[CircleUp] FW: NEWS: CRYP Executive Director Wins Spirit of Dakota Award - Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Member, Julie Garreau

[Info]

Photography:

CRYP Executive Director Julie Garreau, assisted by CRYP Board President
Betsy Mitchell, receiving a blessing from Lakota elder Harry Charger on the
Cheyenne River Youth Project's 20th Anniversary.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              

 

Cheyenne River Youth Project                 Contact:            Alexandra
Meador

East Lincoln Street
(605) 964-8200

P.O. Box 410
alex at lakotayouth.org     

Eagle Butte, SD 57625

 

 

CHEYENNE RIVER YOUTH PROJECTR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WINS

SPIRIT OF DAKOTA AWARD

 

EAGLE BUTTE, SD (October 19, 2009) - The Cheyenne River Youth ProjectR in
Eagle Butte, South Dakota, has announced that Executive Director Julie
Garreau is the 21st winner of the Spirit of Dakota Award, an honor bestowed
each fall by the Spirit of Dakota Award Society. Selected over nine other
nominees, Garreau accepted this year's award at the Crossroads Hotel & Huron
Event Center on Saturday, October 3.

            Established in 1987, the award recognizes a South Dakota woman
who has demonstrated leadership qualities, has become successful in her
community and state, has deep Dakota roots, has shown courage and strength
of character and has represented social, cultural and educational
advancement for others. It recognizes, according to the society, "those
outstanding women who have been the symbols of all that we are proud of in
our prairie women."

            To Alexandra Meador, CRYP's youth programs director, Garreau was
an ideal candidate. Meador nominated her for the award.

            "For more than 20 years, Julie has fought for a better future
for Cheyenne River's children," Meador explained. "And along the way, she
has inspired hundreds of volunteers to serve others. She has never given up
on this youth project, which has struggled for resources since its 1988
inception, and because of that, the children here have something they can
count on. They have something that gives them hope for the future."

            Garreau has been CRYP's executive director since its founding,
when it was a tiny, one-room youth center in a former Main Street bar. After
volunteering in the position for 12 years, she began working for the
organization full-time in 2000; today it comprises the Cokata Wiconi Teen
Center, The Main Youth Center, the 2.5-acre Winyan Toka Win naturally grown
garden, the Family Services Program and a renowned Volunteer Service
Program, which attracts volunteers of all ages from around the world.

            "Julie is a dedicated youth advocate, and she works hard to make
CRYP a model for other communities to follow as they develop effective,
sustainable, grassroots youth programming," Meador said. 

A graduate of South Dakota's Huron University, Garreau was the Cheyenne
River Sioux Tribe's education services specialist for 15 years, and during
that time she served for five years on the CRST Police Commission - three as
chairperson. She also has served as a field coordinator for Running Strong
for American Indian YouthR, a national not-for-profit organization that is
an important CRYP partner.

In her 21 years with CRYP, Garreau has received the South Dakota Volunteer
of the Year Award (1992); the Presidential Points of Light Award (1992),
presented by President George H.W. Bush; the North American Indian Women's
Association Fellowship "Among All Peoples" Award (1999); and the Garden
Supply Company's First Place "Garden Crusader" Award (2005).

In 2002, the South Dakota Coalition for Children named CRYP a "Champion for
Children," and Garreau was named to an honor roll that recognized its 16
members' outstanding dedication to South Dakota's children. Her name also
appears on the Honor Wall at the National Museum of the American Indian in
Washington D.C.    

She has extended her commitment to the Cheyenne River reservation, located
in two of the five poorest U.S. counties, to the national level in recent
years. In 2005, she spoke in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs about positive youth initiatives and youth suicide prevention on
Cheyenne River. In June 2008, she was elected to be the Dewey County
Democratic Party Chairperson, coordinating local efforts for the Barack
Obama presidential campaign.           

"Julie's Indian name is Wicahpi Eyutan Win, which means 'Touches the Stars
Woman' in Lakota," Meador said. "This name reflects her people's recognition
of her dedication, vision and commitment.

"As a Lakota woman, Julie's roots in Dakota can't go any deeper," she
continued. "And to keep a grassroots youth project running - and growing -
for two decades requires resourcefulness, persistence, tenacity and, yes,
absolutely, courage and strength of character. She's faced every challenge
and fought for what she believes in, which in turn inspires her staff and
volunteers. That's why the Cheyenne River Youth project still exists today,
while so many other grassroots efforts fail."

At the October 3 presentation, Garreau accepted the prestigious Spirit of
South Dakota Award plaque, hand-crafted by renowned sculptor Dale Claude
Lamphere. Lamphere based the plaque artwork on his nine-foot bronze
sculpture of a pioneer woman, titled "Spirit of Dakota," which stands at the
entrance of the event center in Huron. The plaque depicts the same strong
pioneer woman on its facade.

            To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its
programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call
(605) 964-8200 or visit CRYP's recently redesigned Web site at
<http://www.lakotayouth.org> www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on
the latest CRYP news and events, visit the youth project's Facebook group
and cause pages. All group and cause members will receive regular updates
through Facebook.

 

The Cheyenne River Youth Project, founded in 1988, is a grassroots,
not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne
River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide
variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and
facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.

 

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