WHO WE ARE |
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"My name is Aiyonne. I was born on October 22nd, 2003 in Denver, Colorado. I aspire to be an archeologist and an activist. I am passionate about the education system and the right of all people to have a voice and be heard. I am passionate about these things because I was raised in a world of politics and protests. I saw the power of opinions, but I also saw how much better the world would be if people took the time to listen to each other. Unfortunately, the older I got the more I saw society try to silence the people, and I understood that the reason the world faces so many problems is because only a select amount of people are allowed to be heard. This is the reason I aspire to be an activist, and also one of the reasons I chose to join Tipi Raisers. The other main reason is because I am fascinated by the world, both the places and the people. This fascination, as well as need for adventure, is why I aspire to be an archeologist".
Aiyonne submitted an article about the Navajo Nation trip in June which can be seen here on our blog page. |
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"My name is Austin Kent. My mother is Judy Nixon Kent, and my father is Raymond Harrison Kent. For as long as I can remember I have loved creating and admiring visual art. The level of near infinite freedom for how to express oneself is both exciting and challenging for me. Within the past few years, I have developed a love for the environment, and the feeling that a connection with our Earth is something that has been lost within many cultures in our quickly industrializing world. My main goals in life are to create new things sustainably, and connect deeply with people and nature.
Gen7 has drawn me in with the mission; bringing together people of all walks of life for the purpose of creating genuine change in the world. I feel that more and more, individuals and groups of differing opinion fail to see eye to eye. We as a species must address our understanding and misunderstanding of one another, so that we can begin to trust each other. This is what Gen7 is about. Young people, native and nonnative coming together to grow, learn, and act under one common banner. That of the human race". |
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Hi! My name is Esmee. My mom is Jenni and my dad is Curt. I am a Colorado native. Being raised by two art teachers, I grew up with a strong sense of dedication and creativity. Additionally, my community had a strong spiritual connection to each other and the Earth. I really like watching people and I find culture to be fascinating. My hobbies include reading, enjoying the great outdoors, drawing, cooking, and much more. Tipi Raisers gave me the space to experience the greater world. I felt and still feel so connected with the community and land. I have worked with Tipi Raisers since November 2019. I am called by the need for action and youth movement in the Tipi Risers community. I look forward to continuing to make waves and work with other youth.
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"My name is Geraldine Victoria Grace. My mother is Jessica Dawn Crow, my father is Steven Oliver White Magpie Jr. I come from the Oglala Sioux Tribe. I am 16 years old. I was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I enjoy playing volleyball, riding horse, traveling, and sleeping, like a lot. I have four sisters and three brothers. I have one older sister and three younger, and all of my brothers are older. I go to school at Pine Ridge High School and I will be a junior this fall. I used to love playing basketball growing up, but my sophomore year I was unable to play because of a knee injury, and i just outgrew the love for the sport. I also enjoy running. I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends. I can seem very stand off-ish when it comes to first meeting me but after getting to know me I’m actually a pretty nice person. Being apart of Gen7 is actually really fun, I met so much new people, I made so much new friends, It’s an all around great youth organization. I love the people I met through Gen7 they are all genuinely great people and have bright personalities. I’m proud to be an indigenous woman and I hope Gen7 will make an Impact on other youth to get involved! Han, Mitakuye Oyasin"
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"My name is Justina , my Lakota name is Iyapí Wín which translates to Women Who Speaks. I’m fifteen years old and I was born and raised in the Pine Ridge Indian reservation with my four siblings and two parents. I had a tough time growing up, dealing with many losses but as I see around me and meet more people I realize it has only made me stronger. I joined Gen7 with hopes and trust that it’ll bring good things to our rez and people. Though we are barely starting out I know the program is giving to us who are involved and seeing what this could bring us in the future.
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"My name is Oliver Miner, I am 18 years old, I am from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe(Lakota). I am Currently attending Northern State University to become a teacher. Before Gen7 I had done a couple things like boys Nation, and different mock legislation. I had even wrote an essay on the importance of native and non-native building. I was chosen by the tribe to attend a conference in Denver".
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My name is Kalon Shepard. I am the youngest daughter of my father David Shepard and my mother Desiree Lurie. Through Gen 7 I look forward to developing my communication with native youth and other non-native youth in order to better understand the struggles and joys that they experience on a day to day basis. I want to be able to use what I learn from this ongoing communication to become an active advocate for the changes that need to be seen in our country and our world.
Professionally, I aspire to be an engineer. I hope to use my skills to bring practical solutions and tools to communities that need them. On a day to day basis my goal is generally to build community. I have found that once a community is established and there is mutual respect and love between all of the members, the foundation is built for institutional growth. Mutual understanding allows members of a community to challenge the way that they think, in order to promote change. This is my goal when I enter new spaces: encourage the building of community to promote dialogue and social change. I feel incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to participate in Gen 7 and The Tipi Raisers. This is a community that from my first moment being involved I knew it was special. There is truly no greater joy for me than to be able to engage with such loving, dedicated, solution oriented people. |
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"Hi, my name is Skyla Joy Gabriel. My mother is Melanie Rebecca King Sheets, my father is John David Gabriel. I was born in Colorado, and I lived here until I was 8, when I moved to Georgia. After about four years there, I moved back home to Colorado where I have lived since. The greatest joys have been brought to me by spending time in nature and with friends, adventuring, helping, reading, and writing. My main goal in this life is to live in service of others, and the Tipi Raisers have made that possible in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I have been going on volunteer trips to the Pine Ridge Lakota Oglala Reservation for about two years now, and to be a part of the Tipi Raisers and their mission has become my passion. To be among such a strong and beautiful people, to learn from their culture and their wisdom, to make the most incredible friends is something that has changed me forever. As Dave reminded us all on my first trip to Pine Ridge, now that I’m aware, I have a responsibility to do everything I can to be involved and to make a difference if I can. I can’t wait to see what happens next, and I’m so proud of my involvement with the Tipi Raisers and Gen 7. This is the generation that will change the world and I am so proud that I was born at such a time as this to make a difference".
