February 15, 2025

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Tribe to invest $6 million in physical health for Native American children

Tribe to invest  million in physical health for Native American children

Native American children across Minnesota will see a multimillion-dollar investment in fitness options, thanks to a donation from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

The tribe announced at a Thursday news conference that it’s pledging $6 million over the next three years toward projects focused on physical health for young Native people statewide.

Ashley Cornforth, SMSC secretary and treasurer, said one aim of the campaign is to reduce health disparities between Native American young people and other racial groups.

Standing behind a lectern at the Minneapolis American Indian Center, Cornforth ticked off a bevy of problems that plague today’s kids and teenagers — from excessive screen time to mental health issues to obesity to substance abuse.

“Too many children today don’t get enough physical activity,” Cornforth said. “We believe it is important for our tribe to dedicate ourselves to helping ensure the good health of future generations of Native people.”

The philanthropic campaign, called IndigeFit Kids, will kick off with a $1.5 million cash infusion to KABOOM! The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit will study “playspaces” in 11 Native communities in Minnesota before building five new facilities with the financial assistance of SMSC, CEO Lysa Ratliff said.

The tribe is also granting $500,000 to the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, furnishing the group with resources to conduct a two-year study assessing obstacles and opportunities for promoting health among Native youth. Representing the center were its co-directors, Melissa Walls and Donald Warne.

Co-Directors of the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health Melissa Walls and Donald Warne speak at a news conference at the Minneapolis American Indian Center in Minneapolis on Thursday. There, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announced the a $6 million campaign called IndigeFit Kids to improve the physical and mental wellness of Native youth in Minnesota. (Renée Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Walls, who directs the center’s Great Lakes Hub in Duluth, said the study aims to address what she described as “data genocide” — the erasure or omission of information pertaining to Native Americans from public health studies. That can lead to a dearth of badly needed resources allocated to Native communities from outside organizations, academics have argued.

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