Culture Exchange Highlight

Youth visit Washington, D.C. for National Native American Heritage Month
In November, two youth from the Boys & Girls Club of the Penobscot Nation in Maine traveled to Washington, D.C. for an American Indian & Alaska Native Heritage Month event at the offices of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The events theme was Native American Youth – Our Most Precious Resource and focused on the importance of Native youth and programs to support their well-being and development. Club members Selena, 13, and Shantel, 14, are members of the Penobscot Nation and were invited to give a speech about what the Club means to them. They spoke about their involvement in the arts, recreation and cultural programs at the Club. The girls are traditional dancers and made their own regalia for dances at the Club, and they are members of the Girls Drum Group. Both girls go to the Club every day after school and helped establish the Club’s Teen Center. Selena and Shantel expressed the importance of the Club in their lives and were proud to represent the Penobscot Nation and their Boys & Girls Club. After their speech, they received certificates from HUD to thank them for visiting. Congratulations Selena and Shantel!

Penobscot Nation Boys & Girls Club member Shantel receives a certification
of appreciation for her participation in the HUD AI/AN Heritage Month event.
Shantel gave a speech on the importance of the Club in her life at the event.
Photo credit: April Hale, National American Indian Housing Council