In November, the tribal youth will celebrate Native American Heritage Month by learning about Native American singing, pottery and drumming from a number of different tribes. The tribal youth will also enjoy traditional Native American foods such as corn soup, Indian tacos, poyha and wild rice with chicken. The tribal youth are planning their annual Thanksgiving community dinner feed for 200 youth and adults.
Get Smart Program: Each tribal youth member is encouraged to join in the Native American essay contest. This year’s essay asks them to write about their experience in a Native American community and the culture that inspires them. They will then be sent to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to be judged. Each essay contest winner will get an all-expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. to visit the museum and other prominent sites and a $2,500 college scholarship.
Another component of this month’s activities under the Get Smart Program is that the tribal youth will learn about the 37 tribal colleges and universities in the U.S., which include Haskell Indian Nations University, Comanche Nation College and the College of the Muscogee Nation. We are very proud of the tribal youth because we checked their grades and they were great. Students from Gordon Cooper Technology Center come every Wednesday to tutor the youth, and our academic support staff Ben McAlister and Wilson Littlehead tutor throughout the week.
Get Fit Program: The tribal youth started an Indigenous fitness program which includes running, pushups and native line runs. The youth will be introduced to the art of using a bow to hit clay pigeons and taught how to play the game Chunky and traditional hand games.
If you have a tribal youth that would be interested in our FireLodge Tribal Youth or PLACE programs, please call 405-214-5110 or email dgreene@potawatomi.org.