HELENA -- Welcome to Rezology 101, a short course that mixes comedy and tragedy to explain the complexities of life in Indian Country.

It's taught by Chance Rush, a young motivational speaker and self-proclaimed rezologist who has tried to inspire more than 20,000 American Indian youth in the past five years.

This time, he's speaking at conference on race in Montana. He'll make the crowd laugh, he'll stun them silent and, in the end, he'll deliver a message of hope.

Like this story, the story of his Aunt Heavy.

"Indian women have some crazy Indian names," he said. "I have aunties named Heavy. Chubby. Sugar. Cookie."

People laughed.

"Heavy was my favorite auntie," he said. "Heavy was the greatest woman in the world. She was the most powerful Indian woman in the world. My auntie -- she could do it all."

He spoke of the day he rushed home and began calling for her: "Auntie. Auntie. Auntie."

And then he saw her through an open basement door.

She was limp. And dangling.

His mother and another aunt entered the house. The 5-year-old boy pointed to the bottom of the stairs.

Screams filled the house. The women yelled: "Get out of here. Get out of here."

"In my mind I was saying, I didn't do it. I didn't do it," Rush recalled.

"I thought she was sleeping. She was dead."

The memory of Aunt Heavy's suicide forever pierced the 29-year-old, who made an early decision to live free of drugs and alcohol.

"I knew I didn't want to be around something wrong," he said. "I always felt that if I got around something wrong that I would get in trouble. And, honestly, growing up, I never wanted to put myself in danger. You know?"

His words prove convincing for any audience, but he largely targets Indian youth.

"I grew up rough. I grew up poor. But still I never accepted that. I never accepted being poor, and I never accepted living rough. I think a lot of our people, we get addicted or we get caught up in something we don't know how to accept positive choices."

Rush brings his cultural experiences from the Hidatsa, Arapaho and Dakota tribes. He grew up on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in Fort Yates, N.D., before moving to the Southern Plains with his mother. He lives in El Reno, Okla.

After leaving the Northern Plains, Rush was a four-time All-American and won two NAIA national titles in cross country and track at Oklahoma Baptist University. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in social work.

If he's proven his ability to glide across dirt trails and rubber tracks, he's quickened his step by captivating crowds with his wit while taking on such serious topics as suicide, dead relatives, single parent homes, illiteracy and divorce.

Despite not being able to read until a sophomore in college, Rush has become a master of the spoken word, delivering each syllable in deep, resonant tones.

His message: Everyone has a God-given gift. Find it and use it for the well-being of everybody.

"I have seen other individuals -- trained educators -- who have not been able to keep the attention of the audience," said Henrietta Mann, a retired professor and Montana State University special assistant to the president.

"He is confident about his identity and as wise as a grandfather could be. He gave me a great deal of hope in our youth that they too will develop that sense of identity and know that -- just as Chance -- that we live in a different world and that we have to create bridges of understanding between and among cultures."

No matter the subject, his stories share common elements. Strong women. The Creator. His children, Abby, 5, and Caden, 2.

The crowd in Helena offered its own testimonials:

"He has a message that's very important for everyone to hear," said Marilyn Granell, a teacher from Havre. "And I don't think it matters the age or the occupation. I think he has a powerful message that may impact our nation."

Added Keith Rock of Browning: "Some people will talk about the Creator or God, and it will be heavy, and you don't want to hear that. He keeps it light, even with the sadder stories."

He's someone you would want to hang out with, Rock said.

"He's a role model."

Name: Chance Rush

Occupation: Motivational speaker, self-described rezologist

Home: El Reno, Okla.

Age: 29

Web site: www.chancerush.com

He's fast: Four-time All-American and twice national champion in cross country and track.

Jodi Rave, national correspondent for Lee Enterprises, can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@missoulian.com.