Tag Archives: Aboriginal Youth

Strength-based programs for Indigenous youth

For my final weblog, I wanted to include some of the articles and resources that I have found helpful for my final project. I realized as I started working on it that I needed to look at programs and activities that have data to support their effectiveness. Many of these links are focused on if and how strength-based programs and extra-curricular activities can be beneficial for Indigenous Youth in Canada.

1. Uniting our Nations

I came across this program while reading an article by Crooks, Chiodo and Thomas (2009). Their article presents information about strength-based programs that are aimed at building and improving school engagement for Indigenous Youth. This article is particularly important for my final project because they presented concrete successes and failures of the programs based on student participation and feedback. Uniting our Nations is a range of programs developed for Indigenous students in the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario. The programs, which were developed in collaboration with Indigenous educators, students, counsellors, and community partners, include an elementary mentoring program, a secondary peer mentoring program, a grade 9 Four R Health program and a literacy test preparation program.

2. Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth: a Toolkit for Service Providers

Another resource by Crooks, Chiodo and Thomas (2009) that I found interesting was this toolkit they developed. The objective was to explore how to make programs more relevant and empowering for Indigenous Youth. The information is broken down as such:

  • Section 1: Background and Overview
  • Section 2: Guiding Principles
    • Principle 1: Understanding and Integrating Cultural Identity
    • Principle 2: Increasing Youth Engagement
    • Principle 3: Fostering Youth Empowerment
    • Principle 4: Establishing and Maintaining Effective Partnerships
  • Section 3: Opportunities and Challenges in School-Based Prevention Programming
  • Section 4: Research and Evaluation

Focusing on the importance of a strengths-based approach in supporting Indigenous youth and helping them succeed, this toolkit uses case studies and analyses different programs to present ideas and strategies for how to create better programming.

3. McKellar Park Case Study

This article is a case study of the McKellar Park Central School in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where 50% of the students identify as First Nations. The school uses a strength-based approach in order to address issues of bullying and to support First Nations students. Of particular interest is their use of the Ambassador’s club, where students, selected by the staff, spend time with administration during selected lunch hours. They use the identified strengths to work on social skills and the students help come up with ways to improve certain aspects of their classes/school and to come up with activities for other students. The school also runs a New Experiences Program, in conjunction with the Children’s Centre Thunder Bay. Students meet once a week and parents/caregivers are invited. The workshops focus on the students’ needs, such as trauma, grief and coping skills. Both these programs have helped support First Nations students and have helped improve their school experience.

This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative data from the programs:

4. Participation in sports and cultural activities among Aboriginal children and youth

This article refers back to one of my links from the second module, the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) of children and youth. Using information and data from the survey, Smith, Findlay and Crompton (2010) unpack the participation of Inuit, Metis and off-reserve First Nations children in sports and cultural activities. Participation is increased with regards to higher levels of parental education, time spent with Elders and involvement in other activities.

5. Tides Canada: Northern Well-Being

Tides Canada has a variety of initiatives aimed at encouraging northern leadership among young Indigenous peoples and fostering strong and healthy northern families. They also support the knowledge of natural resources in order to create sustainable communities. Their initiatives include: Arctic Funders Collaborative, Dene Nahjo, Northern Youth Leadership and Our Voices.

Weblog 3

Module 3 Weblog

 

https://indigenousworks.ca/en/resources/promising-practices/hydro-youth-program

This is an article about the fantastic program Manitoba Hydro has started to get young women interested in careers in STEM. Manitoba Hydro recognized that Aboriginal youth are an untapped resource. They formed a committee to understand and remove the systemic barriers Aboriginal people face in the job market. This particular recruitment initiative takes the form of week long summer camps for girls that introduces them to STEM. As the articles says, the ripple effect of this program is far reaching. Not only are these young women now interested in careers in STEM, it has also boosted their overall sense of confidence.

 

http://www.wisest.ualberta.ca/Programs/TalesfromtheScienceBuffalo

This program from the University of Alberta bill itself as “A series of interactive classroom presentations with engaging science activities that honour Aboriginal Ways of Knowing and introduce careers in the Sciences.” The presenters visit schools for 2 days and offer science “classes” that are linked to the Alberta curriculum and honour Aboriginal perspectives. This program comes from WISEST: Women in Scholarships, Engineering, Science and Technology, making the benefits twofold- seeing how Western science and Aboriginal ways of knowing can be linked, and having female role models for young Aboriginal youth.

