Young tribal leaders optimistic about Obama initiative

Lakota hip-hop-artist Frank Waln raps about justice for Native American people and now the White House has joined the cause.

President Obama announced an initiative last week to promote opportunities for indigenous youth. The announcement accompanied the release of a federal report that outlines a "state of emergency" that Native youth face as the result of systemic poverty and centuries of suffering under European colonization.

Waln rapped about Native issues on his 2013 album AbOriginal. In the title track he says, "I've never seen a storm come with idle wind/ And so I'm Idle No More rap the plight of the poor/ Cuz educated warriors are vital to war."

When reached by phone after the announcement, Waln said, "I don't believe it's the only answer. But it's about time."

Waln, 25, had been in the nation's capital a few days earlier to screen the MTV series Rebel Music, in which he was featured for his art and environmental activism.

The plight of indigenous youth became the central theme of the Dec. 3 White House Tribal Nations Conference, where Obama spoke about visiting the Crow Nation in Montana while campaigning to become president, and his recent visit to the Lakota reservation at Standing Rock, N.D.

"I made another promise, that I'd visit Indian Country as president," Obama said to the conference's attendees, including leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes. "And this June, I kept that promise."

Waln said that Obama's visit to Standing Rock meant a lot to his community at the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

"I think it's a piece of the puzzle," Waln said. "Paired with a lot of grassroots movements and organizations back home on the reservation it's definitely a step forward ... especially when it comes to indigenous youth."

The other piece of the puzzle

While Waln succeeded academically and left home to pursue a music career in Chicago, he noted that many young people make positive contributions while staying on reservations.

Still, the statistics tell a story of struggle.

The report released ​Dec. 3 points out that more than one-third of all indigenous children live in poverty. Also, Native Americans and Alaskans have the lowest high school graduation rate and the highest rate of substance abuse and dependence of any race or ethnicity.

Denise Wickert overcame many of those obstacles to success and then chose to stay on the reservation to help her tribe's youth.

The 26-year-old member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Ore., admits to underage drinking and barely graduating high school.

Wickert said that while attending high school outside the reservation she was stigmatized.

"Being native, I was labeled a gangster. ... We were automatically seen as troubled youth."

The White House report makes note that Native American youth are more likely to be disciplined for misbehavior in school than other students. "They are disproportionately suspended and expelled," the report states.

Despite her difficulties, Wickert participated in an Upward Bound program at the University of Colorado.

"I learned there were bigger things out there," she said.

She went on to pursue her associate's degree while living on the reservation. She also started a tribal youth council in 2012 with the help of a $5,000 grant from the Potlatch Fund, an organization that provides grants for projects in northwest Indian Country.

Wickert's motivation was to provide other native youth with something she craved while in high school.

"I wanted a program that supported me in my leadership goals. I've always had an interest in tribal politics and tribal law."

Today, Wickert celebrates sobriety, takes online courses for a bachelor's degree in social welfare and volunteers to assist Native youth with college preparation. She also works full time on drug, alcohol and suicide prevention at her reservation's health center.

Suicide is another pressing issue on reservations. Wickert said that recently there were three attempted suicides within a two-week period.

"The statistics are against us as Native people," Wickert said. "We're more likely to experience suicide, we're more likely to experience domestic violence, we are more likely to drop out of high school, we are more likely to live in poverty due to reservations and historical trauma."

Cautious optimism

Like Waln, Wickert praised the president's efforts to listen to the needs of Native youth.

"I think it's great that he's making a step toward improving our life, while still respecting our culture," she said.

But her optimism is measured.

"One of the things that I've learned by looking at federal Indian policy and Native American law and Native American history is that it depends on the administration on how we're going to be treated," Wickert said. "And I really pray that the next administration supports what Obama's doing right now."

While speaking about his interactions with the Lakota youth of Standing Rock, Obama also acknowledged the government's history of disregarding agreements.

"Too many promises haven't been kept, I've tried not to over-promise," Obama said at the conference. "But when I've made a promise, I've tried to make sure that I meet that commitment."

Despite history, recent events have given Waln reason to be hopeful as he embarks on recording a new album.

"This piece of music that I'm working on is gonna come at a good time ... we're seeing people starting to look toward indigenous youth and listen to us and wanting to know about our experience," Waln said.