Community development, for us, has always begun with place — with Hungry Valley and the sacred ground of Star Village. For the past 24 years, we have been working as grassroots organizers, tending to this community as both a sanctuary and a test kitchen for Indigenous systems-building. What started as ceremony and local organizing has grown into a model for how Tribal communities can design and sustain their own pathways of wellness, kinship, and sovereignty.
The Star Village Project is not simply a set of programs. It is a long-term investment in rebuilding a communal way of life — a proving ground where we test, refine, and formalize structures that can be scaled across Indian Country. Every sweat, every gathering, every ceremony is part of a decades-long process of imagining and building the systems our people need to thrive.
Our weekly sweat lodge has long been the heartbeat of Star Village. For over two decades, it has anchored a rhythm of consistency and care, offering physical purification and meditative clarity. Fueled by medicines, firewood, and stones sourced from traditional lands, the lodge embodies both tradition and continuity.
Honoring matriarchal values, the Full Moon lodge creates a space of sisterhood, empowerment, and healing. These gatherings strengthen bonds across Indigenous and non-Indigenous women alike, affirming leadership and wellness through cultural practice.
Now in its 10th year, our Sun Dance has become a pillar of healing — confronting addiction, trauma, depression, anxiety, and suicide with the strength of one of Indian Country’s most powerful ceremonies. Tribal Minds ensures the infrastructure, care, and community are in place so that every participant is supported in body and spirit.
Unique to Hungry Valley and now in its 15th year, the Family Dance is our annual gathering of kinship and continuity. It reinforces a sense of belonging and reminds us that healing is not an individual act, but a shared responsibility across generations.
