Former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., will be the featured speaker at youth rally conducted by The Center for Native American Youth today at Cankdeska Cikana Community College on the Spirit Lake Nation.
Dorgan will speak at the event, which begins at noon. He and Dana Lee Jetty, a 19-year-old enrolled Spirit Lake member who serves as a youth board member at the center, also will lead a roundtable discussion with students.
"I am dedicated to reaching out to Native American youth," said Dorgan, who designated $1 million from his unspent campaign funds to create the center when he retired from the Senate in 2011. "The issues facing Native American children should be front page news, but too often these issues are ignored."
The center is a policy program within the Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington, D.C. Overseen by a board of advisers, the center is dedicated to bringing greater national attention to issues facing Native American youth and to help foster solutions, with special emphasis on youth suicide prevention.
The roundtable discussion will focus on issues facing reservation youth and how the center can be a tribal resource, according to Erin Bailey, center director.
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Native American youth face some of the most tragic disparities of any population in the United States and are the most at-risk population in this country, according to Bailey. High rates of poverty and unemployment, health disparities, alcohol and substance abuse, and increased youth gang activity can be found in many of the Native American communities across the nation, including North Dakota.
One of the center's goals is to highlight inspirational stories of Native American youth who are overcoming obstacles. Students at the rally will have an opportunity to use music and multimedia presentations to tell inspirational stories of Native American youth overcoming obstacles, according to Bailey.
The center has a webpage at its website ( www.cnay.org ) dedicated to drawing attention to inspiring young people and promising programs in Indian Country, according she said.
"Our efforts are about lifting people up," Dorgan said.
Center staff members spent Thursday visiting with youths and program staff members from Spirit Lake wellness centers, Boys and Girls clubs and other youth development initiatives.
At 11 a.m. today, Dorgan and tribal officials will speak at the grand opening ceremony of Spirit Lake's new Norma Lambert Rainbow Elderly Complex.
