By NB3 Foundation

Youth Spotlight: Adiance Cheromiah

For our Youth Spotlight Series we are recognizing extraordinary Native youth who exhibit positive character traits and are an inspiration to their peers and community! This month we feature Adiance Cheromiah from Pueblo of Laguna.

Stay tuned as we highlight different from youth around Indian Country who are positively impacting their communities.
Adiance was a recent participant of the NB3 Foundation “Get Active” youth campaign where he shined! Adiance, 16, from Pueblo of Laguna, caught our attention by always showing up with a positive attitude, giving his best effort and for his desire to be a healthy role model to his peers and community.

He is an avid golfer, plays for the Laguna Acoma High School team and was recently selected to compete on the NB3FIT Youth Golf Team!
Adiance has goals to compete at the collegiate level, and one day play in the PGA. Off the course, he has goals to graduate college and come back to help his community. 
We applaud Adiance for his outstanding character and determination to stay active and healthy while pursuing his dreams! 
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By NB3 Foundation

NB3 Foundation awards five Community Empowerment Grants to support collective impact work promoting the health of Native youth

Through its Community Empowerment program, the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation recently awarded $1 million in grants to five Native-led organizations and tribal communities in Alaska, New Mexico, South Dakotah and Wisconsin to support their collective efforts of improving the health of Native youth in their communities.  

The 22-month Community Empowerment Grants of $200,000 each were awarded to support five recipients with financial support, technical assistance, collaboration opportunities and inspiration to develop or further collective impact efforts that promote one or more of the Foundation’s four core areas. The five community partners will be serving as the “backbone organizations” initiating or deepening a collective and strategic network that promotes Native youth health. 

Joining the NB3 Foundation Community Empowerment cohort include: 

  • Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, Inc. in Alaska, to support the APIA Youth Program in expanding aligned SAMSHA Native Connections activities to increase the psychological and physical well-being of youth while weaving in cultural traditions and healthy foods tied to Unangax̂ ancestry. 
  • Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) in New Mexico, to improve health outcomes for youth by engaging them to assess community needs related to physical activity and early childhood nutrition and co-create and implement solutions for youth aged 5-17. 
  • Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council in Wisconsin, to build a sustainable engagement model between tribal elders and youth through collaboration with three-member Tribal Nations to promote a strong resilient infrastructure focused on recovery and preservation of individual tribal culture and traditions incorporating the 7th Generation principle. 
  • Ho-Chunk Nation Youth Services in Wisconsin, to help youth gain opportunities and life skills to empower themselves as today’s leaders, through a variety of physical, mental and spiritual exercises while providing experiential learning opportunities that cultivate their understanding of wellness and sustainable living provided in traditional Hoocak lifeways. 
  • Kul Wicasa Wopasi (Lower Brule Research) an Indigenous youth-led nonprofit in South Dakota, to create an action plan to guide the sustainable development of an expanded food sovereignty program on the Kul Wicasa Oyate Tribal Nation that will increase community access to healthy and affordable foods. 

“We are excited to collaborate and learn alongside our Community Empowerment Grant recipients. Each partner’s unique approach to promoting Native youth health will strengthen our collective efforts towards our common goal of promoting the holistic health of Native youth and communities,” NB3 Foundation COO, Jon Driskell said. 

Community Empowerment Grant recipients will first conduct an environmental scan of their community. The information gained through this scan will then be utilized to develop an implementation plan that will improve and sustain Native youth health. Community Empowerment cohort members will also receive training in Indigenous evaluation and research, collective impact best practices and sustainable funding sources. 

Support for this project was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Together, Native youth explore health and wellness

In late March, “Get Active” campaign participants came together for one last gathering. The 6-week virtual campaign was aimed at reaching more Native youth across the state to promote living healthy lifestyles. Some of the youth participating in the campaign live out of the reach of our in-person direct programs, so this virtual campaign provided an opportunity for them to participate in a NB3 Foundation campaign from afar.

Over the course of four weeks the youth explored and completed different tasks related to our four core areas: physical activity, healthy nutrition, youth development and cultural connections.

For the final gathering, the focus was on youth development providing youth the place to tell their own stories. They were asked to interview an elder in their family/community about health, or to design a collage showcasing their goals and interests. This was a way to promote youth to explored and learn about what shapes their identity. Many collages focused on their families, culture and how they view the importance of health. Participants also shared their aspirations for the future, many focusing on attending college and starting a meaningful career reflecting what they’re passionate about.
Though the campaign was only six weeks long; it was not any less meaningful. We are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside  this group of Native youth and look forward to seeing the impact they have on their communities.

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By NB3 Foundation

Keeping youth active through virtual programming

NB3FIT Virtual programming is flying by!
It has been an eventful six weeks of exercising and learning. Our NB3FIT crew and youth participants have completed a wide variety of activities and workouts. Youth have learned to make straw rockets, popsicle stick frames, stress balls and balloon towers. They have also learned a number of core, lower body and upper body workouts that they continue at home with their families.
Each youth participant was provided a Garmin watch to help track their steps throughout the day. So far, the group has completed 1,968,401 steps in just six weeks!

