By Nessia Berner Wong, ChangeLab Solutions.
Jaidyn Probst is a high school senior living in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Redwood Falls is a small, rural town of about 5,000 people — small enough that, according to Jaidyn, everyone knows everyone, which is probably her favorite part. She enjoys creating art, reading, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family. Also, she really doesn’t like doing the dishes.
Jaidyn is Bdewakantunwan (Spirit Lake Dwellers) Dakota and comes from Cansayapi (Where They Paint the Trees Red), otherwise known as the Lower Sioux Indian Community, about 7 miles down the road from Redwood Falls. I got to know Jaidyn when ChangeLab Solutions visited the Lower Sioux and met with the Lower Sioux Health and Human Services Advisory Committee (LSHHSAC) to collaborate on some of their health work. This group is tasked with increasing community engagement in order to establish a sustainable food system for the Lower Sioux Indian Community. Their primary goals are improving access to healthy food, connecting the community to indigenous foods, and creating healthier families.
It was soon evident to me, as I imagine it is to anyone who interacts with her, that Jaidyn is a community leader in her own right. Her sense of empowerment and interest in local policy and health issues are emblematic of a community that is healthy and genuinely invested in community engagement.
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