Red Lake Nation Skate-Parks soon to become a reality

Red Lake is uplifting its youth.

With plans to build two skateparks on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, young skaters are being given the chance to hone their skills on better terrain. The locations include one 10,000-15,000 sq. ft park by Red Lake’s basketball courts, and one 7,000-10,000 sq. ft park in Ponemah (also in a central location).

These locations have been chosen for their easy access, but they will also show the skaters that they are recognized and being included within the community. In conjunction with this project, the high school basketball courts are getting a complete, top-of-the-line makeover.

Both parks and the courts are scheduled to be complete before the first frost hits the ground.

Skaters are used to discouragement when they skate around the reservation’s few large paved areas. Now they will have a place to call their own. With this new sense of empowerment, they have the opportunity to show their

communities that skateboarding is not a nuisance; far from it, in fact.

Douglas Miles, the creator of Apache Skateboards, believes that many hobbies and life skills come out of skateboarding. For example, many skaters record themselves with video cameras to study their technique. This will teach them cinematography and video editing. Doug also talks about how skateboarding teaches young skaters how to fall gracefully and get back up again. It teaches commitment, as it may take weeks or months to learn a new trick. Accomplishment yields positive self-esteem, independence, and healthy self-expression.

Boredom is the most often cited reason behind a lot of youth delinquency, but skateboarding provides an outlet besides the usual negative activities around the reservation.

There is also a Facebook page to stay updated on the parks’ construction. It can be found under the name “Red Lake Skatepark.” The link is here: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_227967350548883