Bicycling around Riverwood Golf Course between May and September helped Dennis Renville lose 30 pounds last year.

It's a lifestyle change that helped decrease his risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, the first, second and fourth leading causes of death among American Indians.

Renville, who is the United Tribes Technical College's wellness director, would advocate that it is a lifestyle change that could lower a person's risk for death by unintentional injury, the third leading cause of death among Indians. A healthier lifestyle can make a person less likely to be suicidal or use drugs, Renville said.

Education, enforcement and environmental modification are the tenets of the wellness program at United Tribes. It is done with culture in mind. It serves about 50 different tribes.

Meeting the needs of the different tribal members means looking at similarities within their cultures, Renville said.

A rotunda in the new wellness center shows the combining of cultures into one area. It's an area that will have water to the west and fire to the east. Students can come in and pray or gather their thoughts in a peaceful setting in what way fits their cultural traditions.

The tribal college is in the middle of construction on the $2.7-million wellness center. Four primary sources of funds for the building are the U.S Department of Education, USDA Rural Development, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Prior Lake, Minn., and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The wellness center will centralize its student services, provide more space for physical activities and look after a person's spiritual well being. It is scheduled to open in September during the International Pow-Wow.

"I think (the new building) will bring a lot more opportunities for students," injury prevention major Tina Fallis said.

She graduates in May and plans to go to South Dakota School of Mines to complete her bachelor's degree. She would have liked to finish her bachelor's degree at United Tribes, if it was offered.

UnitedTribes president David Gipp convened a task force about possibly offering four-year degrees in public health, indigenous studies and elementary education. The areas correspond to the types of jobs found in the reservation communities. The primary jobs on the reservations are with Indian health, Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe.

The wellness center will provide athletic facilities, counseling, chemical addiction counseling, health services and the dormitory wellness program. Currently, these services or facilities are spread across campus. In some cases, students do not want to be seen going to seek help, and this building will help blur the differences of a student going to the wellness center for help, to pray in the spiritual center or to work out in the weight room.

Wellness activities also include a walking program and nutrition information. The tribal college has a cookbook of recipes submitted by student, faculty and staff. It's called "The Family Rezipe Book."

Also, students in the injury prevention program, like Fallis, go off campus to talk to students about wearing seat belts on the reservations.

The college also provides a mentoring program to help ease the transition into college life off the reservation, Renville said.

"I think that it is very important to want to see their peoples leading by example," Fallis said.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@;bismarcktribune.com.)