FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2018
Nancy Mason
Director of Mvskoke Nation Youth Services
918-549-2557
NMason@muscogeenation.com
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Receives $18,150 Grant for Mvskoke Nation Youth Services Project
OKMULGEE, Okla. – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation recently received a $18,150 grant from the First Nations Development Institute of Longmont, Colo. This award will support the efforts of the MCN’s Mvskoke Nation Youth Services through a 12-month project, Connect the Disconnect.
Nancy Mason, Director of Mvskoke Nation Youth Services, said in 2017, MNYS conducted a survey of youth and adults to determine challenges youth face and solutions to address those challenges. A significant number of respondents felt there was a lack of cultural connections and that youth could overcome many challenges if they were connected to culture.
“We often say culture is prevention because those cultural ties create protective factors for our youth,” Mason said. “The Mvskoke Nation Youth Council has been very purposeful about focusing on culture and has even camped out at the Phillip Deere Roundhouse a couple times to learn from the elders more about the Mvskoke way of life.”
Mason said the Connect the Disconnect project will allow the program to reach even more Mvskoke youth through activities and providing resources.
As part of the project, the Mvskoke Nation Youth Council’s Culture and Language Committee will create monthly social media campaigns aimed toward Muscogee (Creek) citizens, ages 12-24, to promote opportunities and offer cultural knowledge of the program.
The grant funding will also assist the program in providing three one-day events to 150 Mvskoke youth to teach the Mvskoke language, practices and activities.
Lastly, the funding will go toward allowing 50 Mvskoke youth to attend an overnight camp hosted by the Youth Steering Committee and Muscogee (Creek) elders as an opportunity to promote traditional ecological and cultural exchange.
MNYS was created in 2014 to engage Mvskoke youth in activities that will allow them an opportunity to contribute to the communities and Nation.
The program’s goal is to provide resources and support for tribal youth, as well as advocacy, on local, state and national levels through a variety of programs and events.
For more information on MNYS programs and services, visit http://mvskokeyouth.wixsite.com/mvskokeyouth or contact Nancy Mason at 918-549-2557.