If you drove down Highway 18 this past holiday season, you might have noticed a Tipi lit up with Christmas lights. The Tipi marks the offices of the Native American Advocacy Program ("NAAP"), a statewide nonprofit serving people living both on and off tribal lands in South Dakota. This week at the Market, we are honored to be hosting the NAAP's Lakota dance troop and drum group.
NAAP was established in 1992 on the notion that "Native youth need to know their culture and have access to people, places, and environments that help them to develop healthy lifestyles, without alcohol, drugs, or violence." Most recently NAAP received a Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grant to support Social Empowerment through Economic Development Strategies Project (SEEDS Project) that develops social enterprises for youth.
Traditional foods and medicinal herbs are an important part of NAAP's curriculum. One of their main SEEDS Projects includes beekeeping, and you can purchase their local honey at the Market and on their website: http://www.lakotanaap.org/
We hope you'll join us Thursday for this celebration of tradition and art. We're open from 4:00-6:00!