Youth Councils in Action
Marla Mesarina’s March work connected youth voice with tribal decision-making, environmental leadership, mental health, and cultural learning. Her Midwest update described a month of bringing young people into conversations about their communities while supporting opportunities for them to develop and share solutions.
As Midwest Representative in UNITY’s 2023–2024 National UNITY Council Executive Committee cohort, Mesarina helped connect regional youth councils and individual members with a national leadership network. The cohort’s purpose includes representing youth perspectives and strengthening service through cooperation—a responsibility visible across her local and regional activities.
At a Leech Lake budget hearing, she raised a concern about youth voices. A follow-up from the Tribal Council Secretary led to a meeting that included Leech Lake Youth Council members. They discussed concerns affecting Native youth and the possibility of regular breakfasts with tribal leaders to strengthen relationships.
Council involvement also included a chairperson candidate forum, where youth could ask questions, and two days of sugar bushing to gather maple syrup. These activities brought civic participation and cultural knowledge into the same month, giving youth different ways to take part in community life.
Mesarina networked with the Leech Lake Division of Resource Management about engaging youth in its programs and supporting leadership connected with Mother Earth, including UNITY’s Earth Ambassador program. An invitation to an Earth Day event offered another point of connection. She also reached out to Midwest youth council members for a mental health post on her regional Instagram page.
At the Red Lake Youth Conference, she facilitated a workshop and spoke with Red Lake Nation Radio about UNITY and her representative role. “Our youth have so much insight and creative solutions for issues going on within our communities,” she wrote.
She found it inspiring to see youth “not only identify the problems, but to be able to work together and come up with solutions on what they can do AS native youth.” Her reflection centers participants’ ideas and their ability to act together.
Her national and regional responsibilities continued with an icebreaker for Mary Kim Titla’s RES presentation and a joint Midwest–Northeast regional meetup with Nathan Solorio. Across these settings, she used facilitation and outreach to help people connect.
The result was a fuller practice of representation: opening conversations with tribal leadership, recognizing youth knowledge, connecting environmental interests with opportunities, and sustaining cultural relationships. Each activity linked UNITY’s broader development goals with questions and responsibilities youth were already carrying at home.
