Youth council empowers Native young people

By Shine Salt

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

PHOENIX – Seeking to be part of a youth council with Salt River, Megan who’s Navajo couldn’t since she is not enrolled with the tribe.

She knew then something had to be created for all Native youths.

“Children who are living away from their homelands needed a place to gather to connect and build relationships,” said Debbie Manuel, Megan’s mother and the executive director for The Morning Star leaders Youth Council.

“As time went on, I looked for these programs locally and found it challenging. Talking to a few parents I realized this place didn’t exist. I went locally and still couldn’t find it.”

After meeting with Peterson Zah at a United National Indian Tribal Youth conference, he suggested to Manuel to quit talking about it and to make it happen.

“Since that time in 2012, we networked with a few people and started searching for others who shared the same interest, or maybe experienced the same limitations of resources for their own children,” said Manuel.

Established in 2013, Morning Star is a non-profit inter-tribal program created to encourage youths to become leaders in an urban area by engaging with their culture and language.

The youth have helped their community by doing backpack drives, hosting events like the public hearing on the $554 million settlement and the Navajo presidential debate. They also educate themselves by understanding their Native traditions such as learning to plant beans, squash and melons.

“When I first came to this I wasn’t into youth councils, getting to know people and to be socially active with others,” said Treston Easchief, the vice president of Morning Star and one of the founders. “But ever since I’ve been with the youth council I’m more talkative and an outgoing person. I’m not afraid to talk to a person and I’m not shy anymore. I can talk to a big crowd.”

Manuel recalls when kids first come to the program, they’re unsure of what it is. Some are shy and nervous because they are required to socialize and to meet other people.

“But by the third and definitely the fourth meeting these young people have learned new social skills outside of their immediate families,” said Manuel. “They learn what it means to have certain degrees of responsibility, and learn to help organize their hours they give to the communities by volunteering and mentoring.”

Each youth will accumulate about 30 to 50 hours each month of community service and collectively gather close to 400 hours. They use the hours to add to their college applications.

Easchief, of Navajo and Au-Authm, grew up learning more of his Navajo side from his mother, so being in the program he was able to understand his Au-Authm.

From his involvement, he’s learning traditional songs, the language, meeting Pima leaders and having his art recognized.

“Our mission is to empower Native American youth by opening leadership opportunities for them,” said Megan LaRose, the president for the program. “In our youth council, that’s something we’re trying to get rid of. We don’t want kids to not accept who they are, but to learn their background.”

The youth meet each week. The atmosphere of their meetings mirrors an actual council meeting by them motioning ideas, voting and electing their officials.

“Once you sit down with the youth and help them to understand what’s going on they can do things easily,” LaRose said. “And the youth have a powerful voice. They can make people pay attention to what’s going on.”