UNITY Youth Highlight
Regional leadership often grows through the conversations that happen between formal meetings. For Nathan Solorio, an August 2023 powwow in Alexandria, Virginia, and a UNITY Connect gathering created two different ways to meet Native youth and strengthen relationships across regional boundaries.
Solorio, of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, served as Northeast Representative in the 2023–2024 National UNITY Council Executive Committee cohort. The cohort’s purpose is to represent youth councils and individual members, bring youth concerns into a shared forum, and strengthen leadership through collaboration. His August activities put that purpose into practice through both outreach and participation.
At the Running Strong for American Indian Youth powwow on August 6, Solorio met Northeast youth who were interested in UNITY. Although the gathering took place outside the Northeast, it provided a connection point for young people whose communities and interests did not stop at a regional boundary.
“It brings me join when I see native youth that are from the northeast region still attending events and helping in other regions!!” he wrote. His reflection emphasizes the value he placed on youth showing up for one another beyond their home region.
On August 17, Solorio helped with the North and Southeast UNITY Connect gathering alongside the Southeast Representative. Working together offered a practical example of the cooperation expected within the Executive Committee: sharing responsibility for outreach and creating space for youth to connect.
These activities also fit the wider approach documented in his later 2023 reports. He worked with LUNA Youth Council at a Baltimore health fair and shared dance with family and other Northeast dancers in Washington, D.C. The settings differed, but each connected leadership with relationships built through community life.
The powwow provided a culturally grounded setting for meeting youth; UNITY Connect created a more intentional gathering around regional participation. Together, they linked social connection and cultural belonging with opportunities to become involved in youth leadership.
For Solorio, outreach meant being present and approachable. His report shows the value of meeting interested young people where they gather and helping those initial conversations become part of a broader network of Native youth supporting one another.
