Chance Rush grew up poor on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, experienced the suicide of his aunt at a young age and didn't learn how to read until he was a sophomore in college. But he says he never accepted bad things in his life.

"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 tells reporter Jodi Rave Lee.

Rush now tries to pass on a positive message to Native youth and others who will listen. As a self-proclaimed "rezologist," his Rezology 101 presentation blends humor with tragedy that observers say resonates with the audience.

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Self-taught 'rezologist' confronts with comedy (Lee Enterprises 8/25)