Our Leadership Academy is a three-week academic enrichment, leadership development and basketball training summer program for Native youth ages 12-16 living on or near the Crow Indian Reservation in southeast Montana. Students spend much of their time working with their peers on projects to create positive change in their community and learning skills to overcome systemic barriers facing Native students in schools. The other portion of the program is spent on the court, where our youth hone their abilities as basketball players.

 

Students are taught to view the sport as a metaphor for life and to understand that the dedication and teamwork needed for success on the basketball court is also important in any effort to improve life for one’s people. The program’s ultimate goal is to move our students forward on a road to college, and most importantly, toward a lifetime of self-love and investment in their community.