Yuchi Language Project Building a New Generation of Yuchi Speakers

language class

In addition to providing basic needs – food, coats and boots, school supplies, and more to Native people throughout Indian Country, a core mission of Running Strong for American Indian Youth® has long been to support programs that preserve languages and culture before they are lost to the ages. Among them in the Euchee Yuchi […]

1,032 People Provided with Water on Pine Ridge, Navajo Nation in Past Five Years

house after installation

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 […]

Lots of Fresh Produce Available on Pine Ridge Thanks to Oyate Teca Project

tomatoes

Thanks to the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth® and the hard work of the Oyate Teca Project’s staff, thousands of residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota had access to fresh vegetables and fruits, a scarce commodity on the reservation, and expensive when available. Since January, the participants in […]

Dreamstarter Hope Gamble Shares Navajo Creation Stories through Comic Strips

hope showing her drawing

14-year-old 2019 Dreamstarter Hope Gamble’s dream, H.O.P.E. (Heroes Of Positive Endurance) began as a way to create new Navajo creation stories in the form of comics to be sold in local gas stations and grocery stores, but has expanded much more then she thought it would over the course of her Dreamstarter project. “The comics […]

Toys for Tribes Brings Big Smiles this Holiday Season!

All children deserve to make meaningful memories during this holiday season; time to be shared with family, friends, with fretting forgotten for the time being. Some of our favorite memories are receiving presents from any occasion – a gift, just for me, with no hand-me-downs? You never forget your first gift from Santa! Yet even […]

Agriculture as a Business Career: An Update from Year 5 Dreamstarter Taylor Eddie

Running Strong for American Indian Youth® Dreamstarter Taylor Eddie may only be 17, but she is making a big impact in her community by realizing her dream of introducing agriculture as a business career to the Nebo Title VI Indian Education program in her community of Spanish Fork, Utah. The mission of the Nebo Education Program is […]

Save the Date for Giving Tuesday! #OperationSnowsuit on December 3!

Winter has already arrived in the Great Plains. On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the average low temperature is 13 degrees with the high barely above freezing – and that doesn’t account for the wind chill on blustery days.   Winter is one of the most difficult times for families living in areas […]

Social Media Challenge: Native American History is American History

In 1990, November was declared Native American Heritage Month, dedicated to celebrating the rich and diverse cultures of the Native peoples who lived for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived on these lands that would eventually become the United States of America. At Running Strong for American Indian Youth® we recognize the contributions Native […]

Heat Match: Help Keep Families Warm This Winter on Pine Ridge

Last Thursday, the National Weather Service forecasted 170 potentially daily record cold temperatures across the northern Plains and upper Midwest beginning Monday and continuing through Wednesday. To some this sounds like the welcome beginnings of a winter wonderland; to others, a warning sign of the impending freezing nights. For some families on Pine Ridge a […]

Ohero:kon “Under the Husk” : 15 Years of Rites of Passage Ceremony

For the past 15 years, starting at puberty, more than 1,000 Onkwehonwe (Indigenous) youth have registered for “Under the Husk” – a four-year Haudenodaunee rites of passage ceremony guided by tribal Aunties, Uncles and elders. Under the Husk empowers youth desperately seeking holistic development, and the program accomplishes this by engaging their mental, physical, emotional […]

A Time for Thanks

The classic story of the first Thanksgiving is one of generosity, community, and celebration of life. This story, taught to all Americans at a young age, is woven through with realistic themes of charity and unity albeit with an unreliable point of view. Certainly we see echoes of this narrative today; when the Wampanoags saved […]

The last sample news post

Soufflé fruitcake tiramisu muffin apple pie gingerbread. Powder sweet topping croissant chupa chups apple pie bear claw lollipop. Cake cupcake croissant croissant. Pie pudding chocolate cake pastry. Cotton candy topping apple pie candy canes chupa chups. Pudding oat cake donut muffin icing sweet roll ice cream donut ice cream. Muffin danish jelly beans croissant muffin. […]

Another Example News Post

Soufflé fruitcake tiramisu muffin apple pie gingerbread. Powder sweet topping croissant chupa chups apple pie bear claw lollipop. Cake cupcake croissant croissant. Pie pudding chocolate cake pastry. Cotton candy topping apple pie candy canes chupa chups. Pudding oat cake donut muffin icing sweet roll ice cream donut ice cream. Muffin danish jelly beans croissant muffin. […]

