Photo: Running Strong
Olympic great Billy Mills (Lakota), who surprised the world by winning a gold medal in the 10,000-meter race at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, believes dreams can come true. Since 1986, his non-profit organization Running Strong for American Indian Youth has raised millions of dollars to provide basic needs for poor Native Americans and since 2014, its Dreamstarter program has helped 80 Native American youths turn their dreams into reality. Each year, 10 applicants are given funds -- initially $10,000 and now, $20,000 - and invited to attend the five-day Dreamstarter Academy in Alexandria, Virginia. Billy told the 2023 class of Dreamstarters, who are focused on environmental justice projects, about the advice his father gave him after his mother's death when he was eight."You need a dream to fix broken wings. Find your dreams, son. It is the pursuit of your dreams that will heal you. If you do this you may have wings of an eagle."
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