Our Approach

We Put Youth
First

Our focus on youth programs fosters change across age groups and entire communities.

American Indian-Led

Our leadership is committed to preserving the traditions, languages and sanctity of American Indian communities.

We Help Where Needed Most

Rather than coming into a community and announcing what we will do, we listen to what our partners tell us they need.

Billy Mills

Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota (Sioux) is Running Strongโ€™s National Spokesperson. An Olympic gold medalist at the 1964 Olympics, Billy has dedicated his life to serving Native American communities.

Program Spotlight

Organic Food and Gardensย 

Our organic gardens and food programs tackle malnutrition by providing healthy meals and fresh produce to Native American children and their families. We help to establish community gardens, household gardens, and communal greenhouse programs while also integrating educational and cultural aspects and how to plant traditional gardens.

Program Spotlight

Clean Water

When Running Strong for American Indian Youthยฎ was formed in 1986, getting clean, safe drinking water to the residents of Pine Ridge was one of our top priorities. Previously, Running Strong satisfied this need by drilling water wells. However, the need for wells declined as the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply System was created and water lines were laid providing access to water. This past year throughย Dinรฉ NaabehรณTรณ (the Navajo Peopleโ€™s Water Challenge), Running Strong connected 13 households to water in these communities, providing 92 individuals with access to clean, running water.ย ย 

Dreamstarter

When Running Strong for American Indian Youthยฎ was formed in 1986, getting clean, safe drinking water to the residents of Pine Ridge was one of our top priorities. Previously, Running Strong satisfied this need by drilling water wells. However, the need for wells declined as the Oglala Sioux Rural Water Supply System was created and water lines were laid providing access to water.

find us wherever you use social media!

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Dowawisnima Groves is a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore, artist, and dancer from Utah County. Growing up away from her tribal communities, Dowawisnima experiences first-hand the challenges of remaining connected to culture.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program aimed at giving Native youth a voice, Dowawisnima is creating opportunities for youth to discover what it means to be Indigenous through a series of regalia making, beadwork, and music workshops.

๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ.

pulse.ly/0l3cr559c0

#runningstrong #dreamstarter #dreams #nativeamerican #native #indigenous #tribes #nativecommunities #nativeyouth#RunningStrong #dreamstarter #dreams #nativeamerican #native #indigenous #tribes #nativecommunities #nativeyouth #nativeculture
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Dowawisnima Groves is a sixteen-year-old high school sophomore, artist, and dancer from Utah County. Growing up away from her tribal communities, Dowawisnima experiences first-hand the challenges of remaining connected to culture.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program aimed at giving Native youth a voice, Dowawisnima is creating opportunities for youth to discover what it means to be Indigenous through a series of regalia making, beadwork, and music workshops.

๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ž๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐š๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ.

https://pulse.ly/0l3cr559c0

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth #NativeCulture

Period Poverty is real. Period Poverty can cause young women to hide. We are working to stop that in native communities across the country. Our feminine hygiene kits include essential hygiene products to provide comfort and security to indigenous women and girls in underserved communities.

Help us end Period Poverty in Native Communities by making a donation today.
runningstrong.harnessgiving.org/donate/?checkout=10228&campaign_id=10739&selected-method=one-time...

#AmericanIndianHeritage #NativeAmericanCulture #RunningStrong #Donate #DoGood #IndigenousYouth #IndigenousCommunity #AmericanIndianYouth #PeriodPoverty #FeminineHygiene
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Period Poverty is real. Period Poverty can cause young women to hide. We are working to stop that in native communities across the country. Our feminine hygiene kits include essential hygiene products to provide comfort and security to indigenous women and girls in underserved communities.

Help us end Period Poverty in Native Communities by making a donation today.
https://runningstrong.harnessgiving.org/donate/?checkout=10228&campaign_id=10739&selected-method=one-time&amount=50

#AmericanIndianHeritage #NativeAmericanCulture #RunningStrong #Donate #DoGood #IndigenousYouth #IndigenousCommunity #AmericanIndianYouth #PeriodPoverty #FeminineHygiene

In 2021, Devyn sustained a traumatic Spinal Cord Injury resulting in paralysis from the chest down. She endured and overcame the challenges of paraplegia, becoming a skilled wheelchair basketball player, mountain biker, and skier.

