Pourier, a Denver-based Oglala Lakota artist and lifelong skateboarder, started the Stronghold Society as a “Live Life Call to Action” campaign in response to a suicide epidemic at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He spent his early childhood there before his family moved to California, where he discovered the life-affirming magic of skateboarding, and has since made it his life’s work to bring skateboarding back to his people. Building skate parks at Pine Ridge and other reservations has been a key project; inviting Native youth from across the country to skate with and compete against Colorado skaters has been another.
Pourier will open the festivities at 9 a.m. with a traditional prayer song and ceremonial sage-burning to bless the sacred ground for the shredding to come in the Andy Kessler Memorial bowl competition and other events for skaters — and spectators — of all ages. Music and vendors are also part of this drug- and alcohol-free event. For more information, visit strongholdsociety.org.
Sat., July 12, 9 a.m., 2014
