BEMIDJI—A new nonprofit organization is headed for Bemidji this month for a fundraiser to help involve more Native American youth in outdoor activities.

Bryant Swenson, a 2013 graduate of BSU, along with his brother Dustin, are the founders of Tribal Fishing Adventures and have arranged for their nonprofit to hold its first fundraiser at the American Indian Resource Center on the BSU campus.

According to Swenson, the fundraiser, scheduled for Sept. 29, is a way for the organization facilitate more activities that will not only introduce Native American youth to the outdoors, but also deter them from some of the issues facing the community.

“We know that a lot Native American youth have a lot of struggles growing up on the reservation, alcohol use, drug use and violence. So we wanted to start an organization that would travel to these reservations and basically put on seminars and eventually host events to get kids in the outdoors, especially since Native Americans have a strong tie with nature,” Swenson said. “So we are focused on getting the kids out for healthy recreation activities like fishing, swimming and teaching them the importance of lake and water conservation.”

Currently the organization, which originated in March 2015, is based in Moorhead and Naytahwaush, however, Swenson said the event was arranged at BSU to help “get back to his roots.”

“Bemidji State has done great things for us,” Swenson said. “We contacted the American Indian Resource Center at BSU and they were willing to donate their ballroom for the event.”

The fundraiser will be open from 5-7:30 p.m. and will include a dinner, a silent auction and a few videos to show what the nonprofit has already done and what it plans to do in the future. Tickets for the event are $30 for the general public, and $17 for BSU students and youth age 17 and younger.

“We encourage the people of Bemijdi to come out and support the youth. The youth is our future, so we want the community to invest in our future.,” Swenson said. “In order for our communities to thrive, be successful and happy, everybody needs to show their support.”

In the future, Swenson said the organization may relocate closer to the Bemidji region because it’s at the center of the White Earth, Leech Lake and Red Lake reservations.

For more information on Tribal Fishing Adventures, the organization has set up a Facebook page.