This spring has been a special one for the Cheyenne River Youth Project and one of its treasured young people. On Apr. 4, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council formally recognized CRYP Programs Assistant Wambli Gleska Quintana, 18, for his accomplishments and his...
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...
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...
All of us at CRYP are deeply grateful for the opportunities we have to engage with our children here on the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation. Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have found creative ways to continue our teen internships, for example; that means the...