Recently, a man wrote a letter to the editor, in a local paper, giving a colorful version of what is wrong with the political machine in Washington, D.C. and concluded his lengthy criticism with a statement about how this country is in a severe leadership crisis.

Of course some of the criticism is justified, especially in light of the budget gridlock America has had to suffer through these last few months, but the writer brings up an important point for people in Indian country to think about and consider.

Are we in the same political shape as the good ol' boys in Washington, D.C., when it comes to the quality of Indian leaders? And an equally important question: Are we getting our children ready to be the leaders of tomorrow?

The answer to these questions lie at the local level, but if a recent Youth Leadership Retreat held in Tampa, Florida December 7-10, 1995 is any indication then all is not lost in Indian country and the future holds promise for tribal leadership.

More than 100 team members were present representing the Ho Chunk of Wisconsin, Oneida of Wisconsin, Turtle Mountain Chippewa of North Dakota, Confederated Tribe of Siletz of Oregon, Lac du Flambeau of Wisconsin, Sac & Fox Tribe of Kansas, Lower Elwha Klallam of Washington, Menominee of Wisconsin, Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Crow of Montana tribal housing authorities.

Retreat activities included large group meetings, educational workshops and team building and planning. The goal of the retreat was for the participants to develop a sense of purpose, community and confidence as well as a solid plan for impacting and involving youth in their housing community.

This intensive three and a half day retreat was sponsored by the Youth Leadership Development Project (YLDP), a program of DCCCA, Inc. in Lawrence, Kansas, and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing of Urban Development (HUD).

A strong suit of the retreat was the excellent staff put together by YLDP. Trainers included: David Brown Eagle of the Spokane Tribe in Washington, Mo Smith of Albuquerque, NM, Darryl Tonemah of Shawnee, Oklahoma, Richard Torrez and Maggie Escobedo-Steele of Sacramento, California, Jacob Florez of Tucson, Arizona and Ken Sattler of Lame Deer, MT. They were joined by the regular staff of YLDP: Colleen Pederson, Bruce Beale, Lori Alvarado and Ron Alexander. The staff offered years of leadership expertise and made the training an experience to be remembered for a lifetime.

Leadership training for youth is nothing new but it is a needed component for all Indian tribes. To ignore this fact is foolish arrogance in a tribe's long-range plan.

The way the youth threw themselves into the training showed an initiative and potential and hope for the future leaders of Indian country. And it was not easy to get to Tampa. Many of the teams did a large amount of fund-raising. They wanted to help themselves and not totally depend on adults. Others had to go through a selection process. Yet, the hard work paid off.

An important element to many of the teams success in getting to the retreat was a commendable effort on the part of the tribal governments to contribute financially to the trip. So often the young people are forgotten and left to fend for themselves.

The youth from this retreat will take the skills and expertise they acquired back to their reservations and in time will make a contribution to improve their Indian society. It won't happen with every one of the youth because like an anonymous writer said "Leaders are like eagles. They don't flock...you find them one at a time."

But, if the eagerness displayed in the eyes of the many young Indian people at this retreat is a barometer, then there will be more than one eagle to come out of this meeting and that says more than words can express for the future of Indian leadership.