Native and Rural Youth

The United Nation Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), Inc. and a number of Tribal and non-Tribal organizations across the Nation are working with the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and its Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), in a collaborative effort to build upon the strengths of Native youth and their families.
Six months after running away from home, Jon had become an accomplished couch surfer. He knew what friends to call and when he had overstayed his welcome. But moving from apartment to apartment had taken a toll on his education and his health. At 17 and a senior in high school, Jon was ready to find something more safe and stable, something more like home. He wound up on the doorstep of Rose, an...
Fishing. Trapping. Hunting. Dog racing. Native young people in the mentoring program at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Fairbanks area in Alaska are learning that their elders have a lot more to offer than an hour of companionship a couple times a week. They can teach pride and selfsufficiency with a healthy dose of fun.
Does your youth-serving agency actively promote cultural proficiency? Assess your organization's cultural proficiency, and brainstorm ways to enhance it by answering the following questions.
Not too long ago, protecting the women of the Pine Ridge Reservation from domestic violence wasn't such an easy task. With a domestic violence center, but no residential facilities, program staff were often forced to drive nearly a hundred miles to transport women seeking safe housing to the nearest shelter in Rapid City, SD. And the problems didn't stop there. Take one morning, for example, when...
Total American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) population in the U.S.: 4.1 million AIAN as a percentage of U.S. population: 1.5 Number of Federally recognized Tribes: 562 Number of recognized Tribes in Alaska alone: 227 Number of square miles of the U.S. held in trust for Native American Tribes: 86,000 Area of the state of Minnesota in square miles: 87,000
Headlines from our Nation's Tribal communities can often be discouraging. As in many rural areas in the United States, opportunities for economic advancement on and near Tribal lands are harder to come by than in urban and suburban centers. Resulting poverty and joblessness can fuel a host of other problems, including poor health, substance abuse, and high rates of violence and incarceration.
The Family Violence Prevention and Services Program funds State agencies, Territories, and Indian Tribes to provide shelter to victims of family violence and their dependents and for related services, such as emergency transportation and child care. Grantees use FYSB resources to expand current service programs and to open new centers in rural and underserved areas, on Indian reservations, and in...
Would Native youth in your community benefit from a host home program?  Some ideas for getting started: 1. Find out who is already working with at-risk, homeless, or transitional youth in your community or in nearby towns.
When working with homeless or in-transition Native American youth, remember: All Native American youth are not the same. Some are highly acculturated to mainstream society; others may not be. Some want to maintain a strong connection with their Tribal culture; others may not. All Tribes are not the same.
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National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth | 5515 Security Lane, Suite 800 | North Bethesda, MD 20852 | (301) 608-8098 | ncfy@acf.hhs.gov