Several of our local Native high school students were selected as one of the top 5 for a Native Youth Business Plan Competition! Emma Sundberg (Wiyot Junior from McKinleyville High), Claire Patterson (Karuk Sophomore from Eldorado High), Jordan Brown (Karuk Junior from McKinleyville High), and Ryan Ames (Yurok Senior from Hoopa High) submitted a business plan they designed. Their plan is to “have a safe and welcoming cultural community center. The center will promote healthy physical and emotional lifestyles.”

In 2021, a group of our Transitional Age Youth (TAY) formed a group the “TAY Action Team” (TAT) who developed an “ask” centered on advocacy efforts towards the creation of a youth-centered space that is driven to accommodate the mental health needs of Native American youth. The team presented this ask in collaboration with the California Youth Empowerment Network at their Town Hall in May of 2021. You can view their town hall on our Facebook Page.

Since the original Town Hall Meeting, our TAT group has presented in front of numerous people to advocate for their “Home Away From Home,” including Senator Ramos, Connie Beck and colleagues at DHHS, Two Feathers Board, and Toby Ewing!

This team is taking it another step closer with help from some adult allies (Pamela and Lisa Ames, Keoki Burbank with Two Feathers, and Wakara Scott with Two Feathers). The team will present their business plan at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas on May 23, 2022, along with four other groups.

Two Feathers is proud of these youth for their hard work in designing a comprehensive business plan and for their passion for improving our community for everyone! They are changing our future!