Devyn is on a mission to share stories of other Native Americans with disabilities that have used adaptive sports as a tool to lead successful lives, families, and careers.

๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ to stay up to date on inspiring stories from Native youth.

pulse.ly/inveubloeq

#runningstrong #dreamstarter #dreams #nativeamerican #native #indigenous #tribes #nativecommunities #nativeyouth
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In 2021, Devyn sustained a traumatic Spinal Cord Injury resulting in paralysis from the chest down. She endured and overcame the challenges of paraplegia, becoming a skilled wheelchair basketball player, mountain biker, and skier.

Devyn is on a mission to share stories of other Native Americans with disabilities that have used adaptive sports as a tool to lead successful lives, families, and careers.

๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ to stay up to date on inspiring stories from Native youth.

https://pulse.ly/inveubloeq

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Great role model ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘

๐ƒ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐›๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ž๐๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐œ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ž๐ซ๐š? Carrie Johnson, a Native student at Austin College shares the story of perseverance in Native communities when government institutions attempted to erase Native culture and assimilate them into white society .

Sign up for our newsletter and hear more inspiring stories from Native youth across the country!

www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS&_gl=1*i7xz8o*_ga*MTAxNjE3MDc0MS4xNzE0N....

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth
... See MoreSee Less

๐ƒ๐ข๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐›๐š๐ฌ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐›๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐œ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ž๐๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ฅ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐œ๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ž๐ซ๐š? Carrie Johnson, a Native student at Austin College shares the story of perseverance in Native communities when government institutions attempted to erase Native culture and assimilate them into white society .

Sign up for our newsletter and hear more inspiring stories from Native youth across the country!

https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS&_gl=1*i7xz8o*_ga*MTAxNjE3MDc0MS4xNzE0NTg1OTI5*_ga_H2TNJ8125T*MTcxNDU4NTkyOS4xLjAuMTcxNDU4NTkyOS42MC4wLjA.

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Matt Thomson

๐…๐ž๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ฒ? Get 4 Native American recipes when you sign up for our newsletter & join the journey to end food insecurity on reservations.

www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=RSFoodSovereign&c=20240415095752469692

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#NativeFirstFoods #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Food #RunningStrong #Recipes #NativeRecipes #IndigenousFoods #IndegnousRecipes #DidYouKnow #Indian #IndianYouth #ThreeSistersStew #Stew #Soup
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๐…๐ž๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ก๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ฒ? Get 4 Native American recipes when you sign up for our newsletter & join the journey to end food insecurity on reservations.

https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=RSFoodSovereign&c=20240415095752469692

-

#NativeFirstFoods #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Food #RunningStrong #Recipes #NativeRecipes #IndigenousFoods #IndegnousRecipes #DidYouKnow #Indian #IndianYouth #ThreeSistersStew #Stew #Soup

11 CommentsComment on Facebook

Just made this added green beans, red kidney beans, sweet potatoes and tomatoes,carrots it is delicious

The picture does not seem to be a picture of the recipe...

This is really good.

View more comments

Last year, our Organic Food & Garden Program provided 30,600 pounds of food to the Cheyenne Indian Reservation and to families that would otherwise be food insecure.

Sign up for our newsletter to join our mission and ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐Ÿ’ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐€๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐ž๐ฌ to cook at home! ๐Ÿ™Œ

www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=RSFoodSovereign&c=20240415095752469692

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#NativeFirstFoods #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Food #RunningStrong #Recipes #NativeRecipes #IndigenousFoods #IndegnousRecipes #DidYouKnow #Indian #IndianYouth #Pumpkin #Pumpkins #Pumpkinsmoothie #Smoothie
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Last year, our Organic Food & Garden Program provided 30,600 pounds of food to the Cheyenne Indian Reservation and to families that would otherwise be food insecure.

Sign up for our newsletter to join our mission and ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ž๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐Ÿ’ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐€๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ซ๐ž๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐ž๐ฌ to cook at home! ๐Ÿ™Œ

https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=RSFoodSovereign&c=20240415095752469692

-

#NativeFirstFoods #NativeAmerican #Indigenous #Food #RunningStrong #Recipes #NativeRecipes #IndigenousFoods #IndegnousRecipes #DidYouKnow #Indian #IndianYouth #Pumpkin #Pumpkins #Pumpkinsmoothie #Smoothie
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