Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Garreau. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Julie, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us? Appreciate you for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Throughout the Cheyenne River Youth Project’s nearly 37-year history, we have always listened to our kids and let them guide us. They are our mentors and teachers, and they have brought CRYP to where it is today. In our view, this is a critical approach for youth work, and it is only possible with sovereignty — the ability to make decisions for ourselves. We are a grassroots, Native-led organization that is 100 percent “for Cheyenne River, by Cheyenne River,” and our sovereignty allows us to be creative, innovative, resourceful and flexible.
Indeed, it allows us to be risk-takers. We have to be, so we can meet the kids where they are. One of the greatest risks we have taken was developing the RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam in 2015. The previous year, we brought in a graffiti art instructor to teach the kids about spray-can control and large-scale painting. It really resonated with them, so we thought it might be a good idea to build a wall for them to express themselves.
Well, that wall turned into a nearly 3-acre public art park called Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count)! We learned about graffiti jams in other communities, and then we thought, well, why not try to host one right here on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation? We hosted our first RedCan in summer 2015. It wasn’t easy, and even our own community didn’t fully understand it at first. But we knew in our hearts that this would be an effective way to connect with our kids, and to engage and inspire them. After all, graffiti is the largest art movement in the history of humankind, and it was the first global art movement created by youth for youth. It is an inclusive art form, one that creates a gateway to every other style of visual art.
Today, RedCan is an award-winning, four-day arts and culture festival that incorporates two days of large-scale mural painting in the city of Eagle Butte, two days of mural painting in the Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park at the CRYP campus and performance art that ranges from traditional Lakota drum songs and dancing to live music, spoken word performances and hoop dancing.
RedCan remains the first and only true graffiti jam in Indian Country, and it draws Native- and non-Native graffiti and street art masters from around the country and even overseas. Last year, as we celebrated our 10th annual graffiti jam, we even welcomed two Maori artists from New Zealand, which was such an honor for us. It also is a powerful intersection of graffiti culture and Lakota culture, which we have learned resonates with all ages in our community. Because the art incorporates our Lakota stories, images and language, RedCan helps us build bridges for cultural reclamation and revitalization — and ultimately, healing the deep intergenerational scars left by historical trauma.
Julie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Julie Garreau. My Lakota name is Wičhaȟpi Epatȟaŋ Wiŋ, which means “Touches the Stars Woman.” I am a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which comprises nearly 3 million acres in remote north-central South Dakota. I founded the Cheyenne River Youth Project in fall 1988, after the tribe gave permission to turn an old Main Street bar called the Little Brown Jug into a youth center. We called it “The Main,” and for the first 11 years, it was entirely volunteer-run. In 1999, we moved to our current campus on East Lincoln Street, where we built a new youth center for 4- to 12-year-olds; it is still affectionately known as “The Main” today.
In 2000, we added our 2.5-acre pesticide-free Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden. In 2006, we opened our Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life) Teen Center. We launched our innovative Teen Internship Program in 2013. The art park and RedCan followed in 2014-15. We also worked on multiple social enterprises, including our Keya Cafe, Keya Gift Shop & E-Store, and Leading Lady Farm Stand.
Most recently, we created a youth employee training program and an employee housing development not far from campus. And, we purchased a nearly 40-acre property adjacent to Bear Butte State Park. Bear Butte, or Mato Paha in Lakota, is one of our most sacred sites, and this property (which we call Wakanyeja Kin Wana Ku Pi, or The Children Are Coming Home) restores access not only to Mato Paha but also to other sacred sites such as Wind Cave, Mato Tipila (Devils Tower) and the Black Hills in general.|
It was a big step, and I suppose it was risky in some ways as well, but it was the right thing to do. Although we understand the purchase makes CRYP part of the “Land Back” movement, it’s all about youth development for us. Just as art has the power to heal and lift up a community, so does connection to land.
We have done all of this for our children. Nothing is more important than they are. They are our future leaders and culture bearers, and for nearly 37 years, we have been dedicated to providing them with access to the opportunities and resources they need to build a stronger, healthier and more vibrant future. And, because we are a small, Native-led, grassroots nonprofit, we are able to deeply ground this work in our traditional Lakota culture and values, listen to our children to better understand their needs, and make decisions that are in the long-term best interests of our community.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
We serve our community’s young people and their families, so we grow that clientele simply by offering access to what they need the most. Our kids don’t always tell us what they need, but they will show us; we pay close attention to we can meet them where they are.
As far as growing our organization is concerned, two things come to mind. First, never forget your roots. Although we have grown from a one-room, volunteer-run youth center to a staffed 5- acre campus, our organizational DNA remains the same. Our mission has never changed. Every single day, we are dedicated to giving our young people access to the resources and opportunities
they need to build a future in which they can thrive.
Next, meaningful relationships are at the heart of everything we do. We share our story, we build connections, and we collaborate with our partners in ways that benefit everyone. These relationships are never transactional. We are always looking for ways that we can make a contribution to the organizations, communities and dreams of our partners, volunteers and friends. They will go on to become long-term allies and ambassadors, not just for CRYP, but for our community and the Lakota Nation as a whole. It’s like the proverbial pebble thrown into a pond; the ripples keep traveling outward.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I always say that our greatest strength at CRYP is that we are resourceful. Over nearly four decades, we have been through a lot — ice storms, droughts, economic downturns, the Great Recession, the Covid pandemic. There certainly have been times when we didn’t have a lot, but we always were good stewards of what we did have, and we found creative ways to continue providing the services our children and families depend on.
And, thanks to the strength of our relationships, we always had partners who reached out to tell us, “We’re here for you. We won’t let you fall.”
In the end, that is the best advice I can give: Build relationships that are grounded in mutual
respect and friendship. Make sure you give as well as take. And when times get hard, pull together and get creative. It’s amazing what you can accomplish.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lakotayouth.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/lakotayouth , instagram.com/waniyetuwowapi
- Facebook: facebook.com/LakotaYouth
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/cheyenneriveryouthproject
- Other: (605) 964-8200 [email protected]