Prior Lake teen represents community at national tribal conference

As the chairwoman of her tribe's newly-created Youth Leadership Council, high school junior Summer Brooks knows how vital it is for teens to be taken seriously as decisionmakers.

"Everyone says that we're the future, but if we're going to be a part of the future, we should help build it," Brooks, 16, said of her role on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's youth council, formed just last year.

She guided the council in developing bylaws, a constitution and mission statement.

Her tribe and peers aren't the only ones to see her potential: She was recently chosen to represent her community nationally at the 2014 White House Tribal Nations Conference as a youth ambassador.

For the first time at this year's conference, held Dec. 1-3, Native American youth were invited. Brooks was one of 36 teens picked to join adult representatives from each of the country's 566 federally-recognized tribes.

Charlie Vig, tribal chairman and a conference delegate, joined her in Washington, D.C.

At the event, President Obama announced a new national initiative, Generation indigenous, to "remove the barriers that stand between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed."

Brooks said highlights included getting to meet Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder, and hearing President Obama speak.

"It's nice to hear how dedicated he is to working with the Native American community … to better what's going on," she said.

Providing a place for youth to share ideas and support each other was a major goal.

The group spent time discussing issues facing their own tribes and Native Americans universally, along with future goals. Brooks said she mentioned health issues, such as obesity and the stigma of mental illness, as her biggest concerns.

Other teens mentioned topics such as education, as well as a suicide rate that is alarmingly high among Native Americans — youth in particular. The importance of cultural preservation came up repeatedly, too.

Brooks lives in Prior Lake on the Shakopee tribe's reservation and attends the International School of Minnesota in Eden Prairie. She's interested in the arts, including singing, drawing and painting, is a member of the National Honor Society and tutors students at school.

Peter Welle, an administrator at Brooks' school, described her as earnest, unassuming and hardworking, especially when it comes to academics.

"It's actually really rewarding when a kid like Summer gets [an opportunity like this], as opposed to the kid who knows how to sidle up to the front of the line, to put themselves first," he said. "She's an awesome, awesome kid."

She wants to stay involved with the tribe and learn more about her culture. She's in a group called Young Native Pride that performs traditional dances and she attends powwows each year. Last year, she took a Dakota language class. She hopes to major in biology and one day be a teacher.

While elders know the culture, youth today aren't as aware, she said. But involvement and interest among kids is growing, a hopeful sign.

"I feel like [the conference] motivated me in a way to start the actions to change what's going on."

Tribal chairman Charlie Vig said, "Summer is an impressive student and a natural leader among her peers. The White House Tribal Nations Conference was a good opportunity for her to see the federal-tribal relationship firsthand. My hope is that we're laying a positive foundation for future leaders like Summer."