As summer begins, camping season gets underway full swing. At MFNERC, we organize and fund a unique kind of camping program.
It is for our youth, to bring them closer to their roots.
Recently, Sioux Valley High School students got a chance to participate in just such a camp. At this three day Dakota culture camp, students got a chance to participate in different culturally relevant projects in order to teach them about their Dakota heritage. Among many activities, they built tipis, constructed bows, sewed baby moccasins and rode horses.
“Knowing your culture is knowing who you are,” concludes James Pratt, who created the camp four years ago. And, as MFNERC’s Noella Eagle states, “These kids are eventually going to be parents and grandparents, and their children are going to ask them about their culture one day.”
With local artists and community members helping to instruct the students, the goal to inspire students to stay close to their culture, learn as much as they can and, one day, pass that knowledge on, was definitely achieved.
Stay tuned for more posts throughout the summer about our various youth culture camps happening all over the province.
Watch a short video about the Dakota Culture Camp.
