As we celebrate the 11th year of the Dreamstarter program, we also honor 40 years of Running Strong for American Indian Youth—four decades of supporting Native communities, uplifting youth voices, and investing in bold ideas for the future.

2026 Dreamstarters are leading projects centered on food sovereignty.

Kylie Reese-Quintana

Navajo Nation

Seeds of Sovereignty

Spanish Fork, UT

Kylie's Dream is to reconnect Indigenous youth to traditional foods and land-based practices through educational food and culture camps.

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Mackenzie Roberts

Muscogee Nation

Ekvn-Vfastvlke

Okmulgee, OK

Mackenzie's Dream, "Caretakers of the Land", is to lead a year-long Mvskoke food sovereignty initiative, grounded in hands on learning, intergenerational cultural food education, and Mvskoke agricultural knowledge.

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Nathaniel Barrett

Viejas band of Kumeyaay Indians

The Giving Fire

Alpine, CA

Nathaniel's Dream is to create an intergenerational space for cultural knowledge sharing and community healing centered around a community kitchen and garden.

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Sagen Quale

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe

Intertribal Manoomin Camp”

Bayfield, WI

Sagen's Dream is to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty by hosting an intertribal Manoomin (Wild Rice) Camp to share practices rooted in Ojibwe ecological knowledge and community-led stewardship.

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Shane Funmaker

Ho-Chunk Nation

Roots of Responsibility

Madison, WI

Shane's Dream is to develop and test a mobile educational curriculum to revitalize Indigenous foodways and empower participants to teach and apply traditional food knowledge in their communities.

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Steven Wilson

Oglala Lakota

Pine Ridge Community Garden

Pine Ridge, SD

Steve's Dream is to create a youth-centered food sovereignty and prevention program focused on gardening, traditional food education, and community health on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

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Tucker Smith

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

Putting the Eat in Athlete

Fort Yates, ND

Tucker's Dream is to introduce youth in his community to traditional foods and healthier dietary practices through hands-on taste testing and summer programming.

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Harleigh Moore-Wilson

Osage Nation

Pawhuska, OK

Harleigh's Dream is to cultivate traditional Osage medicinal plants and teas, with an initiative to support youth education, cultural knowledge exchange, and Indigenous food sovereignty.

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Danaisha Proctor

Piscataway Conoy Tribe

The Next Seven Generations & Beyond

Waldorf, MD

Danaisha’s Dream is to restore Piscataway food sovereignty by organizing youth-led education, legislative advocacy, and cultural documentation to reinstate tribal harvesting rights in Maryland.

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Emily Si’al

Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of AK

Íitl' táawaay ngíisdlaang

Sacramento, CA

Emily's Dream, "Our Traditional Foods Are Healing", is to reconnect urban Native youth to traditional Southeast Alaska foods, stewardship practices, and cultural values through intergenerational knowledge sharing camps.

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