Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter

by Seeding Sovereignty
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter
Safety and Joy for Indigenous Youths This Winter

Project Report | Sep 14, 2023
Helping Medicine Wheels Skate On!

By Julia Jackson | Seeding Sovereignty Word Weaver

Having a great time at the Skate Bash!
Having a great time at the Skate Bash!

Hello Friends! 

 

Together with 34 other donors you have raised $6,583! Thank you!

 

We are so excited to share the work we have been doing with our Medicine Wheels programming over the last few months. 

Our current program focus is on creating opportunities for young Indigenous skaters on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. This work is community work. It means making sure that the kids not only have access to skating equipment and training, but also making sure that they and their families have the support they need in other areas of life as well. 

 

Additionally, being part of a community and helping youths also means helping their families when crisis strikes.  When devastating winter storms hit Pine Ridge and kept people trapped inside while pipes froze and temperatures plummeted, Hope, the program leader, pivoted to ensuring that families in the area were safe and warm throughout the storm. The storm meant that our programming was delayed as the storm kept the indoor skate center closed. 

Covid restrictions were lifted in the area in January and with several back to back snowstorms, it wasn’t until March when we were able to get back to skateboarding. The kids were thrilled! Below we’ve included a list of several of the events that your donations made possible. 

 

March 26th, Medicine Wheels Skate Bash: 

Our first event after a long winter! Around 20 people attended and two kids who had never skated learned how to skate, went home with a new skateboard, and will be ready for our next event. It was incredible to see the community coming together over the event. 

 

March 17th Skate School: 

Medicine Wheels partnered with Ground Control to host Ground Control's Tuesday Skate nights and to provide skating materials for the attending youths. It was incredible to see the joy skating brought to the community! 

 

April 21: Roll In Movie Night 

While MW is for the kids, we also want to give back to families of Pine Ridge. Coming together after the storm and long covid isolation, we were able to bring Pine Ridge families together for a relaxing movie night evening.

 

April 30th, Shredder Sunday: 

After a terrible April cold snap, the weather on Pine Ridge finally got to a balmy 57 degrees and it was time to take our boards outside! It was lovely to be on the land and under the big sky.

We got 11 excited youth to the big community skate park to practice their skills learned inside in skate school. They enjoyed the challenge of the larger ramps and a more exciting skating space with more room to skate and bigger ramps.

 

Our skate park: Partnering with Ground Control we have access to both indoor and outdoor skate parks. 

A free community skatepark is vital to foster a sense of community, and to provide much needed support for the kids of Pine Ridge not just in skating but in life.

Pine Ridge is an hour’s drive away from even a Walmart, and people don’t have money to buy their kids skateboards or safety equipment. Getting them what they need to skate and get out of their isolation is critical. Through our work at the skatepark, we also realized that many of the kids needed shoes, so in addition to getting kids new skateboard gear to use and keep, we are now fundraising for shoes to give the kids too.

 

From our Medicine Wheels Program Leader: “Our youth face significant challenges, but they also hold the potential for a resilient future. Providing appropriate resources and support, acknowledging and addressing the historical and ongoing trauma, and integrating culture and tradition into solutions can lead to improved mental health, lower rates of substance abuse, and a more secure community. It is an investment that promises not just the survival, but the flourishing of a vibrant culture and its future generations.”

In the face of considerable challenges, Medicine Wheels is creating safe spaces through skateboarding and art. At every event we have role models and mentors of their community. We serve food and provide water because skating builds an appetite! But also,  many of these kids’ families can’t afford what most people take for granted. 

This project continues to make a profound difference in the lives of the youth at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation by providing therapeutic tools for personal growth, outlets for creative expression, and platforms for community building. Your investment in these initiatives continues to result in a healthier, more resilient generation, contributing to the overall well-being and future of the Pine Ridge community. 

Specifically, your donations have powered events within the community and directly provided skateboards for children in Pine Ridge! 

 

Remember - wherever you are - you are rolling on Indigenous lands.
Here is an app to find the communities you are in and encourage us all to learn.

Thank you for your continued support! You have sincerely made a difference within our community. 

 

In Gratitude and Solidarity, 

The Seeding Sovereignty team

Our lovely skate day in the fresh air.
Our lovely skate day in the fresh air.
Movie Set Up
Movie Set Up
hredding at Ground Control!
hredding at Ground Control!

Links:

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Mar 23, 2023
On the Ground Impact and Forward Thinking!

By Anjanette Wilson | Associate Director, Donor Relations

Dec 30, 2022
Start the New Year with us!

By Anjanette Wilson | Community Engagement and Development Coordinator

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Organization Information

Seeding Sovereignty

Location: Brooklyn, NY - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @seedsovereignty
Project Leader:
Yaya Vallis
New Town , North Dakota United States
$30,450 raised of $50,000 goal
 
489 donations
$19,550 to go
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