Blog 3: Commonwealth Assets

One of the best things that I have learned while interning through Ogallala Commons community internship program for two years, was learning about the twelve commonwealth assets. The Commonwealth Assets are a group of assets belonging to a community and express what each community possesses, such as: education, health, leisure and recreation, history, sense of place, water cycle, arts and culture, wildlife and natural world, soil and mineral cycle, food shed, renewable energy, and spirituality. I came to realize that there is a distinct commonwealth asset that a community thrives in the most and makes that community unique in its own way. Although there is no denying that there are assets in each of our communities that can be improved, having knowledge about the twelve commonwealth assets also allows us to identify the existing assets within our communities that are thriving. While learning about that commonwealth assets, I was able to identify which assets made my community unique. 

Some of the commonwealth assets that most commonly exist throughout my community are culture, spirituality, and health. I see more of the youth starting to take part in learning more about their Lakota culture and spirituality. By learning about their culture, they are also understanding the importance of holistic health. Holistic health means taking care of yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. It makes my heart happy to see them gradually learning the Lakota language. The youth are incorporating phrases and statements into their daily lives. These small steps are leading to bigger outcomes.

 Last summer for my community service I was able to help chaperone and supervise a youth running camp. At the running camp, I was happy to see a great turnout of youth of different ages taking part in the camp. Each year I see more and more of the youth participating in these activities and events. A program called the Diabetes Prevention Program holds walk and runs each summer in different communities on the Rosebud Reservation, I enjoy not only seeing the youth take part in the walk and runs but rather all walks of life. It makes me happy to see people come together, visiting with people they haven’t seen in awhile, and to also see them enjoying themselves. It is definitely something I enjoy witnessing and being apart of.