Programming
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Programming *
Here's a small glimpse into our programming here at Pikship Athletics.
Athletics
Serving Orleans, Weitchpec, Hoopa, and Williow Creek the core purpose of Pikship Athletics Inc. is to provide youth with the opportunity to have access and resources for various athletic endeavors, in addition to helping provide pathways of success with specific emphasis and focus on providing pathways into higher education. Through our athletic endeavors we want our Pikship Athletes to have the ability to have access to play in various sports, attended tournaments all across the world, and gain experience and exposure without the burden of having to worry about the funding to do so. We want to ensure that through the elimination of financial worry that every single Pikship Athlete has an opportunity to succeed.
Cultural Programming
Pikship, the Karuk word for fear of the shadow, was intentionally selected due to the work that we have done in the shadows. Before our non-profit founding we did everything behind the scenes, from paying to team registrations to covering travel costs because we understand the shame that youth can carry when it comes to the inability to pay. From our organization’s intentional naming and founding to our culturally competent and centered programming, Pikship Athletics Inc. has been centered on traditional ways of being, knowing, and healing through athletics long before the non-profit’s founding. Our culturally centered approach allows youth to stay in culture, focusing on the Tribal Traditions of each area we serve at Pikship. We strive to make these cultural ways of being norms. From language to traditional food gathering, fishing, eeling, processing, and eating, we hope to keep our youth mentally and physically healthy. With Pikship Athletics Inc., we want to show our youth that they have a team of people who support them and provide resources to excel athletically, academically, and culturally to provide pathways out of the cyclical nature of any intergenerational traumas and/or lack of resources they may face. As our youth grow into adults, we hope to center intergenerational learning and opportunity implementation in a way that will create lasting cycles of physical and mental health centered on traditional ways of being and knowing.
“My favorite thing about Pikship is how it brings Native youth together from different regions to build relationships, celebrate their identity, and compete in a positive, uplifting environment. The focus on cultural pride and unity sets this program apart. It’s so much more than basketball, it’s a movement that supports our kids emotionally, spiritually, and socially, while also creating a space where they feel seen and valued.”
“My daughter has learned so many athletic skills as well as how to self regulate better AND make healthy food choices.”
“Pikship Athletics has made such a strong impact on my life, probably one of the biggest. It has and will continue to influence and impact my life everyday. It taught me discipline, patience, respect, hard work, and not skills for just sports but for life as well. ”
“[Pikship has made a] positive impact. I enjoy watching my niece and nephews and daughter and other youth play sports like basketball and get to see them feel a sense of self worth. ”