Today, I share with you some great news and a big wopila! A couple weeks back, we asked for your support in helping us to transfer the title of Standing Rock’s teen center to our nonprofit allies and the people of the Standing Rock Nation. Today, I am proud and happy to announce that, with your assistance, this has been accomplished! Thank you so much for your friendship, which has helped make our long-term goal of providing a safe and productive space for teens and young adults on Standing Rock a reality.

The Iyuha Icu Youth Services Center is now open every weekday afternoon and evening, offering a space for simple leisure and a mix of spiritual and cultural learning activities. We take pride in having purchased the building and formed the right partnerships — most critically with our friend, Hoksila White Mountain — to incubate the idea from concept to completion.

Among other amenities and activities, the youth center features art depicting the core Lakota values (second from left above). Also pictured are the property’s tipi poles, sweat lodge, and sage harvested at Standing Rock.

You may remember learning of Hoksila in past Lakota Law newsletters. We helped raise consciousness around his unjustly contested candidacy for mayor, and we helped him push through obstacles to serving on the City Council in McLaughlin, South Dakota (Standing Rock’s Bear Soldier District). He’s been a driving force behind the youth center from the very beginning.

I’m delighted to say that, today, this invaluable resource for Standing Rock’s youth stands as a concrete example of what we can achieve when we work together for a common cause, across organizational lines. We’re grateful to Hoksila for his cooperation and for sharing his vision.

The cultural focus and activities the youth center empowers go beyond its walls. Recently, Hoksila took 29 youths and chaperones on a trip to visit cultural heritage sites in Oregon and Northern California. That’s rare, world-expanding exposure for a group of vulnerable young people.

In a world filled with inequity, and in a place where young people could use a lot more opportunity, your friendship with Lakota Law makes a real difference. Today, please know how much that means to me and to our youth on the Standing Rock Nation. Aho.

Wopila tanka — our deep thanks for creating access and improving lives.
Chase Iron Eyes
Co-Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project