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Before this week, Geoffrey Roughface, 18, had never thought about running for a place on his tribal council.
The Native American teen's views have changed after a five-day Native American youth conference held in Scottsdale this week.
"We're going to have to be the next generation to step up," said Roughface, from Pawnee, Okla.. "(The conference) has given me more of a sense of direction."
The Nation Building for Native Youth conference brought together 26 teens from 11 different tribes from across the United States. It ended Friday at Millennium Resort Scottsdale McCormick Ranch.
Throughout the week, the teens participated in team-building exercises designed build leadership skills and an understanding of tribal government and youth participation.
"This is the best leadership training in the U.S. for Native American students," said June Hamilton, an adviser who chaperoned Roughface and three other Pawnee students.
Back home in Oklahoma, Hamilton works as the school district's Indian education director.
"This is amazing; back home, I'm a one-man band. Here, they've learned lessons on leadership, pride, self-esteem and to never give up."
The teens spent Thursday working on a community-service project on the Salt River Reservation. They washed windows and raked and shoveled the garden at the community's senior center. They spent the afternoon with the elders at the center.
"We're trying to give them an augmented sense of self-confidence, public speaking and other leadership skills so they make the step from dreaming to actually making it happen," said program founder Nick Lowery.
The former NFL player and Scottsdale resident founded the program in 2002.
After the kicker's career with the Kansas City Chiefs ended, Lowery worked as an aide to former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton.
Under Clinton, he helped launch the AmeriCorps program, which provides grants for national public-service programs.
As a final project, the students presented proposals Friday to a mock tribal council. All plans were designed to improve their communities.
Ashley Susan, 18, a member of the White Mountain Apache and Walker River Paiute tribes, returned to the conference this year as a junior adviser.
bThe soon-to-be Arizona State University freshman was a participant for the past two years.
"We have this bond. There are similar issues facing our communities," Susan said.
"These kids leave here with a sense of 'How can I help?' "
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