Diné Naabeehó Tó: An Update from Tohatchi
John and Shaunna live on the Navajo Nation in the small community of Tohatchi (Tó Haachʼi in Navajo) located in McKinley County, New Mexico. For three years, the family is “still waiting” on the tribal list for water through the Indian Health Service (IHS), and hoping for their name to come to the top of the […]
The Running Strong Dreamstarter Fellowship: An Introduction by Darius Sparks
When I first heard about Running Strong, I had just got out of basketball practice at my local college, the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. When I was growing up it was hard for my mother to get me to basketball camps in the summer because she couldn’t afford it. I always had […]
2016 Dreamstarter Blaze Burrows, Round Valley Indian Tribes, Covelo, California
Blaze, a 16-year-old sophomore in his Native American studies program, came to the mind of his Native American Studies program teacher in 2015 as the ideal Dreamstarter candidate with an already-impressive resume: President of the Round Valley High School Native American Club; a community Wailaki (a nearly-lost Native American language) language teacher; and a Bear […]
Winter Wrap Up 2020
Before Running Strong for American Indian Youth switches gears to our spring schedule of programs, we will take one more account of the final reports of our winter programs from November to February. Though some areas of the country are already seeing signs of warmer weather and new growth, in many places there will still […]
Running Strong Continues Water Projects During Winter
Despite record low temperatures, frozen ground, and winter storms, our field staff on Pine Ridge managed to complete 10 water line projects throughout November, December, and January. Among these projects were the Anpo Wicahpe Pine Ridge Girls School and the home of Grace Rooks, who is a featured subject in the CNN GoThere mini documentary […]
Beat The Drum. Be Counted! Find Out the Latest about our Census Campaign
The Census makes a huge impact on people’s lives. In the 2010 Census, Native Americans were under counted by about 4.9 percent — that’s more than double the undercount rate of the next closest group. This inaccuracy meant that Indian Country missed out on millions of annual tax dollars that would otherwise have been used […]
A Love of Native Cultures
“Without your language or your land, you are not who you say you are.” Loretta Afraid of Bear, Oglala Lakota The month of February is a celebration of LOVE, and Running Strong for American Indian Youth® LOVES Native American culture! Like any great love story, however, it’s not without its share of tragedy. Today, all over the United […]
Our Mni Wiconi program continues on Pine Ridge!
Anthony is a young single father who lives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with his 3-year-old daughter. Father and daughter have not had running water at their home for over a year. In order to get water, Anthony had to haul water from three miles away from his home – a long and tiring […]
1,032 People Provided with Water on Pine Ridge, Navajo Nation in Past Five Years
Running Strong for American Indian Youth® was founded 30 years ago with the mission of helping Native people who struggle to get the simple basic necessities of life – which foremost includes water. Thanks to friends like you, we have been able to provide water to the people of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, drilled […]
Running Strong in 2019
The new year is soon upon us, and to welcome 2020 we’d like to take a look back at all we’ve achieved with the help of our friends this year. We rang in 2019 with our annual Heat Match program, which ensured over a thousand Pine Ridge Indian Reservation families kept their propane and electricity […]
CNN Visits Running Strong On Pine Ridge
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has the lowest life expectancy of any region in the United States. For many residents on the reservation their daily reality still involves a multi-mile or multi-mile trek to access water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. Overcoming water scarcity on the reservations takes enormous dedication and resiliency by Native residents […]
Backpack Food Program
Testimonial “These are new coats and hats with the tags still on! They are not second hand coats that someone else has already worn like we always get? This is the best gift we’ve gotten.” Native Youth Oklahoma The Menominee Indian School District, Keshena, WI: “Our school district suffers from a high rate of poverty. […]
New School Supplies Make A Difference
Testimonial Thank you Running Strong and the people who work there, tell Billy Mills thank you. Now I have a brand new backpack with everything I need for school. My mom don’t have enough money to buy everything I need. But now I have everything and I am happy and my mom is happy. She […]
At the End of the Rainbow…There’s a Greenhouse!
Testimonial It’s so wonderful to have fresh vegetables and the native wild fruits available right here. I’m tired of people having to buy food from convenience stores and gas stations. Your market, the gardens and this greenhouse you all did is such a gift. It’s great to hear that there’s a place to go now […]
Moving Forward the Healing Paths for Families and Communities
Testimonial A new generation of girls and young women in Indian Country must now be educated within, and renew for ourselves, ancient ways of thinking so that the powers of their womenhood can be better utilized to move forward the healing paths of our families and communitites. Reproduction is not just about reproducing bodies but […]
Spring Food Boxes Bring Nutrition and Assistance
Testimonial These are new coats and hats with the tags still on! They are not second hand coats that someone else has already worn like we always get? This is the best gift we’ve gotten. Native Youth Oklahoma Our spring food boxes arrived in Indian Country in April. In addition to the menu of ham, vegetables, […]
2,300 Summer Food Boxes Sent to Indian Reservations!
