Youth conferences aimed at eliminating stereotypes, border town racism

Donnie Wetzel, Jr., lives in Helena.

But his heart and heritage is on the Blackfeet National reservation.

The young administrator with the name made famous by his father, a former star athlete at Cut Bank and the University of Montana, was back home on the Hi-Line this week while attempting to have the state’s youth connect with each other.

“We’re hitting border town racism hard,” Wetzel said. “I want these kids to get to know each other before they’re taught to hate each other.”

Wetzel works for the state Office of Public Instruction as the American Indian Youth Development Coordinator. He planned a series of conferences with the mission of bringing area schools and youth together.

Wetzel was in Browning on Monday and Havre on Tuesday.

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“It’s been unbelievable,” Wetzel said. “What I want to highlight with our reservation youth is the beauty of our tribes, the beauty of our sovereign nations. Highlight the culture, the songs, the dances the beauty of all these things, the connection to the land that our reservations are on. And then share that.

“We had kids today sharing the way to say hello in certain languages, back and forth.”

Wetzel had the youths name the conferences.

In Browning at Blackfeet Community College, the kids came up with “Connecting Cultures for You-nity.”

“Which is cool,” Wetzel said. “We have to look within ourselves, find out who we are. When you start to understand who you are you don’t judge others so much.”

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In Havre at Montana State-Northern, the kids named the conference “Seven Generation Leaders.”

Of course, there are seven Indian reservations in Montana.

“We’re trying to drop the stereotypes and bring the students together,” Wetzel said. “We’re addressing the misconceptions and stereotypes, and I do it in a way where they have one unified goal. And that is to have a spring youth conference. It’s going to lead into a statewide youth conference, centered on border towns and the issues affecting them.

Racism has been in the news frequently in recent years regarding Montana’s Native American population.

About 20 months ago, a Billings radio personality suggested in a misguided diatribe that many viewed as discriminatory that Native Americans should have their own basketball tournaments because of problems with fans at MHSA events.

Last month, an incident in Sturgis, S.D., when Homecoming activities were canceled after the words “Go back to the Rez” were painted on a car in the school parking lot caused a stir in Montana.

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“Honestly, I still think we have a ways to go,” Browning head football coach Racine said at the time of the Black Hills incident. “At the end of the day people need to respect people for who they are instead of the color of their skin. Everywhere we go, at any restaurant or convenience store, we’re always commented on about how respectful we are. I think we’ve come a long way, but at the end of the day I don’t think people truly understand what we go through. Because the education isn’t there about Native Americans and what to do without disrespecting them.”

Wetzel is all about education. He’s hoping to help the youth of Montana, regardless of heritage, learn to respect each other.

“We’re tackling stories that people just talk about. I want to hit some of the good that’s happening,” he said. “We’re starting at the youth level and building relationships. I want the kids to come together and realize how close they are.”

The youth conference in Kalispell on Nov. 28 will include athletes and administrators from Charlo, Hot Springs, Mission, Arlee, Ronan, Two Eagle River and Polson. A state-wide conference this spring, Wetzel said, is still in the planning stage.