August 2020: Support A’Gin Youth to Find and Share Their Voices!
I began attending A’gin youth meetings when I was a senior at the Santa Fe Indian School. During my time in A’gin, I have been given many opportunities such as attending youth conferences, joining a landscaping design program, and participating in peaceful protesting.
A’gin youth meetings have helped me find my strength and voice to educate Indigenous youth the importance of learning the history of our ancestors, and why we need to protect and fight for the environment.
If I had a Youtube channel I would bring awareness of MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous women), environmental justice, systematic racial injustice, oppression, intergenerational trauma, cultural appropriation, and other subjects relating to contemporary Native issues.
– Danielle Denipah, Santa Clara Pueblo and Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, freshman at Northern New Mexico College
During a typical summer, we support the youth to travel to conferences and events – wonderful opportunities to meet other young people and develop skills in community organizing, advocacy and much more. However this year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that is not possible. Yet the need for youth to connect and create is more important than ever.
Our goal is to raise $3,000 by August 31 which will enable us to purchase professional quality camera and video editing equipment so that A’Gin Youth can:
- explore and share their personal stories, including what it means to be alive during this time of powerful social transformation
- document Tewa lifeways, especially from their elders
- establish a YouTube channel for this content
This project will provide the youth with a positive channel for their creative energies during this time, and create a pathway for connecting with a larger audience who will benefit from their stories. It also provides skill development in camerawork, videography, and video editing which may turn into a source of income for some.
The youth will be mentored in this project by Littleglobe, an artistic team committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative art projects that foster life-affirming connections across the boundaries that divide us.
Please make your tax-deductible donation by August 31, 2020, and thank you for supporting A’Gin Youth and believing in our vision!