Boys and Girls Clubs in Indian Country

Woodland Boys & Girls Club joins the Let’s Move! in Indian Country Launch
The Menominee Tribe hosted the First Lady’s Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC) launch event in Keshena, WI on May 25, 2011. The Woodland Boys & Girls Club was among the partners that helped the event go off without a hitch. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, LMIC is an initiative to support and advance the work that Tribal leaders and community members are already doing to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native children. LMIC brings together federal agencies, communities, nonprofits, corporate partners and tribes to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in Indian Country within a generation.

The LMIC launch event began with opening remarks by Menominee Tribal Chairman, Randal Chevalier, and included speakers such as the Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, and actor Chaske Spencer from the Twilight series. The second half of the day was devoted to physical activity. Youth rotated through several different physical activity stations such as lacrosse, soccer, active storytelling, relay races, and jump roping, gardening, and acting out animal behaviors. Club staff from the Woodland Club helped out at the lacrosse station for 6th -8th graders. Refreshments included fresh fruit and water. All youth received bright blue, Let’s Move! t-shirts as a “thank-you” for their participation.

Dana Warrington, coordinator for the On the T.R.A.I.L. to Diabetes Prevention program at the Woodland Club, noted that the event’s message was “living a healthy lifestyle is simpler than we make it out to be. Eat right, stay active, and get enough sleep.” He reported that the Club has also forged a new partnership with the Diabetes Prevention Department at the Menominee Tribal Clinic. The two organizations plan to collaborate on bringing the T.R.A.I.L. program to the Menominee Tribal School during the next school year.

LMIC will partner with the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge, the Nike N7 Fund to provide athletic equipment to remote communities, and the USDA to support food and nutrition service programs, as well as community gardens in Indian Country. In addition, a new Web site was launched with online PSAs featuring NFL player Sam Bradford and WNBA star Tahnee Robinson: http://www.doi.gov/letsmove/indiancountry/index.cfm

To find out more information about LMIC, follow this link for the online newsletter:
http://www.doi.gov/letsmove/indiancountry/upload/LMIC-Newsletter-June-2011.pdf.