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Changing Lives for Generations to Come
Lakota Children Succeed in South Dakota
Growing up on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, SuAnne Big Crow always dreamed of a safe, fun place where she and her friends could be free of bigotry, drugs, alcohol and other destructive forces. A basketball star and honor student, SuAnne became well known as a role model in her community.
When SuAnne’s life was tragically cut short by an automobile accident, the community banded together to make her dream come true. Their efforts resulted in the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club – one of the first Clubs ever chartered on an Indian reservation.
When the Club opened its doors in 1992, it was a bold vision for the future by the Oglala Sioux. Now, the Oglala Youth Coalition, the people of Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, SuAnne Big Crow, Thunderheart and Black Elk Speaks have an even bolder vision – the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club that serves the children of the Oglala Lakota Nation.
Here, at the spot called "ground zero of poverty in America" during a 1999 visit by President Bill Clinton, the new center fights poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide and unemployment with wellness, education, training and recreation for reservation youth. The $6.5 million flagship facility is located in a county where 46.2 percent of the children live below the poverty line and on a reservation where half of the population is under age 18. The Club provides children with much-needed youth development programs administered by professionally trained staff.
Following President Bill Clinton’s visit to Pine Ridge, the White House asked Boys & Girls Clubs of America to head a special initiative to build a brand new facility for the SuAnne Big Crow Club. Thanks to the shared visions of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Native American Programs (ONAP), the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and Running Strong for American Indian Youth Foundation® -- SuAnne Big Crow's vision for "Happytown " became a reality.
In June of 2002, the new 30,000-sq. ft., state-of-the-art SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Club was unveiled. The facility includes a soccer field, indoor pool, gymnasium and library/technology center.
Fortunately, a tribal initiative enabled the Club to develop and open three satellite sites in an effort to reach more youth. While the organization currently serves some 850 Pine Ridge youth, there are approximately 20,000 Oglala Lakota young people throughout the reservation, the second largest in the United States.
“Every person and program in this Boys & Girls Club can change a child’s life and generations to come,” says Leatrice “Chick” Big Crow, SuAnne’s mother and Executive Director of the Club. “The new facility enables more of our children to choose the values SuAnne lived by: a ‘can do’ attitude and the importance of working toward a dream.”
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