KWSO News 11/25/25

Community members and families joined Tribal Council members on Monday for a swearing-in ceremony for the 2025-26 Warm Springs Youth Council officers.

Two of the officers are returning members of the Youth Council. Arema White is the female co-president this term after serving as treasurer last year.

AREMA: “It was a wonderful experience. Like when I first started, I was so scared to speak in public and with new people. As I did the year with Youth Council, I was able to speak in front of crowds better, with my peers better.”

Mila Adams is returning for a second term as the Youth Council secretary.

MILA: “It was really nice seeing the youth get together at a few events that we did hold and being able to bring the youth together. And I want to be able to do that again, but with more events. Last year’s term gave me more ideas for this term.”

Throughout the year, the Youth Council will make presentations to the Tribal Council.

AREMA: “It was a little scary because the first time we came here, I thought I was by myself. And I was like, okay, I got this. I just stayed calm. Just be prepared for questions and all that. But it’s like, they’re really nice. It’s worth talking to them because you learn how to speak with people that have positions.”

MILA: “Personally, I’d say it wasn’t that challenging. I already have a strong voice and I’m direct about what I say. And it’s family on Tribal Council. I didn’t look at them as an uncle. I looked at them as Tribal Council. Them being family was like a leg up to being more comfortable on speaking to them. But having to speak to them about Youth Council stuff was a little challenging.”

Both of the young women strongly encourage all youth to attend their meetings.

AREMA: “Our main goal is to hit the youth, like get to the youth. And we really, really want input on what the youth want. Like, do they want events to be held? Do they want time for snacks and stuff? We just want to know what the youth want.”

MILA: “We’ll start having bi-weekly meetings soon. And as soon as we get a schedule, we’ll be posted on our Warm Springs Youth Council Facebook page. So we’d love to see you guys come out to our bi-weekly meetings. We need everyone there.”

New to the Youth Council this year are Treasurer Roxy Crowe-Wallulatum, Communication Officer Kyra Eastman, Vice President Daniel Jackson, and Co-President RedSky Waheneka. RedSky says he received encouragement to run for the Youth Council, and shares what he thinks is the value in a youth leadership role.

REDSKY: “Last year and a few years ago, Youth Council asked me to run. They thought I was a good role model and they just wanted me to run. And I was like, okay, might as well give it a shot. Youth leadership, you get to like get out of your comfort zone. Like you took on the role that you have to like communicate with every single youth. So just getting that communication with everybody.”

Gavin Begay served as the male co-president of the 2015-2016 Warm Springs Youth Council. That experience, he says, was beneficial to him, and he’s now serving in an advisory role for the council.

GAVIN: “It opened up doors to network and meet with different communities, and also get more outreach into my native community and what the youth wanted at the time. Currently, I am the male advisor for the Warm Springs Youth Council, and my job is to keep an eye out on them, encourage them to keep working.”

Jillisa Suppah is also a Youth Council advisor, a role she took over about midway through the previous term.

JILLISA: “I’m always encouraging them to step into spaces, especially if they feel uncomfortable as youth. I’m encouraging them like this is their platform to have a voice. In a community, you always hear that our youth are our future. But oftentimes, a lot of conversations, our youth are left out of those conversations, of those discussions and decision making. And so I think this is a great platform for them to communicate with their peers and be that voice for the youth in our community.”

As advisors, Jillisa and Gavin remain in the background, offering guidance if asked. The Youth Council will make all of their own collective decisions, planning, and coordination.

The Youth Council also gets an audience with the 509J School Board. Laurie Danzuka sits on the board and says it’s really beneficial to have youth in leadership positions where they can find their voice, advocate for themselves, and for the people around them so that their needs are known.

LAURIE: “So it’s really important for them to be able to give feedback and let the adults know what’s going on with them. And also, one of the things that I stress for our young people is public speaking because it’s really difficult to do that. So I think it gives them a platform to have a lot of practice and because we would rather hear from the youth. And that’s true in a lot of spaces where they’d rather hear them. It’s more impactful if you hear from the youth what their needs are and what their wants are and kind of what their vision is for our community.”

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