YOUTH AMBASSADORS- ALUMNUS

Miya

"How my life began.
I was born on the 9th of December in 1999 in a small Indian Reservation known as Pine Ridge South Dakota, but lived in Kyle South Dakota with my mom, Mert Garnette. I didn’t live with my dad mainly because I didn’t know who he was. All that I knew was his name, Kenton Weber. Although they’re both my parents, I have neither of their last names as my own. My name is Miya Takes War Bonnett. I got my last name from my older sister’s dad, Leon Takes War Bonnett Jr., who was there when my mom was giving birth to me. At the time they all thought I was his kid until I was born and looked nothing like either my mom or my sister’s dad. Although I wasn’t his kid he took me in as his own and looked after me. After living with my mom for a little bit of time, both my sister and I got taken away from DSS (Dakota Social Services) to go live with Leon’s sister. We ended up moving to Martin, South Dakota after Kyle. We then went to Bennett County Elementary. It was a good school. They kept me in check when I got a little out of hand. Both my sister and I ended up living with her for many years after that moving to different reservations and going to different schools. Although we moved around a lot, we never left South Dakota. It wasn’t until I had my eighth grade Continuation Ceremony that I decided to go live with my Grandma Amanda. It was there where I ended up being sent to go live with my birth dad. I only had met my dad in person a couple of times before living with him, once at my ceremony, and the second I ended up having to stay with him for two weeks. So of course, to me he was still a stranger, but we later got along. I lived with him till my eighteenth birthday, then on that day I packed all my things and left. I moved into my own apartment with some friends but was later evicted, and I ended up moving in with my aunt on my birth dad’s side. I lived with her for almost a year and then moved in with my friend and her family. It was there I got in contact with my birth mom again and planned to move back with her. I lived with my friend for a few months, quit my job, and moved with my mom. I decided to finish my second year of senior year at Little Wound High School where it all began.
My life experience and where I’m at in life
My life experience has it’s highlights and it’s dull moments, but my life right now is going better than the past. My past has so many downfalls to last for a while. I’ve been through so many traumatic experiences, but I choose to not let them bother me or bring me down. I don’t allow it to take over the life I deserve to have. I don’t really like talking about the past, I mainly stick to the present. My present is going well. I became a different person than what most thought I would be. I’m more confident being myself, rather than becoming something that I’m not or someone who people thought I should be. I became the very person who you’ve met, the very person who you are still getting to know. It depends on the first impression that I send out, but I hope that I make myself out to show all the virtues that was taught to me years ago. I want to show that I’m intelligent, respectful, and diligent. These are just three of many things I wish to show, but time limits my ability to show them all. I’m at a point in my life where I feel that nothing can take me down, mainly because I’ve lost and have been through many challenging issues. As of right now I’m grateful for where I’m at. I get to show who I am through both my performances and my words. I’ve grown to know not to worry about those who want to bring you down. They only do that because they wish to be you. I’ve grown to know that this saying isn’t always true, mainly because you don’t know what’s going on in a person’s mind.
What life means to me
Life means a lot to me. The reason it would mean so much to me is because there are so many people out there who never got the chance to fully live out theirs. I’m grateful for every second I get to live, mainly because in the past I’ve had so many encounters to where I shouldn’t be here today, so I would’ve been like the others who didn’t get to live their life. I’d say I have mutual feelings regarding my life, sure there are some days that I just don’t want to end and there are some days I wished never happened. But the truth of the matter is that they happened, and all I have left to do is live with it and learn from every day that happened. I’ve made friends who have helped me through so much. I’m grateful for anything they did, even if we’re not friends now. Now I have very few friends that I would tell my business to, but I’d rather have a few than none. There are many things that define me, those very things are what life means to me. I believe that mainly because without those very things I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
What’s my outlook on the future
My outlook on the future really depends on how my present is going and where it will take me. I hope the future for me is everything I deserve, either good or bad. I don’t really care for how it goes just as long as I have a future. I would love all my opportunities to lead me to a very blessed and positive future. All my past opportunities have led me a good life so far. My hope for my future is to keep pursuing in what I believe. I hope to learn from my past mistakes to help better my future rather if it’s the near, or further future.
Conclusion
In conclusion, my life isn’t the best but it’s the one I wouldn’t trade for anything. I’m proud of every little problem that went on in my life. I’m also proud of all my achievements. Both my problems and my achievements help define who I am and who I wish to be. I thank you for taking your time in reading my autobiography, and hope that you take in my words, so you can understand the real me".
Miya submitted an article about quarantine challenges on Pine Ridge which can be seen here on our blog page.

Rhyia

"Tous, My name is Ha Di Shi Free, Song of freedom. My English name is Rhyia JoyHeart. I am a member or the Northern Arapaho, Eastern Shoshone & Blackfoot Nations. My family is from Wind River in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. I have been apart of the Denver native community most of my life. The start of my connection to our community began With my love and passion for powwow dancing. With powwow dancing i have had many humbling and rewarding opportunities. I became an ambassador for Tipi Raisers, Gen7 youth empowerment group. We have recently traveled to "Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii"- Diné Monument Valley, Arizona. We had the opportunity to explore the land of the Diné Nation and engage with their people. As we built relationships and allies, we also built a strong community within ourselves. Growing to know each other as family, we enjoyed games, food and laughter. For some of us, it was a sweet get away from the busy colonized world we lived in. I wrote a poem inspired by our trip. This poem helped remind me of a gift i almost forgot i had. Im very grateful for the Tipi Raisers, Gen7, the Diné Nation, Mounement Valley and our elders that contributed along the way.    Hooweehoo, Hohou, Thank you".

​Rhyia's poem can found here on our blog page.

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THE TIME OF THE 7th GENERATION IS NOW!