The Cheyenne River Youth Project has announced that it will host its 12th annual Harvest Festival Dinner at its Eagle Butte campus on Friday (Oct. 18, 2024). Held in conjunction with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s Indian Child Welfare program, the free public event is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. The highlight of the evening will be the dinner buffet at Cokata Wiconi (Center of Life), as menu items will incorporate fresh, organically grown, local produce from CRYP’s Winyan Toka Win (Leading Lady) Garden. The menu includes turkey, beef roast, eggplant parmesan, cabbage-bacon stir fry, rigatoni bake, roasted vegetables, corn, buffalo soup, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls and an assortment of desserts, including bread pudding. “We look forward to this harvest celebration every year,” said Jerica Widow, CRYP’s programs director. “It’s an opportunity to share our harvest and bring families, friends and neighbors together for an evening of delicious food and visiting.” The Winyan Toka Win Garden lies at the heart of CRYP’s Native Food Sovereignty initiatives. Not only does it provide thousands of pounds of fresh produce for meals and gifts, it also serves as an outdoor classroom for community classes and workshops, The Main’s Garden Club for 4- to 12-year-olds, and the Native Food Sovereignty Teen Internship. In fact, the garden was under the direction of a former teen intern for the first time this year. Dalton Fischer, who serves as both gardener and facilities manager for the nonprofit youth organization, completed the Native Food Sovereignty Internship as a teen in 2015. “I learned so much about growing my own food,” Fischer recalled. “I still remember tasting a fresh strawberry, straight off the vine. I also remember CRYP as a clean, fun and safe environment with helpful, caring and knowledgeable staff. So, when I heard about the opportunity to become the gardener for CRYP, I jumped!” In the Native Food Sovereignty internship track, teens gain 40 to 50 hours of hands-on experience in the garden. They assist with planting; they learn to nurture healthy crops through weeding, watering and pruning; they assist with the harvest; and when it is operational, they staff the seasonal Leading Lady Farm Stand, one of CRYP’s key social enterprises. What’s more, they participate in wellness activities and special trainings such as CPR/First Aid, food handling, nutrition, customer service, marketing, writing and public speaking. They also strengthen their connection to the land and to their Lakota culture. “In the Native Food Sovereignty Internship, we are teaching our youth that food sovereignty and sustainability are essential to building healthy, strong, self-sufficient Lakota individuals and communities,” Widow said. “We want them to understand their knowledge and actions can have a meaningful impact on the well-being of our Lakota Nation.” It isn’t always easy, however. Gardening and farming can be challenging. Crops are vulnerable to drought, severe weather, noxious weeds and pests, and there is no such thing as taking time off during the growing season. The garden requires constant attention, and not just to ensure a bountiful harvest; CRYP also seeks to improve the condition of the earth year over year. “In that sense, our garden truly is a living classroom,” Widow explained. “It teaches valuable life lessons every single day. There are real consequences, both positive and negative, and that is all part of learning. Each season, we learn more, and then we come back even stronger and share that knowledge with others.” For his part, Fischer said the garden has given him summers to remember. “I’ve learned that if you put good energy into them, plants will grow well,” he said. “When I walk around in the garden, it’s cool, because I’m not the only life out there. There is more than just me, thriving.” Iyonne Garreau, mother of CRYP Chief Executive Officer Julie Garreau and the longtime director of the CRST Elderly Nutrition Center, developed the original vision for a community garden in 1975. She heard elders expressing their desire for traditional foods and their firm belief that Lakota children must get reacquainted with Unci Makha (Grandmother Earth). “She approached tribal government, and with their support, she arranged to have a north-south plot on the west side of the nutrition center,” Julie Garreau remembered. “My mother always strived for Native food sovereignty and security. She felt community gardens would begin to solve the many health issues we have as Native people. “She stressed the importance of fresh produce in a daily diet, the significance of traditional foods, and the powerful relationships that a garden can foster between generations as well as between our people and the earth,” Garreau continued. “When  the garden became too much for the nutrition center to manage, CRYP took it over. We named it Winyan Toka Win in honor of her, and next year, we will celebrate its 50th anniversary. That is quite a milestone, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with our community.” To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.