I hope I broadened people’s understanding of Native Americans, and the beauty of our culture. I am very thankful for all the help and support I received to make this
project a reality.
Left to right: Tiwahe Foundation Board officers, Valerie Larsen and Yvonne Barrett with Pow Wow organizer Ashlen Delgado and her friend Colton Labatte.
Photos by Yvonne Barrett
GRANTEE STORIES
⊕ High School Pow Wow Reveals Beauty of Native American Culture
This spring, Johnson High School senior Ashlen Delgado organized and hosted a Pow Wow to share her Native American heritage with fellow students that attend her school and invited the surrounding community in St. Paul. The 18-year-old Oglala Sioux member was encouraged by Travis DeCory, a staff member of youth shelter Ain Dah Yung, to submit a grant request to the Tiwahe Foundation’s American Indian Family Empowerment Program (AIFEP) Fund last fall. She was awarded $2,500 to develop the project along with a traditional Native American feast. “This Pow Wow was an amazing event. I am grateful to say that I had the opportunity to organize,” says Ashlen. “I feel as if I touched many people, and really helped broaden people’s understanding about Native Americans, and the beauty of our culture. I am very thankful for all the help and support I received to make this project a reality. The Tiwahe Foundation grant was my main funder of the project. Without the grant for $2,500, I wouldn’t have been able to complete my vision. Pilamayaye.” In June 2011, Ashlen’s senior project was awarded first-place by Johnson Senior High School, a large urban school in St. Paul.
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