Every single day, the team at the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project works hard to provide enriching programs and nurturing spaces for Zuni youth so they will grow into strong, healthy, resilient adults who are deeply grounded in Zuni culture. To fulfill this mission, they also are dedicated to providing positive role models and mentors at every turn.
This goes beyond ZYEP staff. With each program, the youth project welcomes community members of all ages to facilitate activities, share knowledge and build connections. They serve as camp counselors, art instructors, sports league coaches and youth mentors, and since many of these helpers are young adults themselves, ZYEP supports them as they grow in their own leadership journeys.
Jasmine Bradley is one of those youth mentors. She participated in ZYEP programs as a child and recently rejoined the organization in a new capacity.
Jasmine, now 20, was born in Gallup, New Mexico, and raised in Zuni Pueblo. As a child, she participated in ZYEP’s annual basketball leagues, first in the league for ages 7-9 and then in the league for ages 10-12. Moving on to high school, however, Jasmine says she did not gravitate toward sports.
“I was into art,” she shares with a smile. “I loved drawing and pottery, and I was busy helping out at home.”
Art comes naturally to Jasmine; her grandmothers and uncle make jewelry, and a late uncle carved fetishes. She also discovered a passion for expressing her creative side through cosmetology, and she made plans to attend college after graduating from Zuni High School in 2023.
“I had some setbacks, though, so I didn’t go,” she says. “I felt pretty down about it. Then my mom saw a ZYEP advertisement and told me about it.”
At the time, the youth project was searching for mentors to support staff and youth participants in the “Rooted in Healthy Traditions” after-school program. Held in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Zuni Education & Career Development Center and Zuni Public School District, the program gives schoolchildren opportunities to participate in physical activities, create art, learn about food sovereignty, engage in cultural knowledge sharing and receive homework help.
“I always said I couldn’t work with kids,” Jasmine remembers. “I thought they would be too much for me. But I had been feeling down, and I thought working at ZYEP might help. You just never know until you try.
“So I did, and it was a really good experience,” she continues. “It kept me on my toes, and it helped with my self-esteem. I loved advocating for the kids and knowing I could be there for them. It was a really good feeling.”
Throughout the program, she says, ZYEP staff went above and beyond to create a supportive environment for mentors as well as students. She describes this as providing “mentors for the mentors,” and it meant so much to her cohort.
“They always reminded us that if we had problems or needed help, we could go to them,” she explains. “We could share how we were feeling, and they would be there for us.
“I’d been very nervous about being around so many kids, but as we all got to know each other, I opened myself up,” she reflects. “I enjoyed being with my kids, working with them on Zuni language, art, physical activity. They were so bright and energetic, even at the end of a long school day. Getting to know them was a real highlight. Some of their stories were pretty out there!”
The ZYEP administrative team was equally enthusiastic about that particular group of RHT mentors. Not only were they conscientious and dedicated to their work, they had formed a close bond as coworkers and friends.
So, last fall, Youth Development Coordinator Kiara “Kiki” Zunie inducted the RHT mentors into the ZYEP Youth Advisory Council as its newest cohort. She also made plans for the group to attend the United National Indian Tribal Youth Midyear Conference in Phoenix.
“It was really fun,” Jasmine says of the Unity conference, which took place on Feb. 7-9. “I’d been to a conference in high school, but this felt completely different. We were bonded already, but we got even closer with this experience. We are really open with each other now. Really connected.”
Jasmine attended Unity with Ryann Cornelius, Kalil Edaakie, Keely Bobelu, Raymond Homer and Sophie Riley. Zunie and Zachary James, one of ZYEP’s food sovereignty leaders, chaperoned the trip.
During the conference, attendees split into five groups to engage in conversations about digital storytelling and to work on graphics and short films that would address one of 10 major challenges faced by Native youth: substance abuse, suicide, school dropout rates, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR), single-parent households, bullying/gossiping, lack of cultural identity, unhealthy relationships, blood quantum, connecting with positive role models, and climate change.
“I was in the substance abuse group,” Jasmine says. “There were eight of us, and we learned filming and editing skills for TikTok, Instagram Reels and Instagram slides. It was challenging, but our social media campaign turned out pretty well.”
She also notes that, as older group members, the ZYEP participants enjoyed learning from the younger ones from other tribal nations. They definitely enjoyed their time off together as well.
One highlight was meeting actor Kusem Goodwind of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, well known for his work in the Netflix film “Rezball.” Jasmine says the moment was particularly special because fellow council member Raymond is a big fan.
“That was part of him I didn’t know about,” she says, smiling. “He was so open around us, just being himself. Raymond is an actor too (he is part of the Delapna:we Project in Zuni, which shares traditional stories through live performances every winter), and it was cool to see him meet someone he admires. It was really heartwarming.”
The ZYEP group also saw a movie across the street from their hotel, enjoyed dinner at local restaurants, and played a variety of arcade and card games together.
“It was hilarious,” Jasmine says, laughing. “It gave us a lot of inside jokes.”
Now, she and her fellow youth advisory council members are turning their attention to how they can best serve as advocates for Zuni youth. They will meet monthly to discuss and plan how they will bring awareness to important issues, provide insight, build bridges with other leadership groups, and facilitate youth and family activities.
“Right now, we’re working on an April event that will focus on self-empowerment,” Jasmine says. “I was just doing some research about that last night. We want to invite different speakers to talk to the kids — to motivate them and encourage them to never give up on what they want to do.”
Jasmine understands how important it is to pass on this message, as she is embracing it in her life as well. This spring, as she prepares for her younger brother’s high school graduation, she also is returning to her own precious dream.
“I have applied to UNM-Gallup,” she shares. “Cosmetology is still my passion. Nails, hair, skin care, I love all of it. And I want to take what I love and make a career out of it.
“Gallup allows me to stay close to home, too,” she adds. “Close to ZYEP activities and to the youth council. They mean a lot to me.”