On Tuesday, September 11, four of the Cheyenne River Youth Project®’s “Power of Four” teen interns joined a group of their Cheyenne River peers for a memorable breakfast with a Lakota icon: Billy Mills.
Mills, an Oglala Lakota tribal member and former U.S. Marine from Pine Ridge, won a gold medal in the 10,000-meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He is the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in that event — and the second Native American to win a gold medal in Olympic history. Mills was on the Cheyenne River reservation last week taking part in Running Strong for American Indian Youth’s Annual Reservations Tour.
Power of Four interns Meta Charger, Madison Gripne, Allen Meeter and Romie Rabbit attended the eagerly anticipated breakfast event.
“Our interns had such a great time,” reported Megan Guiliano, CRYP’s youth programs director. “They work so hard and put so much time into their community service, we were thrilled to give them a chance to enjoy an exciting social event where they could visit with a contemporary Lakota hero. They had the opportunity to ask questions about Billy’s life on the Pine Ridge reservation and his historic Olympic run, of course, but they also were able to learn more about his ongoing contributions to Indian Country and his dedication to making life better for kids like them.”
Now that fall is in full swing at CRYP, the Power of Four interns are focusing on their next round of projects. According to Guiliano, several of the interns will take the Four Bands Community Fund’s CREATE course in October, along with CRYP Wellness Coordinator Tammy Eagle Hunter. The class focuses on job and life skills such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship; past Power of Four attendees even learned how to craft a business plan.
In addition, Guiliano hopes to get the teens more involved in CRYP’s 2-acre, naturally grown Winyan Toka Win Garden.
“I’d like the get them involved on a weekly basis, having them take shifts to help process and can the produce from the garden,” she explained. “Right now, we’re doing salsa, zucchini pasta sauce and jams, and we strongly believe that learning to make these foods with fresh, healthy produce from our very own garden will be good for the kids in terms of life skills and wellness.”
Guiliano said she’s also planning to have the interns help lead activities at The Main, take on leadership roles with CRYP’s overall youth programming and develop their own ongoing fundraisers to support the nearly 25-year-old, not-for-profit, grassroots organization.
“They’re our teen leaders,” Guiliano said simply. “We want to give them every possible opportunity to make CRYP even more their own.”
CRYP’s Power of Four program was designed to give teen interns the necessary training and support to learn how to represent their peers and to serve as advocates for their needs and the needs of others in productive, meaningful ways. All activities and events fall under the umbrellas of four key modules — leadership, life skills, job skills and wellness.
Power of Four’s primary focus is to build a 10-member youth advisory board that will represent local young people among CRYP’s board of directors. The council will continue in perpetuity, long after the official three-year internship program has ended. This year’s interns: Cecil Baker, Sierra Bobtail Bear, Meta Charger, Madison Gripne, Allen Meeter and Romie Rabbit.
Each Cheyenne River teen in the Power of Four program serves 16 hours per month and, for this service, receives an $88 monthly stipend. The 16-hour service requirement includes regular meetings at the Cokata Wiconi Teen Center. And it’s not too late to get involved! To learn more about the Power of Four and to apply for an internship position, contact Guiliano at (605) 964-8200 or send email to megan.cryp@gmail.com.
To follow the progress of the Power of Four teens, visit their blog at http://cheyenneriveryouthprojectpo4.wordpress.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 visit www.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.