Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Rich Rominger
Ground Blessing Ceremony
Pine Ridge Youth Wellness and Opportunity Center
Pine Ridge, South Dakota - August 3, 2000

"Thank you, Secretary Cuomo. I'm deeply honored to be in Pine Ridge and in the Lakota Nation. If you will bear with me, I'd like to try to express my appreciation to the Oglala Sioux for your hospitality by thanking you in Lakota - pila miya. Thank you very much.

"There are so many people whose work, commitment and partnership are making this Youth Wellness and Opportunity Center a reality. Thanks to the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council and committee members for their vision and dedication. I want to recognize the Youth Coalition ... Chic Big Crow, Executive Director of the SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club, and her daughter Pigeon Jack, OST Recreation Director. My thanks to Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent Bob Ecoffey . Terry Albers, with the Oglala Lakota College Welfare to Work Program . grant writer Tom Allen, and others too numerous to mention.

"With this ground-blessing, we're honoring the future site of a state-of-the-art youth recreation facility. But we're also celebrating possibilities and the strength of a partnership determined to meet the needs of Oglala youth. We're truly celebrating a circle of friends, and I want to recognize two individuals with the National Boys and Girls Club who have been extremely instrumental in bringing this about - National Vice President Robbie Calloway and Mark Piccarilly.

"My thanks, too, to USDA's fine Rural Development staff here in South Dakota for all they've done ... to State Director Dallas Tonsager and his staff ... to Pat Gross, Tim Potts ... as well as the Rapid City, State Office, and National Office staffs.

"Speaking for all the USDA representatives, I want Secretary Cuomo to know that we're honored to work closely with HUD -- as well as with the Bureau of Indian Affairs -- to bring to thousands of Native Americans not only life skills training, career development, recreation and education, but wellness and a real chance to fulfill their potential and dreams.

"This is what this cutting-edge Center is all about. And that's what President Clinton envisioned just over a year ago when he was here at Pine Ridge. As Mr. Salway said at that time, President Clinton is the only President ever to come to an Indian reservation for a nation-to-nation business meeting. The purpose of that meeting was to ensure that the benefits of the longest period of economic growth in peacetime history are there for everyone and that no one is left behind. -more-

"President Clinton said then that, "We're not coming from Washington to tell you exactly what to do and how to do it. We're coming … to ask you what you want to do, and tell you we will give you the tools and the support to get done what you want to do for your children and their future Give us your vision, we will work to attain it."

"In the past year, you've given us a vision. You've told us, plainly and forthrightly, what you need and we've been listening. And now it's time to follow through on the President's pledge of support. In many respects, Chic Big Crow and the youth of the Oglala Lakota people are leading the way. There's no question that we're taking our cue from the success of the SuAnne Big Crow Boys and Girls Club - the first Boys and Girls Club on an Indian reservation in the U.S. - and the energetic youngsters who use its services but need so much more. We're privileged to join with the Pine Ridge Youth Coalition, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and many others to build on the work of the Big Crow Center. This one-stop Center will comprehensively equip thousands of youth and young adults -- body and mind -- for the demands and challenges of the 21^st century. In support of the $3.9 million construction costs, USDA is providing $1.15 million in Rural Development Community Facilities grants and an additional $500,000 in a Rural Business Enterprise grant for youth entrepreneurial activities at the Center.

"The message of this Center won't stop at the reservation's borders. If we can help turn poverty into promise here in the nation's poorest county, we're sending a powerful signal to tribes nationwide that they can also benefit from investment, partnership, and sharing. This area may be economically poor, but it's culturally rich … in legendary leaders like Crazy Horse and Chief Red Cloud, in heritage, language, culture and oral tradition that run through the land like the buttes and spires of the plains. This is a wealth that we respect and pledge to help you preserve and pass on to your children and grandchildren.

"As a farmer and grandfather, I believe in the wisdom of the Indian Nations that we are the keepers of seven generations. To do justice to that stewardship, we must be one with the universe by sustaining its natural resources for those who follow us.

"And it's our commitment at USDA to support another of this nation's precious resources - our communities. Here in Pine Ridge, USDA has long had a strong presence, supporting the community through our Rural Development housing programs. USDA Rural Development alone brings $90 million a year to South Dakota in support of communities. We have much work going on throughout Indian Country in South Dakota ... strategic planning activities with three other reservations and we're working in some capacity with all eight tribes in the state. President Clinton has requested new money for tribes in the fiscal 2001 budget. That would mean the opportunity to do even more, but the need would still far exceed our resources.

"One key part of this overall effort is Empowerment Zones like Pine Ridge. As headed up by Vice President Gore, the vision behind the Community Empowerment Board has been straightforward - get the economy going again. Create more jobs and opportunities. Then empower communities. Get people together who care. Give them the resources they need to make a difference. And let them make the decisions about how best to turn their community around.

"That's what's happening here at Pine Ridge. As a start, the Pine Ridge EZ has 22 benchmarks using $4 million that will leverage over $20 million in projects to generate new economic activity and community programs. We're setting a positive stage for economic renewal by putting the decision-making in the hands of the community that knows its problems best.

"It's now my privilege to introduce an individual who's a national expert on the problems of youth in our communities and for decades has been an outspoken advocate for America's young people. During his 17-year tenure with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the number of youngsters served by the organization has increased from 1 million to more than 3 million. The number of Clubs has jumped from 1,000 to over 2600. Senior Vice President Robbie Callaway has played a key role in expanding the number of Clubs to more than 80 Indian reservation sites, and we're grateful for all he's done for Pine Ridge. He's been influential in Washington in the passage of legislation affecting youth and families, and has received many notable awards recognizing his leadership and work on behalf of child safety ... Senior Vice President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Robbie Callaway" ...