 

http://www.animikii.com/home

Animikii is an Indigenous technology solutions company based in British Columbia. I have included this is my list because of the incredible partnerships and programs they have developed. My focus of my final project is about Aboriginal female youth in STEM. With the expression “You cannot be what you cannot see” in mind, I have been looking for Indigenous tech companies with a strong female presence. From their About Us page, this company appears to have a 50/50 ratio of men to women, which is nearly unheard of in the tech industry.

 

https://alis.alberta.ca/tools-and-resources/conte

This booklet published by the government of Alberta breaks down myths, offers resources and real women’s stories to inspire women to enter non-traditional jobs. There is one story about Brenda Holder, an Aboriginal women who felt the deck was stacked against her, in terms of opening her own business. She was connected with a mentor and created a business plan and is now the successful owner of Mahikan Trails, a Canmore based adventure company. In the article she says “As Aboriginal people sometimes we believe we don’t have much to offer. But often it’s our differences that produce the most amazing opportunities.”

 

http://www.indigenousyouthwellness.ca/ask-auntie

This is an online program for girls, ages 10-14. Ask Auntie aims to “replicate the traditional learning relationship between youth and their Aunties and Elders”. Their target age is a critical time for girls, as studies show that their mental health takes a sharp decline around this age. This program promotes cultural understanding and community connections, and is grouped into themes such as identity, culture and connection, relationships and safety, body knowledge and body transitions, and wellness and healing. The full program is arranged in a curriculum format, but they also have a YouTube channel that anyone can access.

Programs for Indigenous Youth in Canada

For my second post in Module 2, I wanted to share some of the websites I did not list in the discussion board that I have found for my project on extra-curricular activities and school based programs designed for Indigenous Youth in Canada.

1. StatCan Participation in Sports and Cultural Activities
Using information from the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) of children and youth, StatCan compiled information about Aboriginal youth participation in sports and cultural activities. The survey includes important data that made a connection between youth that participated in sports and those that also participated in extra-curricular activities. The survey also explains that the use of an Aboriginal language and spending time with Elders are connected to participation in cultural activities.

2. Indigenous Youth Futures Partnership
The Indigenous Youth Futures Partnership is based out of Carleton University and is a seven-year SSHRC-funded partnership grant. They work with First Nations communities in Northwestern Ontario. The objective of the program is to encourage young community leaders by enhancing cross-generational relationships, empowering youth voices, strengthening cultural identity and helping sustain communities.

3. IndigenEYEZ

IndigenEYEZ hosts youth camps for Indigenous youth and adults in BC. The program uses the Creative Community Model to empower and inspire future community leaders. They integrate a holistic approach, by integrating four essential relationships: with self, with others, with nature, and with culture. They host annual summer camps and offer customized community workshops.

Module 4: Journey’s End

http://www.our-story.ca/

 

This website showcases stories and poems written by Aboriginal youth from across Canada.  Each year Aboriginal Arts and Stories, holds a contest inviting youth to write about their experiences whether they are fiction or non-fiction.  If you teach Aboriginal youth, you should think about submitting their work to this contest.  You could also invite students to read the pieces that are featured.  One year, one of my student’s from Kahnawake made the top 10 in her age category.

 

#WeNeedYouHere

Suicide is now seen as contagious, the good news is that prevention is also seen as contagious.  Many Native communities are turning to the #WeNeedYouHere hashtag to spread awareness about how much an individual will be missed if they commit suicide.
 
http://www.wernative.org/
 
We R Native, is a website that was started in 2012 by Native youth for Native youth.  The site contains a plethora of Health and Wellness information, as well as an “Ask Auntie” page in which youth can ask “Auntie” questions ranging from sexuality to mental health.
 
 
Life in the Native American Oil Protest Camps 
 
This photo series focuses on life on the Indian reservation .  This reservation is the location of the largest gathering of Native Americans in over 100 years. Indigenous people from across the United States and Canada are living in camps on the Standing Rock reservation, they are there to protest the creation of a new oil pipeline that will run through their reservation, not only causing destruction to the land but also destroying their lives forever.
 
 

Support 4 Northern Kids – Emotional Suppression Article

 

 

Support 4 Northern Kids is an organization that supports youth in northern Ontario in order to promote healthy living and healthy communities. The main site offers information about services available, community events, and other resources.  I was specifically interested in the resource page and an article titled: “HEARTSONG: EXPLORING EMOTIONAL SUPPRESSION AND DISCONNECTION IN ABORIGINAL CANADA”. The article makes links between residential schools, community disruption and the emotional suppression that is commonplace in many aboriginal communities.  The article explores causes as well as traditional healing.

Main site: Support4northernkids.ca

Article: http://www.support4northernkids.ca/uploaded/Heartsong%20Final.pdf

Brendan Clark

Module 1: Post 4