“It is so great to see the youth challenge themselves to reach their 10,000 step goal daily and to commit to drinking only water every day,” NB3FIT Program Coordinator, Autumn Quiver said. “We’re looking forward to the youth finishing off this session with lots of new tips and resources so they can continue their healthy habits long after programming ends.”

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3FIT stays proactive, finishes 23 trainings in four months

In just four months, while our team was adjusting to unprecedented changes from the pandemic, the NB3FIT team completed 23 trainings all focused on advancing their skills and knowledge of the in sports in our youth programming.Above you will see the list of trainings and you’ll see how beneficial they will all be to not only the coaches, but to the youth who participate in NB3FIT Programming.With hope of in-person programming returning sooner than later, our NB3FIT coaches will be ready and even more skilled than they were just a year ago.

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Native youth share their healthy recipes

We are excited to share recipes from Native youth themselves.
Gunner and Malia are participants in our NB3FIT virtual programming and took up the challenge to create their own healthy recipe! At the NB3 Foundation, we believe it is important  to introduce healthy eating and drinking to our children starting at birth. It is so encouraging to see Native youth exploring and making healthy food choices.

Thank you to Gunner and Malia for sharing your recipes with us!

Enjoy!

Gunners CrazyBerry Smoothie
Ingredients:

  • Lowfat vanilla yogurt
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/4 cup of berries (blue berries, raspberries, strawberries)
  • Flaxseed

Directions:
Put in blender:

  • 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
  • 1/2 banana and handful of berries with two strawberries.
  • 1 tsp of flaxseed

Mix in blender for 1 minute.

 

Malia’s Berry Fruitcakes
Ingredients:

  • 1-2 Rice Cakes
  • 1 Fresh Banana
  • 2-3 Fresh Strawberries
  • 1/2 cup fresh Raspberries
  • 1/2 cup Fresh Blueberries
  • 1-2 Tbsp Nutella (substitutes: peanut butter, almond butter)

Directions:

  • Slice bananas and strawberries.
  • Place rice cakes on platter.
  • Spread Nutella onto rice cakes.
  • Add as many berries and bananas that can fit on top.
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By NB3 Foundation

Strengthening evaluation skills

By: Alva Gachupin | Evaluation and Research Dept. Coordinator

The Tribal Data Champion Initiative is presented by University of New Mexico Center for Participatory Research (UNM-CPR) and funded by W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The cohort provides opportunities for Indigenous individuals working in Indigenous communities or organizations  to strengthen their evaluation skills by engaging in innovative Indigenous based on co-learning and collaborative of community practice.

The Tribal Data Champions cohort was a great benefit, not only for myself, but for the organization as a whole.  The tools and skill gained in building knowledge in Indigenous Data sovereignty methods and methodologies will always be a resource for the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation.

The Tribal Data Champion cohort  was a space to connect with other organizations with similar goals and objectives in building and strengthening program evaluation and research skills.  Through my participation with the cohort, I have built a network of family as a resource to continue the work in strengthening Indigenous evaluation. The cohort creates a network of like-minded individuals to continue this relevant work of going back to our Indigenous ways of knowing.

If you are interested in applying or learning more about the initiative visit https://nas.unm.edu/ for more details.

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By NB3 Foundation

Thank you volunteers!

We celebrated National Volunteer Week by reaching out to our volunteers who helped during our COVID-19 Response Fund food distributions. Volunteers are important to us at NB3 Foundation because they help us provide quality programs and events. Over the years our volunteers helped us run successful events such as the New Mexico Grande Slam and our NB3FIT XC race. We have also been fortunate to have volunteers from communities coach our various youth programs and even folks who gave some of their time to organize and clean our office spaces. We are looking forward to opening our doors and arms again to volunteers in the near future when it is deemed safe to gather again.

Thank you!

Aldrei Alfonso

Aldrian Draper

Ashleigh Claw

Cathy Newby

Christine Means

Dawn Begay

Delane Big Claw

Derek Valdo

Diane Castillo

Elijah Star

Girt Carr-Hohenstien

Isabella De Jesus

Jan Wallner

Jodie Willetto

Liz De Jesus

Marshall Quam

Maxine Velasquez

Nicolette Abeyta

Notah Begay III

Nykki Antonio

Rick Gonzales

Sarah Braaten

Sean Lujan

Shannon Fleg

Sheldon Purly

Taylor Lucero

Trey Benally

Apache County District One

Chinle Community Health Representatives

Chinle IHS CSU

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By NB3 Foundation

Staff Report: Team members attend workshops to promote inclusivity and accessibility

Members of the NB3 Foundation attended an Ableism 1010 workshop series hosted by the University of Arizona’s Disability Cultural Center. The program was aimed at providing base knowledge about disability identity, culture and activism. During the series, staff learned about ableist terminology, micoraggressions, disability activism history and how to create accessible spaces and events, and about the roots of disability justice work.

Earlier this month, staff also attended the Inaugural American Indian Youth Disability Summit   hosted by the University of Arizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities. The virtual gathering focused on the youth experience in Native communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and what can be done to help youth adapt during these unprecedented times.

Attending these free workshops were a great learning experience and one example of how the NB3 Foundation is continually growing and learning to better promote inclusivity and accessibility in all our youth programs, events and work.

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