UNITY Youth Highlight
Nathan Solorio began his second term as UNITY’s Northeast Representative with a responsibility that extends beyond a title: staying connected to Native youth councils, helping young people find opportunities, and carrying their perspectives into a national network. A member of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Solorio was sworn in during the 2023 National UNITY Conference in Washington, D.C.
“I was grateful to be sworn in as Northeast rep a second time,” he shared in his January 24, 2024 report. That gratitude anchors a broader record of service that he described in updates covering the months following the conference.
Solorio served in the 2023–2024 National UNITY Council Executive Committee cohort. The committee brings together regional representatives and co-presidents to represent Native youth, connect affiliated councils, and help young people work collectively on shared concerns. A second term offered him another opportunity to turn those responsibilities into relationships across the Northeast.
During August, he helped with a regional UNITY Connect gathering alongside the Southeast Representative and met youth interested in UNITY at the Running Strong powwow in Alexandria, Virginia. These activities linked organized regional outreach with conversations in spaces where youth and families were already gathering.
His subsequent reports also described helping LUNA Youth Council at the Native American Lifelines Fall Harvest Health Fair in Baltimore and participating in cultural presentations in Washington, D.C. Together, those experiences show how representation can move between community service, cultural sharing, and national gatherings.
Solorio’s participation at the World Cultural Festival brought another dimension to that work. While dancing with other Northeast dancers, he was approached by reporters who asked him to speak about UNITY. His regional role became part of a public conversation about Native youth involvement.
The connections reflect several parts of UNITY’s youth development mission. Council outreach supports leadership and civic participation; service with peers builds social connection; and sharing dance keeps cultural identity present in public life.
Solorio’s second term began with an oath, but his reports locate its purpose in the work that followed: meeting youth, supporting councils, and making UNITY’s opportunities more visible across the region.
