By Darin Greene, FireLodge Tribal Youth Coordinator
This time of year brings our spring session at the Potawatomi Learning and Cultural Exchange. Our students will have plenty to do this month as school comes to a close.
The GET Native program will focus on educating students about several cultures including those living across North America. They will also be exposed to isolated languages of Oklahoma.
Tribal youth will be attending the Chickasaw Nation Reunion on May 13-14 in Kullihoma, Oklahoma, where they will join for dinner, stomp dance and stickball.
The GET Smart program continues to show success while tribal youth grades continue to rise. The students who are improving get special reward days, including a trip to FireLake Bowling Center and Arcade, swimming at Shawnee Splash Water Park, a lock-in and a pizza party.
This month, tribal youth will be learning about famous Mexican Americans, celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a Mexican-style festival and preparing for college by working through applications and financial aid packets.
FireLake Wellness Center staff will be working with tribal youth to raise awareness about conditions like ALS, asthma, hearing and speech, stroke and multiple sclerosis. In conjunction with the GET Well and GET Aware initiatives, they will be encouraged to participate in the no-fried-food-Friday challenge.
Tribal youth will be starting the NFL PLAY 60 program as part of GET Fit, which includes a flag football league. The campaign, sponsored by the National Football League, encourages kids to be active for 60 minutes per day in order to combat childhood obesity.
In May the students also started a toy drive in honor of National Foster Care Month. Toys will be donated to CPN House of Hope.
If your child is interested in learning more about Native American culture or could benefit from our PLACE program, please contact me at dgreene@potawatomi.org.