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"Hello! My name is Sasha and I was born on March 8, 2003. I was born and raised in Erie, Colorado. I lived and studied in Limpopo, South Africa for a year before moving back to Colorado. I enjoy being outside hiking, backpacking, or horseback riding as well as meeting new people and doing new things! When I first went up to Pine Ridge, I learned and experienced so much. This experience inspired me to become the person I am today and inspired me to continue and expand my community service because I want other people to have the opportunity to experience the magic of the reservation and the people of the reservation. I am not sure where exactly I am going in the future, but I hope to be helping people/communities and having the opportunity to meet new people, learn new languages, and learn new cultures. Mitakuye Oyasin".
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Hello my name is Exodus, I'm Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge SD, My mother is Jessica. I'm 14 years old in the 8th grade at wolf creek school. I enjoy Math, basketball and I have a passion for Horses, whether it's riding or taking care of them.
one of my goals is to get more youth involved with Gen7, one kid at a time!!! help them set goals and encourage them to achieve them. I also want to make my community a better place to live and bring back our old traditional ways. I'm very happy and proud to be a part of Gen7 and would like to thank everyone who made this opportunity available for me. |
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"Hello, my name is Wacey. I am Oglala Lakota. I am 15 years of age going on to 16. I am from a small town named Pine ridge, located in South Dakota.
I have been apart of tipi raisers/Gen 7 for almost one year. I enjoy attending these groups, Making new friends, and learning new things. I am so grateful for having such a big opportunity, and I hope to continue attending"! |
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I grew up in a lot of places because at a young age I was orphaned and I was very nomadic so I never really stayed in the same place and that probably contributes to me never being home and taking every chance I get to go some where and see something new, I’m a song holder for my people and I dance our Lakota style of dances that include traditional,grass,fancy and chicken, I’ve come up from nothing in life but I’ve managed to make something from nothing. That something is the strength to live everyday healthy and happy and being apart of Gen7 warms my heart because the little amount of time I’ve been apart of Gen7 has made me feel more at home than I have ever felt and it’s all thanks to my best friend Miya and I couldn’t thank her enough for this amazing opportunity.
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Hi my name is Jaycia. I’m 13 years old I was born and raised in Rapid City SD. My parents are Jessica Thompson and my dad is Eric Morrison and I have a little brother named Kain. I am in 7th grade at Pine Ridge Jr High. I love being outside and being active. I am a very outgoing and happy person. But I have a hard time talking to people because I’m shy. That's one of the things I am trying to overcome. I recently became a part of gen7. It's been fun to meet new people everyday. One of the activities I enjoy the most is horseback lessons. What I learned so far being part of the gen7 is being more involved with my community and special matters. I really like seeing our community grow and helping others and hope to be the change we need. Thank you
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Hello my name is Waylon Belt Jr. I was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Waylon and Pricilla (Rouillard) Belt Sr. I'm the eldest of 3 Thomas and Autumn. I'm 19 years old and I go to school at Wolf Creek Virtual High School. I have volunteered with Tipi Raisers for a number of years. I grew up and became a part of my own agency spiritual protection hunter Agency-SPHA for short. I joined Gen7 because I heard about it and decided to join. Also another story: my family and I live in a one bedroom camper. Thank you call me in you need to talk
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Hi! My name is Taylor and I was born October 14th 2004 in Denver, Colorado. I really enjoy spending time outside with my friends and family. In the winter skiing and swimming take over my life and in all the other seasons soccer and cross country is what takes up the majority of my time. I currently attend Heritage High School and I am a sophomore. I love going outside of my comfort zone and meeting new people as well. I have two sisters and it’s my fill time job to annoy them as the youngest.
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My name is Madison Bryant and I am 19 years old. I currently attend the University of Colorado Boulder and I study International Affairs. I have many aspirations with this degree but most of all just want to make a change in the world. I am a member of the Choctaw tribe and this remains both important and crucial to my identity. Because of this I aspire to both grow education surrounding native people and learn from other natives. I specifically am passionate about native rights and have even considered a career in native law. Tipi Raisers gives me the opportunity to reach these goals. I also am a singer-songwriter who loves to bring people together through art. I believe that art can promote empathy and understanding to people who may not know of your experiences and therefore, is a useful tool for education about native peoples. Lastly, I stand with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement which aims to end the disproportionate amount of native women who experience violence.
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Hi! My name is Gabriela, Im 18 years old and currently live in Denver, Colorado. I am Colombian-American and speak fluent Spanish and English, I am currently in the process of obtaining my pilots license, and will be moving on to emergency medicine after that. I am quite passionate about community and think it’s incredibly important to build comfort, confidence, and leaders within a community. Gen 7 is an amazing opportunity to create community and leadership for native and non-native youth alike. Social change, community, and communication are all things I wish to share with as many people as possible, and Im very excited to work to meet goals together. I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity, it is truly a privilege to work with so many amazing people. Tipi Raisers has always proved to be a unique and special place.
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"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. |
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"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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