Keeping Culture Alive: How Elizah Dominy Is Revitalizing Haida Language in Seattle
Elizah Dominy, 24, is a dedicated mother, community leader, and Tlingit Language knowledge holder. Elizah is one of more than 9,000 Tlingit & Haida citizens born and raised in Seattle, WA, away from their tribal homelands of southeastern Alaska. Seeking further connection to her culture, Elizah moved to Alaska, where she earned her degree in […]
Restoring Access: Clean Water for Families on Pine Ridge and Crow Nation
Running Strong Completes Water Projects on Pine Ridge Reservation Last fall, Running Strong for American Indian Youth® completed two water projects on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, benefiting a total of eight individuals. Christie Receives a Well In September, our contractor, Ferguson Construction in Kyle, SD, completed a project to drill a […]
Growing Strength and Nourishing Sovereignty
Running Strong for American Indian Youth supports Native communities in growing, accessing, and distributing healthy, culturally relevant foods through community gardens, mobile and farmers markets, and local food distribution programs that both alleviate hunger and restore self-sufficiency across Indian Country. For over two decades, Running Strong for American Indian Youth has had a transformative impact on food […]
Building Pathways to College: Nizhóní Begay’s Vision for Native Student Success
Nizhóní Begay, 26, is a scholar, role model, and philanthropist from the Navajo Nation. Being the only Indigenous student at her high school, Nizhoni often felt intimidated by the absence of Indigenous representation in higher education and frustrated by the lack of available pathways to Native students. Inspired by her own experience, Nizhóní graduated from […]
Heat Match: Helping Pine Ridge Families Stay Warm
Come the first week in January, Oglala Lakota families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on the Great Plains of South Dakota will be hunkering down after the hectic holidays and bracing for some of the coldest days of the winter. And thanks to the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, our Heat […]
Standing With Native Communities Amid Recent ICE Activity
News erupted from Minneapolis, Minnesota, last Wednesday, January 7th, 2026, as reports began to emerge that 37-year-old American citizen Renee Good was fatally shot by ICE agents. The news broke in the wake of more than 2,000 immigration officers being deployed into Minnesota in what Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called “The largest DHS operation ever.” […]
Smart Sacks Help Prevent Native Children from Going Hungry Over the Weekends
During the academic year, many Native American children rely on school-provided meals to stay nourished throughout the day. But on the weekends – when these services aren’t available – students often struggle to find enough to eat. However, our Smart Sacks program, which provides food-filled backpacks to children over weekends, is a testament to the […]
Anna Cuffee: Centering Indigenous Birth Work Through Community Care
Anna Cuffee, 28, is a dedicated mother and birth worker from the Shinnecock Nation of New York. Inspired by her own adverse birth experience, Anna studied to be a Full Spectrum Indigenous Doula and in 2019 founded Wuttahminneoh Birth Work to provide full spectrum birth support services to families in her community. Anna is building something […]
Building Inclusion Through Sport: Noah Hotchkiss’s Dreamstarter Journey
Noah Blue Elk Hotchkiss (Southern Ute, Caddo) and the Running Strong Dreamstarter Program have made a historic impact on health, inclusion, and disability awareness across Indian Country, transforming the lives of hundreds of Native youth with disabilities through sport, mentorship, and empowerment. Noah’s Story and Dream In 2009, at just 11 years old, Noah survived […]
The Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride: A Tradition of Remembrance and Healing
Once again this year, the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on the Great Plains of South Dakota will be hosting several hundred Lakota and other Native American allies who will be making a stop there on a pilgrimage known as the Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride. Every December, […]
Winter Warmth: Meeting the Urgent Need in Native Communities
Running Strong’s Winter Warmth programs — including our winter clothing distribution — are vital lifelines that meet urgent needs and uphold dignity across Indian Country during the harshest months of the year. Each year, Running Strong distributes essential winter gear, thousands of new coats, and winter kits (hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, and socks) to Native children, elders, and […]
From Dream to Reality: 2017 Dreamstarter Dr. Sara Chase Merrick
Dr. Sara Chase Merrick (Hoopa Valley Tribe) has profoundly impacted both the Hupa people of the Hoopa Valley and Indian Country as a whole through groundbreaking language revitalization and culturally based education initiatives. Sara’s vision began in 2017 as a Running Strong Dreamstarter, when she used her grant to launch the first Hupa Language Immersion […]
Myths and Facts about the “First Thanksgiving”
This time of year remains an important moment for communities to gather, reflect, and honor traditions in ways that feel authentic and meaningful. As we enter this season of gratitude, it is also a time to acknowledge that the commonly told story of “Thanksgiving” is more myth than history. For many Native peoples, this season […]
Toys for Tribes Brings Warmth, Kindness and Hope
This holiday season, as we have done for at least a quarter century, thanks to the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, hundreds of Native American children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and elsewhere in Indian Country will experience the joy of Christmas at holiday parties where they will meet “Santa” and […]
Sharing Holiday Meals Across Native Communities
This holiday season, Running Strong is partnering with 5–10 communities across the country to make sure families have the ingredients they need for warm, nourishing holiday meals. From Pine Ridge to the Navajo Nation, the Cherokee Nation, and Standing Rock, our partners are working to uphold local traditions through food and community care. Pine Ridge: […]
Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Expands to the West Coast
New Sacramento Office Strengthens Educational and Food Sovereignty Programs Across Indian Country Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, co-founded nearly forty years ago by Olympic Champion Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota), is proud to announce the opening of its new office in Sacramento, California. This new location marks an exciting chapter of growth, deepening our commitment […]
A Transformative Vision
JoRee LaFrance has had a profound and transformative impact on the Crow Nation and across Indian Country, empowering Native youth to reclaim culture, heal their homelands, and build systems of self-determination rooted in ancestral knowledge. LaFrance’s journey began in 2016 as a Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Dreamstarter, where her project “Crow Voices” united […]
Today and Everyday We Celebrate Native American Heritage
November 1 marks the beginning of Native American Heritage Month — a time to celebrate the history, cultures, and contributions of Native peoples across the country. This national observance has deep roots in advocacy and resilience. In the early 1900s, Native leaders like Dr. Arthur C. Parker (Seneca) and Red Fox James (Blackfoot) championed a […]
Investing in Native Communities: Microenterprise Development
Josh Smith (Osage Nation) has had a transformative impact on both the Osage Nation and Indian Country through his work as a Dreamstarter and as the founder of Ekowah Coffee, a Native-owned roasting company that fuses entrepreneurship with community service. Through the Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Dreamstarter Program, Josh received a $10,000 grant […]
Food Sovereignty and Security in Native Communities
Sowing Seeds of Sovereignty: Reclaiming Native Food Systems Restoring Indigenous Food Sovereignty For Native communities, food sovereignty is the inherent right to define their own food systems — to grow, harvest, share, and sustain traditional and local foods in ways that reflect their cultural values, protect the land, and strengthen self-determination. It goes beyond simply […]
Brave Heart Society at 30 – Cultural Sovereignty in Action
Cultural sovereignty is about more than preserving traditions. It is the responsibility to care for the lands, waters, and sacred places that make us whole. Our survival depends on these relationships, and protecting them is protecting ourselves. For 30 years, the Brave Heart Society has embodied this vision. What began in November 1994, when 25 […]
What is Sovereignty?
For Native communities, sovereignty is about more than governance. It is the right to live as a people in ways that honor traditions, values, and knowledge passed down through generations. Sovereignty means making decisions for the well-being of the community without interference from outside forces. It is not something that was given to tribes—it is […]
Clean Water Can’t Wait: Bringing Safe Water to Crow Nation and Pine Ridge
This year, Running Strong for American Indian Youth® is continuing its commitment to providing clean water to families on the Crow Nation in Montana and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Crow Nation: Addressing Urgent Water Needs Running Strong has awarded $200,000 in grant funding to the Plenty Doors Community Development Corp. in […]
Celebrating Our 2024-25 Dreamstarter Teachers!
As we prepare to welcome a new cohort of Dreamstarter Teachers for the 2025–26 school year, we pause to celebrate the successes of last year’s educators. The 2024–25 Dreamstarter Teachers reminded us that education is about more than textbooks—it’s about identity, belonging, and community. With support from Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, 2024-25 educators […]
Smart Sacks: Ending Weekend Hunger for Native Students
During the academic year, many Native children rely on school-provided meals to stay nourished throughout the day. But on weekends—when these services aren’t available—students often struggle to find enough to eat. How the Smart Sacks Program Began Several years ago, Running Strong for American Indian Youth launched the Smart Sacks program to address this weekend […]
6,000 Backpacks for 6,000 Native Children
Each fall, Running Strong organizes backpack donations filled with school supplies to Native American youth, to provide for students in Elementary Schools, through Junior High and High School. With the help of Running Strong supporters, thousands of Native American children will start off the new school year with confidence and the tools they need to […]
Meet Dreamstarter Nizhóní Begay
Empowering Indigenous Youth Through Education Nizhóní Begay (Diné and Quechua), 27, of Marina del Rey, California, has been selected as a 2025 Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Dreamstarter. With her $20,000 Dreamstarter grant, she is launching a powerful initiative aimed at tackling the “significant barriers to accessing higher education, including limited exposure to college […]
Mobile market travels hundreds of miles weekly to ensure food security on Pine Ridge
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is vast – over 3,400 square miles. The distances families and elders must travel to access healthy food are long and prohibitive for many. Hundreds of families visit the Oyate Ta Kola Ku Community Center each month to access fresh food grown in our Medicine Root community gardens. They also come […]
Meet Dreamstarter Aaron Baumgardner
Background 2025 Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Dreamstarter Aaron Baumgardner (Catawba Indian Nation), 29, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, is using his $20,000 Dreamstarter grant in the coming year to restore the relationship between the Catawba artists and rivercane, a vital cultural resource for traditional basketry. Aaron notes that rivercane—a large grass native to […]
When school is closed, summer rec is open!
Since its opening in 2023, our Oyate Ta Kola Ku (OTKK) Community Center on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has become a space dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Oglala Lakota families. The center provides our youth with a place to connect with strong role models and be inspired to achieve their personal […]