Author Wambli Gleska Quintana is pictured above, at left, with fellow CRYP Youth Advisory Council member Nation Cowins. Young people are a significant demographic within the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. In fact, more than 50 percent of the population is under the age...
One of our Cheyenne River teens has penned an essay about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Relatives; while he wishes to remain anonymous, his voice needs to be heard. (Pictured here: Cheyenne River Lakota artist TamiJoy with her MMIW/MMIR-inspired art at RedCan...
When CRYP started its Teen Internship Program, the youth project’s staff was dedicated to providing the Cheyenne River community’s youth with the opportunities and resources they would need to be workforce-ready. Ten years later, not only has the program graduated...
Tȟeča Hótȟaŋiŋpi (Youth Make Their Voices Heard), CRYP’s youth advisory council, had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. One of those council members was Natalie Marshall, and although she’s just 13 years old, she is already making her voice heard at our youth...
In 2021, when South Dakota teenager August King moved from her longtime Rapid City home to the city of Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, she decided that this would be a welcome opportunity to refresh and reset her life. A major part of that reset,...
The Covid-19 pandemic left the Cheyenne River Youth Project reeling, just like everyone else in 2020. During those earliest weeks of lockdown, all we could do was prepare and distribute takeout meals; we missed our kids, and we knew we had to find a way to bring back...
Although the Cheyenne River Youth Project began its life as a drop-in youth center for 4- to 12-year-olds, we’ve learned over the years that our teens are just as eager as the littles to get involved. They just need to be engaged in different ways. Jordyn Brown Bull...
At the Cheyenne River Youth Project, we are dedicated to giving our youth access to the opportunities they so richly deserve in spaces that are carefully curated to be inspiring, safe, and sacred. We also are committed to making those spaces inclusive — all children...
Moving to a new community is hard, especially for a young person. Not only are you transitioning into a new home, neighborhood, and school, you must actively seek opportunities to make friends, get involved, and pursue your dreams. Fourteen-year-old Hailey Bell didn’t...
Kicopi Washburn grew up in Eagle Butte, at the heart of South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. Although she has lived here since she was 8 years old, she didn’t start attending CRYP programming until she was 14. “That’s when I was old enough to apply for an...