EMPOWERING STUDENT LEADERS THROUGH AFFINITY GROUPS
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ling pitch and connected with Wayne Ducheneaux, former executive director of the Native Governance Center and current chief advancement officer for the Intertribal Agriculture Council. They asked him to come to Breck School for a live dialogue about tribal sovereignty and going beyond land acknowledgments with the upper school. To their surprise, he said yes!
This wasn’ t going to be your typical panel discussion, open Q & A, or forum though. Instead, the Native Affinity was excited to invite Wayne in for a live showing of“ Wings with Wayne.” Maybe you’ ve heard of the popular YouTube series called“ Hot Ones” where the interviewer asks questions to a guest while they eat hot wings. This is similar.“ Wings with Wayne,” launched by the Native Governance Center, is a show where Wayne Ducheneaux( Cheyenne River Lakota) visits with Indigenous changemakers from our region to explore what sovereignty means to them. Things get spicy.
Fast forward to the day of the assembly. Mr. Ducheneaux made it to campus and the Native students are buzzing with excitement, in ways they haven’ t been in years past on presentation day. Meanwhile, the community was gearing up for what they expected to be just another affinity presentation about culturally relevant facts, figures, current events, and games.
It was a true surprise for the community when they walked into the theater to a stage set with Mr. Ducheneaux, the upper school administration, and a platter of chicken wings ranging in Scoville heat levels. The live forum began, with upper school administration asking questions that ranged from topics including tribal sovereignty, up-and-coming young Native voices, cultural appropriation, land acknowledgments, and favorite fry bread toppings! The Native affinity had developed all of these questions, and for the first time in a long time, they were given the opportu-
Photos courtesy of Breck School
Page 20 Summer 2025 CSEE Connections