Lakota YouthStay Program

06/10/2026

Bruce and I have been on the reservation all week staying at Re-Member. We had the YouthStay youth/family orientation meeting last Sunday and Monday where we were able to meet all the youth and some of their family members. All the details -flights, activities, host families, etc-are discussed so that everyone feels at ease. On Monday, we were able to visit with our good friends in Kyle which is always such a treat! Yesterday, we did a day trip up to Rapid with the youth and our Lakota co-leader, Olen, to go swimming, have some pizza and ice cream. It gives everyone an opportunity to get to know one another a bit more and have some fun together. It was such a good day followed by a gorgeous sunset!

06/02/2026

We are heading out to the reservation soon to meet the 9 Lakota youth coming to Boston/Medford on June 30th and their families. Always an exciting time to meet in person. Hope to see some of the past LYS participants as well.

05/27/2026

If you are in the Boston area, come join the fun at the 2nd Annual Lakota YouthStay Fun-Raiser on 6/26!
To register for the event, use the QR code below or go to https://www.signupgenius.com/.../8050F4DADAD2DA6FB6...
To learn more about Lakota YouthStay, check out https://lakotayouthstay.org/

05/12/2026

We are Celebrating 10 Years!!

Lakota YouthStay welcomed the very first group of Lakota youth to the Boston area in 2017 and here we are, 10 years later, still going strong. We are so proud of the program, all our awesome YouthStay participants and the wonderful families who have hosted the youth over the years.

On June 30th, we will welcome another group of 9 Lakota youth to the greater Medford community. The youth will be participating in so many amazing activities including art/photography/craft workshops, visits to the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science and Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor, a tour of Tufts University and so much more. We can't wait to meet this year's youth!

05/10/2026

Hurrah, it’s graduation time! Congratulations to 2023 YouthStay participant, Kagome White Eyes! Kagome is graduating from Red Cloud School and will be attending Black Hills Community College in September. We are so proud and happy for you, Kagome!!! Well done!

04/18/2026

2026 Lakota YouthStay is moving forward! We are planning so many fun, educational and interesting activities for the youth including a photography workshop, self portrait art class, visits to the Aquarium, Museum of Illusions, and Museum of Science plus a day at the beach and a trip to a harbor island. We will be traveling to the Rez in June to meet all the youth and their families -always an exciting time! We can’t wait to meet them!

2026 will be the 10th year of the program. When we had the idea for the program in 2016, we had no idea the program would be going strong 10 years later. We are so grateful to all the youth who have participated over the years, their families, our awesome host families, the volunteers and all our amazing donors. Without the support and generosity of so many, we wouldn’t be here celebrating. 10 years of LYS.

03/24/2026

There were 15 youth applicants for this year’s YouthStay program. We’ve spent the last 5-6 weeks carefully reviewing each application, doing zooms with the applicants and their families and we are almost ready to announce the 8 youth selected for the 2026 program. Always an exciting time!

02/25/2026

We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming our Dine’ friend Lupita McClanahan from Canyon de Chelly AZ into our home for the week. We’ve arranged for Lupita to give a series of talks/presentations on Dine’ culture/history/traditions at our local libraries, high schools, churches and community Ed programs. Everything is going so well despite a huge snowstorm that dumped almost 3 ft of snow. Here we are making Dine’ frybread (with Bluebird flour of course!) for her presentation tonight! Turned out great!

02/17/2026

The youth application period for the 2026 Lakota YouthStay program is now closed. Wopila to all the youth who decided to apply and all the family members and teachers that encouraged and supported the youth to do so. We look forward to reviewing the completed applications and selecting the 8 finalists over the next month or so. More to come......!

02/05/2026