Youth Going to D.C. for National Conference

NAYA congratulates youth leaders, Josiah One Star, Sicangu Lakota/ Lyackson First Nation, Leticia Velasquez, Klamath/Modoc, Lanie Grimm, Kickapoo/Winnebago, and Lofanitani Aisea-Ball, Klamath/Modoc, for being selected to attend the first ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering. All four youth answered President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (#Gen-I) Native Youth Challenge.

The four youth took on the #Gen-I challenge by displaying strong leadership skills in their community and coordinating local efforts to improve the lives of their peers. They do this by identifying and removing barriers that stand between Native Youth and their opportunity to succeed. In order to participate in the gathering, students wrote short essays with recommendations on how federal government officials and their community can support tribal youth, and how they can use their voice to help other youth succeed. You can read each student’s essay by clicking on the picture below. Only 800 students were selected for the national conference.

NAYA is proud of the leadership, accomplishments and dedication that these youth have for our Native community. NAYA is supporting them by raising funds to send these rising leaders to D.C. where they will be meeting with national leaders and Native youth from across the country. This gathering will help build a future that supports the dreams and ideas of the next generation of Native leaders.

Without the support from the community and supporters, this once in a lifetime experience will not be possible. A gift from you today will help send NAYA youth to D.C. and a recurring gift will continue supporting programs at NAYA that shape our future leaders. We want to give our students every opportunity to learn about leadership, interact with influential policy makers, and be empowered by new experiences. Become a monthly donor in June and Bank of America will match your donation, doubling the impact you make to the Native community. To learn more about our donation matching partnership with Bank of America click here. Your financial gift is a direct investment in developing the next generation of Native leaders.