MISSOULA, Mont.—Sweeney Windchief never realized that hard work could be fun.

Windchief, Fort Peck Assiniboine, is developing a cultural revitalization project on the Fort Peck Reservation in eastern Montana. As he describes it, the project seeks to restore the traditional cultural knowledge of his people and encourage young people to choose a path of freedom, respect, education and spirituality in their lives.

The project has been in development for slightly more than a year, and finding momentum to keep the project rolling has been tough for Windchief, who lives in Salt Lake City.

"Native communities need a place to gather where the sense of community can be reestablished," Windchief said about his project in an e-mail response to interview questions. “We need a place to tell stories, gather for appropriate recognition, encourage cultural retention and foster healthy community support."

Windchief, who earned a master’s degree in counselor education at the University of Montana, is part of Americans for Indian Opportunity’s American Indian Ambassadors Program. As an ambassador, he developed his cultural revitalization project to fulfill the program’s community initiative requirement.

LaDonna Harris, Comanche, established Americans for Indian Opportunity 36 years ago, and its ambassador program was created in 1993. Ambassadors are selected in a highly competitive process, which includes an official application with two nominations and a proposal outlining a plan for a community-based project.

In October, Windchief and Josh Brown, a University of Montana graduate, accompanied David Beck, a Native American Studies professor at the university, to Washington, D.C., to participate in activities for the ambassadors program.

Events included tours of research facilities in the Washington area and a meeting with Fred Harris, a former Democratic senator from Oklahoma and an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976.

“This program has become one of the most valued learning experiences I have ever had,” Windchief said. “Each ambassador has become part of an extended family that contributes to the confirmation of Native values.”

Beck, a former faculty member for the ambassadors program and now acting chair of Montana’s Native American Studies Department, helped to develop the community initiative portion of the ambassadorship. While in Washington, he spoke to the ambassadors about tribal sovereignty, governance and self-determination.

“When you have an opportunity like this, part of the opportunity includes a responsibility,” Beck said in an interview. “Since the purpose of the program is to develop leadership in Indian communities, part of the responsibility should be giving back to the community.”

Beck became involved in the program while teaching in Chicago at Native American Education Services, the nation’s only college program that is independent, and Native owned and controlled. Beck and Harris are friends, and Beck said he felt the program was worth getting involved in.

“She’s trying to creating change for people, which for me, seemed like a very valuable thing to do,” Beck said of Harris. “She’s a true visionary.”

For Windchief, the program has been a steppingstone to protecting the culture of his people.

“Every season, more elders are called to leave us and go with their relatives,” he said. “Each time this happens, more language and traditional knowledge is lost. The children are hungry for the knowledge, language and the stories.”