Changing Generations to Come

Boys & Girls Club of America
Saturday, 1 June 2002

Native American Club the Result of a Unique Partnership

The SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club held a grand opening for its new 30,000-sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility, serving some 500 youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The facility includes a soccer field, indoor pool, gymnasium and library/technology center.

The colorful dedication ceremony, rich in tradition, drew Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (S.D.) and tribal government officials, including Oglala Sioux President John Steele and Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye. Boys & Girls Clubs of America officials also turned out, including President Roxanne Spillett, Chairman Arnold Burns and Sr. Vice President for Government Relations Robbie Callaway.

The SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club originally opened in 1992. Named for a promising young Lakota killed in a car accident, the Club took on the mission of encouraging healthy lifestyles and the embodiment of SuAnne's ideals.

After President Bill Clinton visited Pine Ridge in 1999, the White House asked B&GCA to head a special initiative to build a brand new facility for the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club. Soon the Oglala Lakota community, and the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Interior and Agriculture joined the partnership. Construction began in the summer of 2000.

Building on the existing Club's success in providing generation-changing programs to youth, the new facility will enable professionally trained staff to reach a significant number of children under the age of 18 - half of the reservation's population. Located in Shannon County, where 46.2% of children live below the poverty line, the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club is a welcome sight for families.

"Every person and program in this Boys & Girls Club can change a child's life and generations to come," said Leatrice "Chick" Big Crow, mother of SuAnne and executive director of the Club. "The new facility will enable more of our children to choose the values SuAnne lived by - a 'can do' attitude and the importance of working toward a dream." The Club also signifies the beginning of a new era for children and adults in Pine Ridge as it transitions to a new building with expanded services.

"When Boys & Girls Clubs of America started our efforts in Indian Country, our goal was to collaborate with tribal communities and federal agencies to develop positive alternatives for Native American youth," said B&GCA's Robbie Callaway. "This new facility represents an important milestone for our cause - and the power of teamwork."

The dedication ceremonies, colorful and rich with tradition and legend, included a unique honor for Robbie, who was instrumental in making the new Club an inspiring reality. He was made an official member of the tribe and given a name - Wakanyeja Cante ekta yuha - which means "He Carries the Children in His Heart."

Today, some 117 Boys & Girls Clubs have been established in Indian Country and serve more than 80,000 Native American youth annually. In South Dakota alone, there are nine Clubs currently on reservations and at least four more scheduled to open by the end of the year. For more information regarding the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Native American Initiative, please visit www.naclubs.org, or call 1-866-NACLUBS.

For more information, or to contact Boys & Girls Club of America, see their website at: www.bgca.org