An Example News Post

Soufflé fruitcake tiramisu muffin apple pie gingerbread. Powder sweet topping croissant chupa chups apple pie bear claw lollipop. Cake cupcake croissant croissant. Pie pudding chocolate cake pastry. Cotton candy topping apple pie candy canes chupa chups. Pudding oat cake donut muffin icing sweet roll ice cream donut ice cream. Muffin danish jelly beans croissant muffin. […]

Running Strong Helps Repair Veteran’s Home on Pine Ridge

Each year the Oglala Sioux Tribe Partnership for Housing helps low-income households on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with resources to repair their homes from storm damage (common on the Great Plains of South Dakota) and normal wear and tear with assistance from Running Strong for American Indian Youth®. “The primary need of many families is […]

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month dedicated to celebrating rich and diverse cultures, traditions and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. At Running Strong for American Indian Youth® we support cultural programs to preserve languages, cultures and traditions throughout Indian Country. Among them is the Yuchi Language Project which is striving to preserve the tribe’s […]

Families Receive Turkeys and Food Boxes for a Festive Holiday Meal

Families on the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Indian reservations in South Dakota are looking forward to what has been a tradition for many years – receiving a turkey and food box at holiday time. This year 952 frozen turkeys and 1,000 food boxes will be delivered to our field office on Pine Ridge, Tipi Waste […]

Largest Number of Graduates from the Oyate Teca Project’s Gardening Program

On October 16, the 50 participants of the Oyate Teca Project’s Medicine Root Gardening Program graduated from the nine-month course. Everyone celebrated their achievement at a special student appreciation dinner. Certificates were presented to all of the graduates, along with a final distribution of items to assist them with their gardens in the future. “This […]

Hundreds of Pumpkins Distributed on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Over the past few days, lots and lots of pumpkins were distributed to children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Halloween. It’s all thanks to Oyate Teca Project Director Rose Fraser’s 11-year-old granddaughter, Jazlyn. She asked her grandmother if they could grow pumpkins. Rose told her she could grow whatever she wanted and gave her a […]

2019 Dreamstarter Video

The 2019 Dreamstarter video is now available! Learn more about our 10 Native Youth Entrepreneurs and their dreams for businesses in Native communities.

Wisdom of the Elders Produce Multimedia Curriculum for Native Students

The Native American nonprofit organization, Wisdom of the Elders in Portland, Oregon, a longtime partner of Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, records, preserves and shares oral history, cultural arts and traditional ecological knowledge of Native elders and scientists in collaboration with diverse tribal and environmental organizations, government agencies and educational institutions. “With our vision […]

The Powwow Project: Update from Year 2 Dreamstarter Rosalia Badhorse

My dream was to inspire youth to connect to their culture through powwows.  During my Dreamstarter year, I taught beading, dancing and stories through the Powwow Project. Over the past three years, I’ve have continued to work to remind our Native youth of their culture; where they come from as Cheyenne people; and to teach […]

Running Strong 30th Annual Tour

On September 11, 2019, 50 Running Strong Tour participants joined us for the 30th (and final) annual tour of Running Strong’s programs on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. During the four-day tour, participants had the opportunity to learn about Running Strong programs and the way we support families. Tour participants were also able to visit […]

Prepping for Winter

Winter is well on its way, particularly in Indian County where temperatures on the Great Plains will soon be dropping below freezing, and windchills in the negative double digits for days on end is not unusual. In fact, in Lame Deer, Montana, where Running Strong for American Indian Youth® partner, the Boys & Girls Club […]

Celebrate 22 Years of Tipi Waste Un Zanipi!

To the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth®, My name is Dave Lone Elk and I grew up in the Running Strong family beginning as a toddler watching my father, Ken, do so much for so many of our fellow Oglala Lakota residents here on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwest South Dakota. My […]

Second Annual Powwow+: An Update from Year 5 Dreamstarter Freddy Gipp

It came and went. Dancers and singers from over 11 different states including the Canadian province of Saskatchewan traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to compete for a one day, week day powwow competition. In fact, we actually doubled our total number of participants, with over 65 registered contestants, we have displayed growth through two years of […]

Study Strong: 5,000 backpacks for 5,000 students

Across Indian Country and on the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River Sioux Indian reservations in South Dakota, there are tens of thousands of Native children getting ready for another school year. Thanks to the supporters of Running Strong for American Indian Youth® 3,000 elementary and 2,000 junior high school students will be getting backpacks filled with school […]