It's early summer. Kids everywhere are packing their trunks and heading to summer camp. Two young Native Americans, Neil Benson and Alicia Swagger, are getting ready to spend another amazing summer at the Horses on the Prairie Camp near Bismark, North Dakota. For a month they'll spend their days exploring the hilly prairies and pasture lands that are home to rabbits, eagles, snakes, bison, mountain goats, and most importantly, the Nokota, a breed of horses that roam freely here.

Neil is a member of the Mandan Hidatsa tribe, and Alicia is a Chipawa. Their ancestors had a strong understanding of nature and the land they lived on. So it's no surprise that the kids still use nature to learn here at camp. Horses on the Prairie gives them a chance to participate in science, math, and technology activities with a cool spin; everything relates back to nature. For instance, they'll learn about a kind of science called botany- they study and care of plants. Alicia even says that she got an A+ on a plant project at school "because I already knew about it at camp." She also adds that camp "really is fun. They keep you active all the time."

The star attraction at camp isn't plants or numbers, it's the Sunka Wakan. That's the word members of the Native American Nokota tribe use for "horse." Neil, Alicia, and their friends learn about horsemanship, or how to care for the horses and even how to ride them!

The camp's director, Dr. Jen Janecek-Hartman says, "Wild horses love children, especially if the children have been taught to respect them and know how to behave around them."

Alicia and Neil know that when it comes to forming a bond with these wild horses, it's all about respect. Neil's ancestors knew that, too. They came to respect and tame the wild horses. Their favorite horses even slept near them at night in their earth lodges, houses that are partly underground.

So how do campers know if their horse respects them? They have to learn the horse's special language. Horses don't use words though, they use their bodies. What if a horse's ears lie flat back? Alicia or Neil could tell you that he's angry. If his ears move back and forth, the horse is paying attention to something around him.

"At first," says Neil, "my horse really didn't know me. He just kind of backed off." The magic trick, Neil explains, is patience.

Horsemanship teacher Virginia Eck says the camp "brings out the best in everyone. This is a good way to learn to love horses. It brings out something in a kid's personality It's a great thing!"

Summer after summer, Neil and Alicia are sorry when camp ends. But things end with a big celebration. Campers join their families for special songs and dances that their ancestors performed so long ago.

As Alicia and Neil know by heart, this is "The Nokota Way."