Football legend Stephen Michael will be a keynote speaker at the Global Indigenous Youth Summit in South Dakota next month.

An invitation was extended to the Stephen Michael Foundation after YMCA staff caught an episode of the Front Bar featuring Mr Michael.

The Foundation sees the Summit as an exciting opportunity for learning and cultural exchange with Indigenous peoples from across north America, with Native American youth delegates potentially joining the Foundation's two-day leadership camp in Perth in the future.

Mr Michael, an Indigenous football icon and among the greatest players of all time, said it took a bit of time for the enormity of the opportunity to hit home.

"When Pete (from YMCA) rang me and asked me would you like to come and speak, I didn't realise how big a deal it was. The further we get down the track, two things stand out: For me to go over and speak to the group of people going through the same situation as Indigenous people in Australia, and to see how we can go along improving each other's wellbeing," he told National Indigenous Times.

"It's a great thrill. You would not dream of it; they are expecting 16 Indigenous nations to be represented… Just off a TV show called the Front Bar."

The US YMCA is funding the important trip to the Summit, to be held at the YMCA Camp Marrowbone August 16-19.

Foundation Regional Manager Rory Yates said fortunate timing meant he would be able to attend as well.

"Stephen was invited across as a keynote speaker by the YMCA at the Global Indigenous Youth Summit on the Cheyenne River reservation in South Dakota. I was lucky enough to be in the US at the same time so I changed my travel plans to attend," he said, adding that Program Coordinator Ijah Coyle, a Noongar man from Collie, will also be at the Summit.

"It will be interesting to go, meet with different peoples and different cultural groups, who are facing the same challenges, and we are also interested in the strengths of their cultures. To go over there and see the role of culture in their day to day lives," said Mr Yates.

"It looks pretty remote, and they still live a quite traditional lifestyle on sovereign land, self-governed land with their own government."

Mr Michael said the key goal will be examining "how we can improve each other's outlook".

"We can compare these situations in which things are not done properly on both sides of the world," he said.

"Indigenous people are not getting treated right and we need to improve that situation long term, for our future."

Mr Yates said the Stephen Michael Foundation is looking forward to sharing what they've learned with other Summit participants.

"We have had some pretty good successes bringing sport to remote communities, where it is hard to organise because of distances and other factors, we have had some success and I know they are interested in picking our brains on that sort of thing," he said.

"We also do remote learning, through our programs in the Northern Goldfields, Murchison and Gascoyne Regions of WA. We have staff that travel there once a fortnight, and for the weeks we are not there we have piloted an online leadership program which is really positive for the school kids and the teachers, they really enjoy it. The combination of online and real life relationships works."

Foundation chief executive Paul Mugambwa, also - like Mr Michael - a former South Fremantle player, said the organisation uses a range of ways to engage with young people.

"Engaging with young people is so important, and sport is our main tool to do that but as we have grown as an organisation, we realised it's one of the tools we can use. Not every kid loves sport, and we have been adding extra elements to our program including the artwork digital design and event management… Once kids are engaged it's about building them up, building their confidence and empowering them in different community settings," he told National Indigenous Times.

"We measure this with surveys and stats and focus groups. We partner with Notre Dame on the research, and the biggest thing coming through is building self-confidence of the kids, and that is backed up with schools and teachers saying the kids that they had almost given up on had turned things around and are really engaging with their future."

Stephen Michael Foundation business development manager Julie Jackson notes that the Foundation works in both school and community settings, and with people of all backgrounds and situations, to maximise their impact.

Mr Mugambwa noted that one of the Foundation's key programs works with young people with a disability in school and out of school.

"We want to be able to offer something that can engage with everyone," he said.

The Foundation also works in youth justice, visiting Banksia Hill Detention Centre twice a week for nearly three years and looking to expand their presence.

"Outside of that, we have started the youth justice program in Meekatharra where we are working with the Department of Justice and Hope Community Services," Mr Mugambwa said.

"The advantage is we form a connection with the kids in the community and those inside as well.

"We are not an old organisation, five to six years old, and we are getting a lot of requests from all over the state, but unfortunately, we don't have the resources to match the requests. While we would love to do more, we can't."

He noted that the Foundation had made a request for more federal funding to meet demand, but had not received a response to date.

The Foundation's disability programs receive some federal funds, but the bulk of its services rely on state funding and private and corporate philanthropy.

"It is a challenge, particularly in remote communities, we will work with one and the communities nearby will ask 'come and do that with us'. We get a lot of requests out of the Pilbara, we get asked about the Kimberley, staff get asked to do more in our current zones, both metro and regional, but we don't have the resources."

Ms Jackson noted that the Foundation targets areas where there is limited support for youth, going to work where the need is at its greatest.