Shoshone-Bannock Tribes host Northwest Indian Youth Conference March 23-26; events slated at ISU

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are hosting the 40th annual Northwest Indian Youth Conference (NWIYC) with the theme, “Dreamers of Today and Champions of Tomorrow” on March 23-26 on the Fort Hall Reservation in Fort Hall and at the Idaho State University Pocatello campus.

The four-day conference will include leadership workshops, motivational speakers, a two-day College and Resource Fair, Idaho National Laboratory CAVE exhibit, a talent show, a fashion show, a powwow, traditional games and feast and more.

The Tribes anticipate up to 600 American Indian youth ranging from 14-18 years old and adult mentors from all over the Northwest region including Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon to attend.

Each day of the conference has a unique theme: day 1 is “Culture Day,” day 2 is “Physical Activity Day,” day 3 is “Education Day” and day 4 is “Leadership Day.”

Day one, “Culture Day,” will include an opening ceremony with prayer, a welcome by the Fort Hall Business Council, a flag ceremony by local Veterans Association, a cultural welcome by the Shoshone-Bannock Junior/Senior “High School youth, followed by a keynote speaker on the “Importance of Culture in Modern Society.” The day continues with traditional games and Shoshone-Bannock feast including buffalo stew and chokecherry pudding.

Day two, “Physical Activity Day,” highlights the importance of taking care of your body – physically, mentally and spiritually. Various activities have been planned both on and off the reservation including rock climbing, archery, Zumba, a day-long trip to ‘PohaBa,’ land of healing waters, in Lava Hot Springs, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and cultural activities where youth get to create and take home a ribbon shirt or cultural tie for the males and wing dresses for the females. Evening activities include a banquet with a Talent Show and Fashion Show at the Chiefs Event Center with live music by MTV 2015 Artist of the Week, Supaman, a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana. Banquet tickets may be available for sale to the community depending on maximum capacity in the facility.

Day three is “Education Day” held on the ISU campus, with a welcome by ISU Native Americans United (NAU) and TRIO program, a keynote address titled “Finding the Warrior Within,” the start of the two-day College and Resource Fair, the INL CAVE exhibit (one day only), empowering workshops on tribal sovereignty and leadership, tobacco prevention and energy related activities including nuclear forensics and geothermal. Evening activities include the youth dance and DJ Battle hosted by tribal DJ Supaman and a money-spending activity with an ice cream social. The dance is open to the community youth for $5 at the door.

Day four is Leadership Day back in Fort Hall at the Chiefs Event center with a keynote address by famous American Indian female activist Winona LaDuke (Anishinabe tribe). This event is open to the community for a small fee at the door. Workshops include teen driving, youth leadership and one-on-one with special guests Winona LaDuke, Tara Houska and Supaman. This will be followed by a cultural giveaway at lunch, an awards ceremony and the annual social powwow (open to community for free) with a special autograph session with all the special guests attending the youth conference.

The Tribes have collaborated with tribal programs and non-profit organizations such as WeRNative, UNITY, Native Women’s Coalition, Partners for Prosperity and First Nations Development Institute, local businesses including Fort Hall Casino, Tribal Enterprises, Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center, Wells Fargo, COSTCO, INL and Idaho State University staff to bring the youth the best in inspiring workshops, motivational speakers and leadership presentations for four fun-filled days.

The NWIYC youth conference is the second largest youth conference held annually throughout the northwest region by various host tribes that bid for the event. The last time the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes hosted NWIYC was 10 years ago in 2005 held at Idaho State University campus.

For more information on the event, visit www.sbtribes.com/nwiyc.