What a night! An estimated 150-160 children, teens, adults and elders joined us at Cokata Wiconi on Sept. 18 for our annual Harvest Festival Dinner. We shared good food, celebrated our young people, danced together and commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center. Our CRYP team prepared a special harvest meal featuring produce from our nearly 3-acre Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden, including a Three Sisters medley, glazed carrots and squash, zucchini lasagna and more. We also took time to honor this year’s Native Food Sovereignty interns, whose hard work in the garden helped make this community meal possible.
The evening included a look back at two decades of activities, programs and memories at Cokata Wiconi, followed by music, exhibition dancing and a round dance in the Morgan Yellowhead Gymnasium. Afterward, one young person shared what the Teen Center has meant to them over the years: “They made a big difference in my life. I really love it here.”
That’s what these 20 years have been about — creating a place where our young people can learn, grow, build relationships and know they belong. Lila wopila to our staff and trainees, Ken and Karen Moore and their volunteer group, the Wakinyan Maza drum group, the dancers and all the community members who joined us for this special occasion. We loved celebrating the harvest — and this milestone — with our community!