Testimonial These are new coats and hats with the tags still on! They are not second hand coats that someone else has already worn like we always get? This is the best gift we’ve gotten. Native Youth Oklahoma Thanks to the generous support of our donors, approximately 2,300 food boxes, containing meats, veggies, beans and other […]
Keeping Our Youth Warm
Testimonial These are new coats and hats with the tags still on! They are not second hand coats that someone else has already worn like we always get? This is the best gift we’ve gotten. Native Youth Oklahoma During the cold winter we all strive to keep warm. A hefty winter coat is definitely a necessity […]
Gardening Classes Begin at Oyate Teca
The Oyate Teca Project is getting back to work after a successful holiday season from Pine Ridge and preparing for the upcoming spring schedule. The Medicine Root Gardening classes, one of the Oyate Teca Project’s most highly anticipated programs of the year, returns February 1st. Students will attend eighteen classes over the next nine months […]
Exciting Updates from Our Dreamstarters
JEREMY DENNIS AT SANTA FE ART INSTITUTE Jeremy Dennis, 2016 Dreamstarter, has just been awarded a residency at the Santa Fe Art Institute. The Institute gathers artists, innovators, and creative types from across America to consider what vitality, prosperity, and sustainability might look like beyond profit; to envision new systems for “making a living” that […]
Welcome to the Newest Members of the RunStrong Family!
This January the RunStrong family grew by two members as Fox River Mills welcomed Joseph Gray and Christian Gering to their team of trailblazers in the running community and proud wearers of RunStrong socks. Joseph Gray is a world class elite athlete with 19 national and world championships in mountain running, ultramarathons, trail, road running, […]
Beat The Drum. Be Counted! Update on Census Campaign
For many Americans, the 2020 Census won’t matter until the last week of March. But for residents of Toksook Bay, a small village of 661 people in western Alaska, the census began counting today by boat, plane, and ATVs. The Census Bureau is taking advantage of the still-frozen ground to make contact with households that […]
Smart Sacks: Providing Children with Healthy Meals Over the Weekend
The spring semester has started, and students of Takini School District in South Dakota and Menominee School District in Wisconsin will go back to class ready to focus on learning free from hunger thanks to Running Strong for American Indian Youth’s Smart Sacks. The Smart Sacks program was developed in 2011 to provide students at […]
Running Strong for American Indian Youth Launches Major Push for 2020 Census
Beat the Drum. Be Counted! You have read about the challenges faced by so many on Native reservations. You have supported programs to help Native children and their families, and built sustainable programs that will help communities for generations. So you will understand what we are about to share is so important. We are excited […]
CNN Visits Running Strong On Pine Ridge
“They bring that glimpse of hope… of change.” Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has the lowest life expectancy of any region in the United States. For many residents on the reservation their daily reality still involves a multi-mile or multi-mile trek to access water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing. Overcoming water scarcity on the reservations […]
Navajo Hopi Honor Riders Distribute Turkeys for the Holidays
Starting around October each year, Running Strong partners can apply for small holiday grants for community gatherings, seasonal operations, or use at their discretion for the local population in the name of holiday cheer. Some organizations host Christmas celebrations or youth activities. This November the Navajo Hopi Honor Riders used their Running Strong holiday grant […]
Road to Tokyo: Arriving at Camp Pendleton
It is January 3, 1964 and I can’t get the St. Sylvester Midnight Run on December 31, 1963, (running out the old year and running in the new year) out of my mind. Running with a very bad cold, being tripped at the start of the race and losing a shoe was devastating to me. […]
Keeping Kids Warm over the Winter in Oklahoma
In Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the forecast is calling for a “wintry mix” with low temperatures in the low 20s next week. But thanks to the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth® 500 children and adults are prepared to withstand the coming frigid weather, next week and all winter long. “We were able to give […]
Running Strong in 2019
The new year is soon upon us, and to welcome 2020 we’d like to take a look back at all we’ve achieved with the help of our friends this year. We rang in 2019 with our annual Heat Match program, which ensured over a thousand Pine Ridge Indian Reservation families kept their propane and electricity […]
Billy Mills at Brave Heart Society 25th Anniversary
December 16th, 2019 marked the Brave Heart Society’s 25th anniversary. Located in Lake Andes, SD, the Brave Heart Society has been one of Running Strong’s longest partnerships – dating back to 1994 when the Society was still the Yankton Sioux Women’s Society. The Brave Hearts historically were the women to retrieve the dead and wounded […]
