New play space built at Vermilion Boys and Girls Club

VERMILION RESERVATION- Kaboom! It could be a loud explosion. But it might be something extraordinary. In this case, it was a group of volunteers coming together to build a new playground at the Boys and Girls Club on the Vermilion Reservation.
It was like magic. In less than three days the old playground equipment was dismantled (and will be reassembled at another location), and a much larger, all-new play structure was assembled in its place. And, the cost, thanks to a grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s (SMSC) Indigefit program, was free.
“We needed a new park for a long time,” said Monica Porter, youth development coordinator at the Vermilion Boys and Girls Club. “This is pretty amazing. The kids are so excited.”
A first for Indigefit
The tribe partnered with KABOOM!, a nonprofit that installs play spaces in underserved areas around the country. Together they identified the top five play space needs on Minnesota Indian reservations and in areas with higher concentrations of Native American youth. The Vermilion site was one of the top identified in the state, and it is the first new play space created through the program.
Indigefit co-chairs Ashley Cornforth, SMSC secretary/treasurer, and Natasha Hacker, SMSC vice-chair, attended the final build day last Thursday.
“Our youth are our next leaders,” Cornforth said.
Play spaces are only one part of Indigefit. The $6 million campaign also funds flag football programs in collaboration with the Minnesota Vikings. It also funds a youth running program with the Twin Cities Marathon, in which kids worked with area running clubs and then ran their own 5K as part of marathon weekend. By the end of 2028, Indigefit will have funded $1.5 million in play space construction in Native communities and urban areas.
Designed by kids
Children who will use the play space got a seat at the design table. A KABOOM! group visited the Boys and Girls Club this summer and worked with children on the design. Landscape Structures, a playground manufacturer in Delano, Minn., turned that design into an actual play space. It includes all the children’s top picks: multiple slides, swings, climbing walls, monkey bars, a spinner, a zip line, and a large climbable structure with plenty of room to play on or under.
Travis Vake, head of the Bois Forte Boys and Girls Club programs, said a new playground has been a priority since he started on the job over six years ago.
“This is our kids’ vision,” he said, “and we will have community buy-in to help care for this.” Vake noted the playground has cultural aspects, with Ojibwe signage and a focus on area wildlife.
“The Shakopee Nation is incredible,” Vake said. “This will be a great part of our community for years to come.” He said a second SMSC grant will help enlarge the playground and park area at the Nett Lake Boys and Girls Club and Nett Lake Elementary School next year.
The clubs at Vermilion and Nett Lake offer free afterschool and summer programming for all area children, not just tribal members. That includes Fridays, when ISD 2142 schools are not in session. This summer, the clubs focused on swimming and water safety, with Nett Lake children traveling to Vermilion once or twice a week. Those lessons will continue this winter at the Fortune Bay pool.
A community build
Volunteers ranged from younger parents to elders.
“It was a small but mighty turnout,” said Eunice Cho, from KABOOM!.
Julia Boshkaykin was excited to put in some elbow grease. Her two older daughters, who attend the Boys and Girls Club, helped design the play elements, and she said they couldn’t wait to play on it.
The Bois Forte maintenance crew, led by Kevin Strong, brought equipment and manpower that sped the work. Embarrass-Vermillion Federal Credit Union sent volunteers all three days, and Minnesota North-Vermilion also sent volunteers. Volunteers were well fed thanks to donated meals and snacks from the MDH Tobacco Cessation Program and the Bois Forte Food Sovereignty Program.
Tribal council members Millie Holmes, Janeal Goggleye, and David Morrison Sr. helped with finishing touches. Holmes was one of many volunteers who donned gloves and deftly handled wheelbarrow loads of wood shavings to create the safe playground surface. Morrison tried out one of the new slides (rather bumpy, he said). He seemed especially pleased with the colors, mostly purple and gold.
“Vikings colors,” he said.
Morrison said the playground will give kids more chances to exercise their bodies, not just their thumbs, miming playing a video game as he said it. He also pointed out the nearby buildings that were built with major SMSC gifts.
“We can’t be more thankful,” he said.
A short ceremony was held Thursday afternoon once the play space was substantially completed. It included a blessing by Jaylen Strong. David Morrison Jr. and two others drummed and sang the “Honor Song” and “Traveling Song.”
“I remember playing on the old playground here,” said Phil Brodeen, a tribal member, attorney for SMSC, and Bois Forte Tribal Judge. “This one is twice as big.”
Brodeen said the playground is another benefit of Indian gaming.
“This is helping Indian country as a whole,” he said.