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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KamiJo Whiteclay is a proud member of the Apsรกalooke/Crow Nation in Montana and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts. Her art is inspired by her communityโ€™s rich cultural heritage, intertwining Apsรกalooke design and identity.

Through our Dreamstarter program, KamiJo will be running the Daasawuuรก Kuulushbรญoo (To Create Within the Heart) Project, focusing on uplifting Apsรกalooke youth by encouraging creativity in the arts and inspiring fearless storytelling in the next generation.

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ญ๐จ ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐š๐ง ๐š๐๐ฏ๐จ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.

pulse.ly/h3x4hgojwg

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth #NativeCulture #NativeArt #NativeArtist
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KamiJo Whiteclay is a proud member of the Apsรกalooke/Crow Nation in Montana and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts. Her art is inspired by her communityโ€™s rich cultural heritage, intertwining Apsรกalooke design and identity.

Through our Dreamstarter program, KamiJo will be running the Daasawuuรก Kuulushbรญoo (To Create Within the Heart) Project, focusing on uplifting Apsรกalooke youth by encouraging creativity in the arts and inspiring fearless storytelling in the next generation.

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ญ๐จ ๐›๐ž๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž ๐š๐ง ๐š๐๐ฏ๐จ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.

https://pulse.ly/h3x4hgojwg

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

Jarrette Werk, an award-winning multimedia journalist, is a citizen of the Aaniiih and Nakoda Nations of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. He now works for Underscore News, a news outlet dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices on a mass scale.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program, Jarette and a team of Indigenous storytellers will produce a yearlong series of stories celebrating Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest through compelling written narratives and beautiful photography.

๐‰๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ. โค๏ธ

www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS

#runningstrong #dreamstarter #dreams #nativeamerican #native #indigenous #tribes #nativecommunities #nativeyouth #nativeculture #journalism #journalist #news #indiancommunity
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Jarrette Werk, an award-winning multimedia journalist, is a citizen of the Aaniiih and Nakoda Nations of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana. He now works for Underscore News, a news outlet dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices on a mass scale.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program, Jarette and a team of Indigenous storytellers will produce a yearlong series of stories celebrating Indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest through compelling written narratives and beautiful photography.

๐‰๐จ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ. โค๏ธ

https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth #NativeCulture  #Journalism #Journalist #News #IndianCommunity

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Jarrette Werk Congratulations!

Jacob Grignon, an enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe, is a student, a photographer, and a musician who is passionate about passing on the stories of his Native elders.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program, he'll be giving elders the opportunity to share their stories and giving Native youth moderated access to their lessons through relationship-building and interviews.

๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐›๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ!

www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth #NativeCulture #NativeStories
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Jacob Grignon, an enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe, is a student, a photographer, and a musician who is passionate about passing on the stories of his Native elders.

Thanks to our Dreamstarter program, hell be giving elders the opportunity to share their stories and giving Native youth moderated access to their lessons through relationship-building and interviews.

๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐›๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ!

https://www3.thedatabank.com/dpg/475/personal2.asp?formid=signupRS

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

Each feminine hygiene kit contains tampons, maxi pads, soap, hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes, and can offer a month's worth of comfort and assurance to a young woman and only costs $22 per kit.

With the generous support of our donors we can reach our goal of distributing 3,000 kits this summer to underserved native women and girls.

Help us end Period Poverty in Native Communities by making a donation today. -
harnessgiving.pulse.ly/m7i9ap46ys

#AmericanIndianHeritage #NativeAmericanCulture #RunningStrong #Donate #DoGood #IndigenousYouth #IndigenousCommunity #AmericanIndianYouth #femininehygiene #periodpoverty
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Each feminine hygiene kit contains tampons, maxi pads, soap, hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes, and can offer a months worth of comfort and assurance to a young woman and only costs $22 per kit.

With the generous support of our donors we can reach our goal of distributing 3,000 kits this summer to underserved native women and girls.

Help us end Period Poverty in Native Communities by making a donation today. -
https://harnessgiving.pulse.ly/m7i9ap46ys

#AmericanIndianHeritage #NativeAmericanCulture #RunningStrong #Donate #DoGood #IndigenousYouth #IndigenousCommunity #AmericanIndianYouth #femininehygiene #periodpoverty

1 CommentComment on Facebook

Thank you for this! Please also consider offering more sustainable options such as reusable products that will last many months, or years. For instance, washable, reusable pads, period underwear, & menstruation cups. Some companies like SAALT have good deals and donate some, I believe.

Hannah-Rose Waller is a 23-year-old filmmaker from the Osage Indian Reservation in Hominy, OK and a graduate from NYU. Through our Dreamstarter program, she's creating a 30-minute short film, Pretty Hair Camp, about two young Osages who fall in love in the early 1980s against the backdrop of cultural decline and loss.

By telling this story, Hannah is telling the world that the modern lives of Osage people are rich in perspective and meaning and are shaped by their community and the generations that came before.

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ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.

pulse.ly/v8svbq6vdj

#RunningStrong #Dreamstarter #Dreams #NativeAmerican #Native #Indigenous #Tribes #NativeCommunities #NativeYouth #NativeCulture #Filmmaker #Filmmakers
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Hannah-Rose Waller is a 23-year-old filmmaker from the Osage Indian Reservation in Hominy, OK and a graduate from NYU. Through our Dreamstarter program, shes creating a 30-minute short film, Pretty Hair Camp, about two young Osages who fall in love in the early 1980s against the backdrop of cultural decline and loss.

By telling this story, Hannah is telling the world that the modern lives of Osage people are rich in perspective and meaning and are shaped by their community and the generations that came before.

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ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฉ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐จ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ.

https://pulse.ly/v8svbq6vdj

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

9 CommentsComment on Facebook

Oh Hannah, I'm just so proud of you. You're doing absolutely wonderful things. The world is your oyster.

Congratulations Hannah!!

Congratulations Hannah!

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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
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