Wakaya – Rising up for Native Health

CONNECT WITH THE LAND

ORIGINAL TEACHINGS

COMMUNITY

What is Wakaya?

Wakaya is a Choctaw word meaning “to rise up.”

The Wakaya program is a wellness and leadership program for Native youth rooted in land, story and cultural identity.

With a balance of curriculum, creativity and community, Wakaya is designed to support each participant’s leadership capabilities, physical health, cultural knowledge and community engagement. These tools prepare participants to manage their health wholistically––in line with traditional values and their ancestors’ dreams.

The Program

Wakaya is a program oriented around traditional Indigenous notions of wholistic wellness. Our curriculum approaches wholistic wellness around these four foundations:

1. Physical Health – Hiking, playing team sports, and eating right to honor our bodies.

2. Cultural Health – Engaging with modern and traditional forms of storytelling and taking part in cultural arts.

3. Community Health – Honing communication skills and serving our communities.

4. Respect for Place – Visiting and gaining respect for the history, beauty and biodiversity of our region to align our vision of health with what our home has to offer.

Additional activities include film screenings, site visits, sit-down discussions with community leaders, seasonal activities, and more!

In addition, each cohort will participate in one overnight camping trip and participate in follow-up sessions following the conclusion of their program.

Enrollment

Signups are open for Summer 2026 and Fall 2026 programming.

To sign up for Wakaya, click the link below. Eligible participants are accepted on a first come, first served basis.

The deadline to apply for Summer programming (Late July/Early August) is July 6.

Additional Perks

Wakaya is completely free for all participants!

In addition, participants receive:

$350 stipend (with full participation in the program)
A Fitbit or equivalent exercise tracker
Athletic Swag (running shoes / exercise clothes)

A Study by and for Native People

What is Wakaya? Who put together the program? What support does Wakaya have to offer free enrollment and participation incentives?

Wakaya: Rising Up for Native Health is a program established in partnership between the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute, the University of Washington School of Social Work and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. It is a study project developed to assess the impact of culturally-grounded, outdoor-based preventative health programming for Native youth.

This program, supported by preliminary data on this approach among adults and acceptability data from youth, will assess the culturally-grounded intervention’s impact on its participants’ physical activity, sedentary behavior, and healthful food habits. The research team comprises experts in American Indian health from academia as well as the Choctaw Nation and collaborative efforts among two Tribal Departments – Historic Preservation and Behavioral Health. Findings will be disseminated scientifically as well as shared with the Tribe for programmatic implementation.

What does all this mean for Wakaya’s participants?

Participants take part in an innovative wellness and leadership program with a cohort of other Native youth. In addition, due to the research background of this program, participants will periodically be asked to fill out surveys and report benchmark data on their physical activity and decision-making habits. All of this information will be kept anonymous in the final report.