Tsenesa Ducheneaux emáčiyapi. Canté wasté napé čiyuzapelo. Ina wayé kin Tawa ečiyápi. Ate wayé kin Heath ečiyápi. Pejuta Haka emátahan. Mahpiya Luta el wablawa. My name is Tsenesa Ducheneaux. I shake your hand with a warm heart. My mother is Tawa. My father is Heath. I live in Medicine Root district. I am a student at Red Cloud Indian School.
My experience in Boston was amazing for several reasons. Even though I have been lucky enough to fly on a plane before, this flight to Boston was my first flight to a new place without my family. I was happy that I was getting to know everyone and that made the trip over more fun. I got to travel with several friends I was just getting to know and by the end of it we have all become closer. I hope it stays that way. Second, it was educational. The opportunity I got to be able to visit Harvard has been a big inspiration. Getting to meet other Native people and talk about our culture was really cool. We have a lot of the same understandings about being Native people.
I also learned a lot about opportunities in Boston, like the Michael Jordan Boys & Girls Club. The games and the technology to make music was really cool! I also enjoyed all the get-togethers with the group so we could learn together and talk about the experiences we shared. It felt like another family away from home, especially getting to become close to my new friends that I don’t think I would have met if I hadn’t gotten to be a part of LYS.
I knew I wanted to participate in LYS is because it would give me chance to see what life would be like off the Rez and what my options could be in the future like living in a city and going away to college. I got to make great new friends with everyone. I got to travel to many great places with the group and even just spend time with different host families. All the opportunities that I got to enjoy with the places we went to as a group made me so happy. I really felt like a lot of people made me feel special. Wopila tanka.
