The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has announced the launch of IndigeFit Kids, a $6 million, three-year philanthropic campaign to improve the physical fitness and mental wellness of Native youth in Minnesota.
PRIOR LAKE, Minn.—The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has announced the launch of IndigeFit Kids, a $6 million, three-year philanthropic campaign to improve the physical fitness and mental wellness of Native youth in Minnesota.
"Good health of Native youth today is fundamental to the vitality of Native communities for generations to come, but health problems are significantly more common among Native American youth than among their peers in the general population," said SMSC vice-chairwoman Natasha Hacker. "We believe that through a dedicated campaign we can change this reality and close health disparities among young Native Americans in Minnesota by giving them more resources to lead active, healthy lives."
IndigeFit Kids is a large-scale effort to deploy resources and draw on expertise to improve the physical fitness and wellness of Native youth statewide. This campaign will fund a variety of projects and programs focused on physical fitness and wellness; commission research; raise public awareness; support efforts to Indigenize athletic programs; and more.
"There are many long-standing environmental factors and social determinants of health that impact the overall health and wellness of Native youth, but by focusing on physical activity, good nutrition and healthy habits, we can create brighter futures for Native kids and communities," said SMSC secretary/treasurer Ashley Cornforth.
Strategic partners in the IndigeFit Kids campaign's first activities include KABOOM!, the national nonprofit working to end playspace inequity; Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health, one of the nation's leading academic health organizations focused on the health of Native communities; and the Minnesota Vikings, one of the region's leaders in promoting fitness and physical activity among youth.
Through IndigeFit Kids, the SMSC is providing $1.5 million to KABOOM! over the next three years.
IndigeFit Kids is a philanthropic campaign of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) dedicated to empowering Native youth through fitness and wellness. Launched in January 2025 as a three-year campaign, IndigeFit Kids funds a variety of projects and programs that support the physical fitness and wellness of Native youth; commissions research; raises awareness; supports efforts to Indigenize athletic programs; and more.
The SMSC has commissioned KABOOM! to conduct a research project to assess the adequacy of playspaces in Native communities in Minnesota, both in reservation settings and in urban areas.
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity-the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to build or improve 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the crucial benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer.
The SMSC has also committed to fund five new community-designed playspaces with KABOOM! in Native communities in Minnesota over the next three years.
IndigeFit Kids is also granting $500,000 to the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health to conduct a planning study to prepare for an in-depth, culturally appropriate research initiative to focus on holistic health among Native youth, with special focus on physical activity and the obstacles and pathways for promoting good health among Native youth. This study over the next two years would represent the essential first step to embarking on the most thorough, wide-ranging study of Native youth fitness and health ever undertaken in Indian Country and would determine the best ways in which it should be conducted.
IndigeFit Kids will also partner with the Minnesota Vikings in expanding team sports and wellness opportunities for Native kids.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a federally recognized, sovereign Dakota tribal government located southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Following a Dakota tradition of generosity, the SMSC is one of the top philanthropists in Minnesota and is dedicated to helping build strong, healthy communities.
