Cheyenne River Youth Project

The Cheyenne River Youth Project was founded in response to the community's critical need for services that support struggling children and their families. Our first project was youth center for children and their families begun in 1988 that has come to be known as 'The Main' and quickly became a vital element of the Cheyenne River Community. 'The Main' includes recreation room, library, family room, commercial grade kitchen, office space and residential quarters for long-term volunteers. From the beginning, we have found many young voices willing to tell us what is important to them, leading to our newest project, the construction of a teen center name 'Cokata Wiconi,' meaning 'Center of Life' in the Lakota language, opened in October 2006. 'Cokata Wiconi' is a place better suited to teen interests, including an internet cafe and computer lab, a gymnasium with a high school regulation sized basketball court, a weight room, art and dance space, classrooms, a counselor's office, a restaurant style kitchen and a library. There are also staff offices and long-term volunteer quarters. Cheyenne River Youth Project continues to grow its programs, including a midnight basketball league, a children's garden, literacy programs, and specially focused events such as 'Passion For Fashion,' a sleep-over for teen girls where they receive professional tips on hair and make-up and participate in conversations about body-image and self-esteem.

The mission of the Cheyenne River Youth Project is to give the Lakota youth of the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation access to a vibrant and secure future through our culturally sensitive programs, projects and facilities – ensuring strong, self-sufficient families and communities.