Supporting Indigenous Youth On Their Educational Journey: NDN Collective Hosts 5th Annual Backpack Giveaway

On Friday, August 16, Hundreds of students and families gathered at the Journey Museum in Mniluzahan, AKA, Rapid City, South Dakota, for the 5th Annual NDN Collective Backpack Giveaway. Children in grades K-12 had the opportunity to receive a free backpack loaded up with NDN Collective swag including hoodies, t-shirts, headphones, water bottles, and school supplies. This event was held the Friday before the first day of class for Rapid City Area Schools (RCAS) and serves as a chance for students to prepare for the academic year ahead in a good way.

The backpack giveaway began in 2020 in response to COVID-19 as a way to assist families in need of support during the pandemic. Since then, the event has grown to continue supporting Indigenous students and their education.

“It’s been really amazing for me to see this grow from a simple backpack giveaway five years ago to this amazing back to school celebration. It really allows us to engage with our community in the best way possible, and that’s with direct interactions with each other,” said Alberta Eagle, NDN Collective Director of Operations. Eagle has been involved in the planning of this event since its inception, five years ago.

This year, NDN Collective provided more than 600 backpacks to students and 1,200 shirts or hoodies along with various school supplies based on lists from RCAS. Over the last five years, NDN Collective and our partners have given out more than 3,000 backpacks to local Indigenous students.

With your continued support, we can ensure our local youth, and future leaders, are supported and celebrated through every step of their educational journey.

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Events such as the annual Backpack Giveaway embed the unwavering commitment by Indigenous communities and partners to Indigenous youth in ensuring they thrive despite systems that actively work against them.

This year’s event comes a few months after the US Department of Education and Office of Civil Rights found that Rapid City Area Schools often and regularly discriminate against Native American students. Further, RCAS Superintendent Nicole Swigart is quoted in the resolution letter as making racist and inaccurate comments about Indigenous families and education.

As a result of her racist commentary, Swigart was placed on a 30-day leave and required to take cultural competency training. However, on Tuesday, August 13th, by a vote of 6-1 from the local school board, Swigart was relieved of her duties, effective August 16th.

“This victory is a community effort and is a testament to the impact of the unrelentless commitment towards ensuring the well-being of our children,” said Sunny Red Bear, NDN Collective Associate Director of Organizing.

This victory is further elevated by the continued community support witnessed at last Friday’s backpack giveaway event, where smiling youth not only had the opportunity to receive a free backpack, school supplies and swag, but could simply be kids, smiling, laughing and having fun – which certainly involved hopping into one of many onsite bouncy houses.

In addition, families were able to grab a free bite from a variety of local food trucks including, Mercys Tacos, Dan’s Smokin Country BBQ, Malissa’s Frybread, and Tatanka Wings. Upbeat tunes could be heard by the DJ as several attendees enjoyed their meals and visited, while others perused the numerous local organizations and businesses who had tabled at the event.

Aerial photo of the backpack giveaway outside of the Journey Museum in Rapid City, SD. Photo by Angel White Eyes, NDN Collective Photo Editor.

If you couldn’t attend the event in person, perhaps you caught a glimpse of NDN Collective’s very own President and CEO, Nick Tilsen, hosting the Livestream of the event. Tilsen walked around the event, engaging with onsite attendees and viewers alike, who further amplified the importance of the day. One attendee was NDN Collective Local Organizer, Andy Ironshell, who took a moment to reflect on the significance of this year’s backpack giveaway.

“Oh man this is the glue. We’re all here, a lot of us haven’t seen each other maybe all summer. We’ve just been busy, ceremony, doing different things, maybe vacationing. But this is the time to see each other, a lot of hugs, a lot of shaking hands, a lot of comradery today. As a parent it really helps out, the backpacks that are given away and the school supplies are really cool, the kids are loving them,” said Andy.

The annual event, which centers on preparing students for the upcoming school year, also showcases the collective community effort to inform, resource and support local Indigenous Peoples through a multitude of efforts. This year that includes: NDN Collective Local Organizers, Know your Rights, Oceti Sakowin Community Academy, Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, Rural America Initiatives, He Sapa Otipi, and Western SD Community Action.

As Nick continued his journey around the event that day he started visiting with community resources that were tabling, his first stop with He Sapa Otipi. Staff shared more on their organizational focus to develop an Indian Center in Miniluzahan – a longstanding wish by Indigenous Elders in the area, who have been asking for a center since the 1940’s.

He Sapa Otipi visits with community at the 5th Annual Backpack Giveaway. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

On their table, a large sheet of white construction paper was laid down, with youth drawing and/or writing what they love about Mniluzahan and their community as well as what they love about being Lakota. As Nick commented on the various contributions illustrated, he invited a small relative to share more on what she loved about Mniluzahan. “I love praying and listening to prayer songs,” she shared, and finished with reciting her favorite prayer in Lakota.

Next was a visit with an organization that’s been involved with the Mniluzahan community for decades, Rural American Initiatives (RAI), which developed roots in the area back in 1986. The organization serves families through Head Start and Early Head Start programs for children from prenatal through age 5, as well as mentoring programs in Rapid City’s elementary, middle and high schools. RAI also partners with Oceti Sakowin Community Academy, who often recruit students from the RAI program to attend the Academy.

Indigenous students and families show off their new gear and interact with NDN staff and volunteers as they make their way through the line to receive a free backpack and school supplies. Photo by Angel White Eyes for NDN Collective.

Numerous organizations and groups exist in Mniluzahan and ȞeSápa, each standing committed to building collective power, including the COUP Council, formerly known as One Rapid City up until 2022. Staff shared with Nick their organizational efforts, which entail empowering Native relatives in the Mni Luzahan (Rapid City, SD) and He Sapa (Black Hills) region to fight back against systemic racism, discrimination, and other forms of oppression. One of their ongoing focus areas is to assist local residents with registering to vote and understanding their voting eligibility.

Soon the livestream camera panned to a familiar face, as Nick handed the microphone to Mary Bowman, Head of School and Lead Designer at Oceti Sakowin Community Academy (OSCA), to introduce herself and allow her staff to do the same. Alongside her were Frances Dupris, First Grade Teacher, Harriet Brings, Lakota Language Teacher and Kolette Medicine, Second Grade Teacher.

OSCA’s curriculum ensures language, culture and identity are at the forefront of education for Indigenous youth and aims to address discrimination and achievement gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in Rapid City, SD. The educators from OSCA shared recent developments happening with the school including a new school site currently in development, a dream made possible with continued support from NDN Holdings.

The last livestream visit of the day featured Bre Jackson, NDN Collective’s Legal Coordinator, who shared more on Know Your Rights materials which provides training designed to empower community members to exercise their rights when confronted by law enforcement. Bre shared that the next training will be held in late September, early October and is focused on informing and empowering students, who often face disciplinary action from senior school resource officers.

As the event neared an end, it was evident that there was no shortage of community love, joy and support at this year’s Backpack Giveaway, not to mention countless reunions that further exemplify the power of continued connection. The good medicine shared by the students, guardians, and the greater community will surely be felt for days and weeks to come.

“This event gave us the opportunity to reconnect with our families, community and partners as well as meet new people, sharing positive space with each other. It was really great seeing all the smiling faces of both kids and the adults. I absolutely loved it,” Alberta shared, after reflecting on a long and beautiful day.

NDN Collective encourages all to send good thoughts and prayers to students as they embark on another year of learning, relationship building and growth.