The Cheyenne River Youth Project of Eagle Butte, SD

The mission of the Cheyenne River Youth Project® is to provide the Lakota youth of the Cheyenne River reservation access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities, ensuring strong, self-sufficient families and communities.

In the last 20 years, CRYP has developed into one of the largest direct social services programs on the Reservation and the only such program that is tailored to meet the special needs of the community. CRYP programs and services have grown, with the community, to face the challenges presented to each new generation of youth. The poverty that exists on the Reservation has had a profound effect on family structure and self-esteem (for both adults and children), and contributes to a variety of social ills such as drug and alcohol dependency, neglect and abuse. CRYP serves the community by offering youth programs and family services that immediately improve lives and create opportunities for the future through fostering healthy choices and practices in all life areas.