guests enjoyed a hearty home-cooked meal featuring fresh, organically grown produce from the nearly 3-acre garden. The menu included turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked chicken drumsticks, baked spaghetti, burger soup, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, green bean salad, carrots, and roasted vegetables such as corn, zucchini, beans, and squash—along with pumpkin bars and Chief Executive Officer Julie Garreau’s famous bread pudding for dessert.
“The food was so good, and this is a great turnout,” said community member Peggy Gallipo at the event. A 9-year-old guest added, “The pumpkin bars were yummy and sweet. I want to carve and bake mine now!”
The evening began with a drum circle and smudge before dinner service, and it continued with the honoring of CRYP’s Native Food Sovereignty teen interns. The youth played a central role in this year’s Harvest Festival; they helped decorate the gym and prepare and serve the meal.
“This event was something,” said Dom, one of the interns. “I liked serving and seeing new people.”
The celebration also featured music, dancing, and recipe-sharing. At the end of the evening, the Sacred Heart Center staff shared, “Thank you for serving good food again, and for letting our kids help.”
CRYP Programs Director Jerica Widow Jones said the Harvest Festival Dinner reflects the spirit of Winyan Toka Win and its role both as a garden and a gathering place.
“This year was extra special,” she said. “We honored the legacy of Iyonne Garreau and the elders who began this garden 50 years ago, while celebrating the young people who are carrying that vision forward. They are learning to grow food, care for Unci Makhá, and give back to their community.”
The garden now known as Winyan Toka Win was established in 1975 when Iyonne Garreau, mother of CRYP CEO Julie Garreau and the longtime director of the CRST Elderly Nutrition Center, envisioned a community garden. She heard elders expressing their desire for traditional foods and their firm belief that Lakota children must reconnect with Unci Makhá.
CRYP took on garden operations in 2000, naming it Winyan Toka Win in Iyonne Garreau’s honor. Today, the garden produces between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds of fresh, pesticide-free produce each year; supports daily meals and snacks for youth; provides produce for CRYP’s Keya Gift Shop; and serves as an outdoor classroom for hands-on learning in planting, harvesting, and traditional Lakota foodways.
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, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vimeo 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.