"A $200 annual budget, a cramped office above a bar and a mission: to improve the lives of Native people in Lincoln and beyond.

For a small but committed group of people, that's all that was needed 40 years ago to lay the foundation for a social service agency that today occupies a 22,000-square-foot building and commands a $1.12 million annual budget.

The Indian Center, 1100 Military Road, plans to celebrate its meager beginnings and its ambitious plans for the future with a 40th anniversary celebration Friday and Saturday.

"I've seen the center go through good times, bad times and in between and still surviving," said Clyde Tyndall, the center's executive director. "The center will continue. There's a need."

The center has plenty to celebrate as it looks back on 40 years of serving Lincoln's low-income and Native population.

A group of four local Native leaders and advocates founded the center in 1969, determined to improve the lives of the 1,440 Native people living in Lincoln.

Among their goals: help Natives adapt to urban life, inform them about available services, combat juvenile delinquency among Native youth and work to eliminate discrimination."

Get the Story:
Kevin Abourezk: Indian Center plans 40th anniversary celebration (The Lincoln Journal Star 9/17)

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