Mesa, AZ – United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) is proud to announce that Midyear 2022 will be a hybrid event with options for attendance in person and online. We are so excited to welcome attendees back to the beautiful Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak, as well as continue to offer a robust and interactive virtual conference experience.
The virtual experience includes three days of general assembly keynote speakers, as well as access to UNITY’s advisor trainings led by Dr. Pearl Yellowman (Dine). Guest speakers include actors from the hit show Reservation Dogs, America’s Got Talent Finalist Brooke Simpson, and model/activist Quannah ChasingHorse. Requested virtual trainings include tools to engage Native youth virtually and helpful life skills like financial wellness and community service project planning.
For a full agenda, and to register, visit the website. In-person attendee registration is $350; virtual participation is $50. For sponsorship information, contact Mary Kim Titla.
Virtual registration includes online access to our virtual conference platform.
$50 Individual Rate – No registration deadlines apply, open through the week of the conference.
$240 Group Rate – (Use Code: 10OFF) Available for up to five participants from the same library/institution/company simultaneously. Up to five participants may watch any conference session available on the platform individually, or you may have a group watch party for any number of people in a conference/meeting room. We will need to collect names and email addresses for all participants at the time of registration. If your youth council/institution/company needs more than five individual access points, additional group registrations can be purchased under another name/email address. No registration deadlines apply.
Registered virtual attendees also have access to the UNITY News Communications Camp. In partnership with ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, the Camp is to be held prior to the conference on February 17, 6-8pm (virtual) and February 24, 2-8pm (in-person). Sign up today!
UNITY has been fostering the spiritual, mental, physical, and social development of American Indian and Alaska Native youth, and helping build a strong, unified, and self-reliant Native America through greater youth involvement since 1976.
UNITY Midyear Conference sponsors include San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Bank of America, Arizona Public Service, Freeport McMoran, Phoenix Suns, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Bowman Consulting, Pauma Band of Mission Indians, and REDW. Additional support is provided by John Templeton Foundation, Common Counsel Foundation, IllumiNative, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Brooke Simpson
From recording her first song at the age of two to charting top 10 in the iTunes and Billboard charts, Brooke Simpson is no stranger to music. She is a powerhouse vocalist who is passionate about music, people and her culture. She also was a top three finalist on season 13 of NBC’s The Voice, and a top four finalist on season 16 of America’s Got Talent. Brooke will make her Broadway debut in the Diane Paulus revival of the Tony Award winning musical 1776.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
The 20-year-old Oji-Cree First Nations actor currently stars in the award-winning FX comedy series Reservation Dogs, set and filmed in rural Oklahoma. It is a rough-and-tumble coming-of-age story about a young gang of rebellious teenagers on a minor crime spree across tribal land. The show is almost entirely made up of Indigenous people and allows viewers into a world television too rarely goes. He also stars in the feature film, Beans, the story of a young girl coming of age during the Oka crisis in Canada. D’Pharaoh currently resides in his hometown of Toronto, Canada.
Lil Mike and Funny Bone
The duo began rapping at the age of 12 — Mike in 1992, Bone in 1997. At a height of 4 feet and 7 inches this duo always leaves a lasting impression. However, size is not a factor when these two hit their mark. Victims of abuse, homelessness, poverty, and the welfare system, they were driven to overcome their circumstances. God has given them a special gift to connect to youth of today, particularly those experiencing similar hardship. Mike & Bone have done shows all over the United States and Canada, and showcase their acting chops on Reservation Dogs. They have an award-winning short film documentary “Looked Over But Never Overlooked,” a PBS Gallery documentary “Dream Big,” and appeared on season 8 of America’s Got Talent. They have also hosted the International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards.
Quannah ChasingHorse
Quannah is from the Han Gwich’in from Eagle Village, Alaska and Sicangu/Oglala Lakota tribes from the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota but currently lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is an Indigenous land protector for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, protecting those sacred lands from oil development and fighting for climate justice. She is an avid snowboarder, guitar and ukulele player, and is apprenticing as a traditional Indigenous tattoo artist. Quannah was honored to make the 2020 list of Teen Vogue’s “Top 21 under 21”. She is an IMG fashion model and actress.
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ABOUT UNITY
Founded in 1976, United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY) is a national network organization promoting personal development, citizenship, and leadership among Native Youth. UNITY’s mission is to foster the spiritual, mental, physical, and social development of American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 14 -24, and to help build a strong, unified, and self-reliant Native America through greater youth involvement. UNITY’s network currently includes 320 affiliated youth councils in 36 states. Youth Councils are sponsored by Tribes, Alaska Native villages, high schools, colleges, urban centers, and others.
