September 10th, 2015 Last Updated on: September 10th, 2015
Just stumbled upon this video from the Stronghold Society's ONE Gathering – Skate For Life which is held in Denver each year. In case you're not familiar with the event, it's a skateboarding competition created to unite the youth of Denver with the Native American youth of Colorado and the surrounding states.
“It is a means of outreach to educate local communities of the social and health challenges Native American youth face today. The competition takes place at the Downtown Denver Skatepark located near the South Platte River – an historical gathering place for many Native American Tribes. Our overall goal for the ONE Gathering – Skate For Life is to promote inclusiveness and a positive impact on youth of all races by incorporating artistic achievement, social change, innovation, education, and healthy way of life outlooks. This is a drug and alcohol free event with skate competition, entertainment stage, vendors, youth outreach nonprofits, etc.”
The Stronghold Society is the brainchild of Walt Pourier, an Oglala Lakota from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. As an artist he found a way for his art and design to help spread messages of hope, inspiration, and healthy ways of life to the Native youth. His outreach efforts have included youth movements, language revitalization campaigns, suicide prevention, ending domestic violence, food distribution, etc, which have reached many communities.
The Stronghold Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information on their programs and how you can help donate or volunteer, please visit http://strongholdsociety.org/.
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