MVSKOKE RESERVATION – To end the summer after their Rez Tour, MCN Youth Wellness hosted a pool party for youth between the ages of 9 and 14. The party was held at the Holdenville pool on Sunday, Aug. 2, and at the Okmulgee YMCA Pool on Sunday, Aug. 9. The free event featured a live DJ, resource booths, and pizza.
Rez Tour was a new, free summer camp this year, featuring activities such as cultural and life-skills learning, arts and crafts, guest speakers, games, outdoor activities, and a field-trip incentive. It also provides information about mental health, physical health, life skills, and outdoor education.
The program served the surrounding areas of Morris, Coweta, Muskogee, Taylor Drive, Okemah, Wetumka, Okmulgee, Holdenville, and Murrow Home.
MCN Youth Wellness Prevention Specialist Kayla Broncho said that as the camp came to an end, the kids did not want it to end.
Broncho shared that MCN Youth Wellness Program Project Director James “Major” McHenry (Mvskoke) had the idea to host a wrap-up pool party for this summer’s participants that would include kids who didn’t attend and also serve as outreach to them.
For the pool party, they wanted to make sure to include the Southern Region, where Broncho is located. They also knew they needed to include different parts of the Mvskoke Reservation.
The pool party featured Mental Health 988, Native Connections, Suicide Prevention, Tobacco Prevention, and Youth Services.
Broncho feels rewarded to be part of this program and to host an event like this for the youth.
“We see a lot of youth within our reservation, and sometimes they don’t get the experiences. I think just us being able to provide the experience is the rewarding part, it’s seeing them simple and seeing them come up and say ‘thank you,’” Broncho said.
McHenry said it’s a way for their program to give back, do fun things, and be able to provide these opportunities for Mvskoke youth.
“I feel that it’s an event that can bring everyone together for a good time and let them have a good time before they go back to school,” McHenry said.
Rez Tour
Rez Tour is a three-day camp. The first day was filled with cultural education- the MCN Mvskoke Language Program spoke, along with guest speakers from MCN Cultural Preservation. Then they took a field trip to the Euchee Butterfly Farm in Bixby.
The second day featured outdoor activities, including hiking and nature education. The program taught the kids what to pack, how to pack, the importance of drinking water, and coping mechanisms for the outdoors.
For the third day, they picked them up to go to a waterpark or took them to places outside their town.
McHenry said that the Mvskoke Reservation is a big area to cover, and they try to go North, South, East, and West. This year, they targeted the southern area, but next year, they might target a different area.
“We don’t really have a way to pick, but we try to spread it out each year. There are just two of us right now in our department, and fixing to have a third one that starts. But we try to cover somewhere different every year,” McHenry said.
McHenry said that all events are free, including food and admission- they don’t want any child to miss out on any of the fun that they host.
“Everything is provided and free to the students. We encourage everyone when we’re in their schools to sign up,” McHenry said.
“Come to our after-school programs, and we encourage them to come to our camps.”
