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 PINE
RIDGE, SD - May 28, 2002 – There will be much to celebrate
for the residents of Pine Ridge, South Dakota on Saturday, June
1. Boys & Girls Clubs of America (B&GCA) announces the Grand
Opening of the new state-of-the-art SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls
Club.
The celebration is expected to draw a large turnout, including tribal
government officials such as John Steele, Oglala Sioux president;
Kelsey Begaye, Navajo Nation president; Tex Hall, Three Affiliated
Tribes of North Dakota Tribal chairman and president of the National
Congress of American Indians; and Greg Bourland, Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribal chairman. Senator Tom Daschle (South Dakota), as well
as several federal, state, and local officials are also expected
to attend.
The completion of the 30,000 square foot facility (which includes
a soccer field, an indoor regulation pool, a multipurpose gymnasium,
and a library/technology center) marks the success of a unique two-year
strategic collaboration between B&GCA, the existing SuAnne Big
Crow Boys & Girls Club, the Oglala Lakota community, and various
federal agencies. It also signifies the beginning of a new era for
the children and adults of Pine Ridge as the Club transitions to
a new building with expanded services.
The SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club was originally opened
in 1992 – the first Boys & Girls Club established on Native
American lands. Named for SuAnne Big Crow, a young Lakota heroine
who was tragically killed in a car accident, the Club took on the
mission of encouraging healthy lifestyles through spirituality and
the embodiment of SuAnne’s ideals.
After a 1999 Presidential visit to Pine Ridge, 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. Along with the team
from the existing Club, the Oglala Lakota community, and government
agencies including Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Department of Justice, Department of Interior, and Department of
Agriculture, construction of the Club began in the summer of 2000.
Building on the existing Club’s success in providing “generation-changing
programs” to some 500 youth annually, the new facility will
enable the professionally trained staff to reach a significant number
of children under the age of 18 (50 percent of the reservation’s
population).
“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 Big Crow and executive
director of the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club. “The
new facility will enable more of our children to choose the values
that SuAnne lived by – a ‘can do’ attitude and the
importance of working toward a dream.”
“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 Robbie Callaway, senior vice president,
Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “This new facility represents
an important milestone for our movement and symbolizes the power
of teamwork.”
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.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org)
comprises a national network of more than 3,000 neighborhood-based
facilities annually serving some 3.5 million young people, primarily
from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as “The Positive Place
for Kids,” Clubs provide guidance-oriented programs on a daily
basis for children 6 - 18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional
staff. Key programs emphasize character and leadership development,
educational enhancement, career preparation, health and life skills,
the arts, and sports, fitness and recreation. National headquarters
are located in Atlanta.
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