Americans for the Arts presents our Annual Leadership Awards as part of the 2022 Annual Convention. These awards recognize the achievements of individuals and organizations committed to enriching their communities through the arts.

The 2022 Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership is presented to Julie Garreau (Lakota name Wičhaȟpi Epatȟaŋ Wiŋ). Garreau is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and is the executive director of the nonprofit Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Since 1988, she has taken CRYP from a small youth center to a campus that includes youth and teen centers, art institute, garden, and social enterprises. 

A graduate of South Dakota’s Huron University, Garreau was the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe’s education services specialist for 15 years, and during that time she served for five years on the CRST Police Commission—three of those years as chairperson. She is no stranger to recognition for the incredible work CRYP done. In 2017, she and her staff received Americans for the Arts’ Robert E. Gard Award for the innovative, groundbreaking Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Lakota Arts Institute, Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, and RedCan Graffiti Jam. In 2018 CRYP was the honoree for the David Rockefeller pARTnership Award for their teen internships in social enterprise, native food sovereignty, indigenous cooking, wellness, and the arts. And in 2019, Julie received the Arts Education Award for her substantial contribution to the advancement of arts education. 

In addition to completing several high-profile fellowships over the years, Julie has been recognized with such prestigious awards as the Bush Prize for Innovation, Spirit of Dakota Award, Presidential Points of Light Award, and Tim Wapato Public Advocate of the Year Award. She is currently a 2022 Vital Village Fellow.

Her dedication to youth advocacy and to empower the next generation of community members while instilling a sense of pride in Lakota culture has reached a much larger audience. Read more at lakotayouth.org about Julie and CRYP’s work. 

The Selina Roberts Ottum Award for Arts Leadership recognizes an individual working in arts management who has made a meaningful contribution to their local community and who exemplifies extraordinary leadership qualities.