Champions for Change
Remembering Our Sisters
Brave Heart
California Native Youth Collective
Building Communities of Hope
Creative Native
Democracy is Indigenouswritten by Jarrette Werk (Aaniiih Nakoda), 2018 Gen-I Movement Builders Fellow
Seven years ago, I was selected to be a Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) Movement Builders Fellow. I didn’t know it then, but I had began a journey that would change my life. I found an organization rooted in one simple but powerful idea: when you invest in Indigenous youth, you invest in the future of our Tribal Nations.
Today, I see the ripple effects of that vision everywhere, in the arts, narrative change, policy and community leadership. CNAY is more than an organization: it’s a family, a community and a true catalyst for change. When I first became involved, I was searching for a space where I felt seen, valued & heard. CNAY gave me that and so much more.
For me, CNAY was the spark that set everything in motion. Through their programs, I learned to embrace my identity, to lead with authenticity and to use storytelling as a tool for healing and transformation. CNAY’s belief in me opened doors I never imagined possible.
In 2018, my Gen-I cohort created the “Reclaiming Our Narrative” project where we highlighted youth leaders across Indian Country doing important work in their communities. In 2020, I joined the CNAY team and helped create programs that connected Indigenous youth from across oceans during the global pandemic. For the past two years during Native American Heritage Month, I have been invited to document history through my camera lens at the White House Tribal Youth Forum.
CNAY showed me that Indigenous people belong. We belong in every space, on every platform, and in every conversation. CNAY has done more than empower individuals, it has built an entire movement and network of Indigenous youth leaders rooted in culture, identity and love. I am eternally thankful for the people and the purpose behind this organization.
I look forward to what CNAY will do and create in the coming years. It fills my heart with joy to know that it’s a bright future filled with even more Indigenous youth rising up, dreaming boldly and continuing to reclaim their narratives.
Thank you, CNAY, for shaping generations of leaders and helping to create true champions for change. Our communities are stronger because CNAY believes in the brilliance of Native youth.
Join the #GiveNative movement this Giving Tuesday! At CNAY we know we could not do this work without the strong support of our community partners. We know that without investments in our youth, there can be no tomorrow. We look forward to working together to improve the health, safety and overall well-being of Native youth across the country.
Yaw^ko and Mvto. Thank you!
Today, Jarrette works as a multimedia journalist for Underscore Native News. Before joining Underscore, he helped produce Nevada Public Radio’s “Native Nevada Podcast,” an eight-part series on the 27 tribal nations in Nevada. A longtime member of the Indigenous Journalists Association, Jarrette has been an Indigenous Journalist Fellow four times—including once as a mentor-in-training—and his reporting has earned national recognition, including Hearst, Edward R. Murrow & Indigenous Media awards.
Most recently, Jarrette participated in ENCODED, a groundbreaking AR takeover of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s American Wing in which 17 Indigenous artists reimagined the museum’s collection on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. His work helped bring Indigenous creativity, history and narratives to the forefront of one of the world’s most iconic art institutions.
Congratulations Jarrette! Your CNAY family is so proud of you!