Rosebud, S.D. (AP) – Two South Dakota tribes are organizing recreational activities as a way to address suicide among Native youth.
The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe are participating in the Reservation Recreation Project. The tribes are using athletic and recreational equipment to develop programs that will keep their young people occupied.
“When kids are bored, they get into trouble,” Steve Her Many Horses,
the parks and recreation director for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, told The
Sioux Falls Argus Leader. “They spray-paint signs; they do this and
that. We’re trying to redirect them in healthier directions.”
Russ Stubbles, a professor of park management at South Dakota State
University, and others are collecting the equipment for the project.
Stubbles hopes to expand the program to include other tribes.
