1. Native American Youth Symbolic “Rites of Passage”
“The Vision Quest, or perceiving quest, is the way we must begin this search. We must all follow our Vision Quest to
discover ourselves, to learn how we perceive of ourselves, and to find our relationship with the world around us”.
~ Hyemeyohsts Storm’s “Seven Arrows” (1972) ~
Introduction
Research indicates mentoring and “rites of passage” type programs can change the course of a young
person's life. Offering positive, consistent, and long-term relationships with mentors or “youth guides” can
increase a variety of protective factors (i.e. self esteem, meaning, and problem solving and healthy
decision making) and decrease corresponding risk factors for youth (i.e. substance use, school drop-out,
gang violence, suicide etc (Grossman and Rhodes, 2002).”
Include local tribal leaders.
When working with Native American communities the program director must invite tribal leaders to take
part on the advisory or mentor recruitment team. If these leaders become part of the decision making
process, they will more fully understand the benefits of youth mentoring and support the overall mission
for the youth of their community.
If just one well respected tribal leader champions the program—spreads the word to others within the
community--it can be a tremendous boon to the rites of passage initiative. In the mentoring profession, the
term “champion” refers to a person of power and influence who makes a wholehearted commitment to
support a mentoring program. This is can be accomplished by helping to recruit prospective mentors or
guides, by seeking financial and other key resources, or by making the connections that help forge
collaborative partnerships.
Construct a total system of symbols with deep meaning.
Hold rites of passage meetings within the tribal community—not at school-based sites—but in natural
world, private or sacred settings. Once the initiative has begun, the mentors/guides should meet on a
monthly basis to build relationships, ensure strong communication, and participate in practice-based
rituals led by experienced Guides. The rationale for coming together at culturally important places is
purposeful, intentional, and constitutes a total systems approach that includes; words, ideas, rituals,
pictures, gestures, sounds, social groupings - that evoke the deepest feelings and most important
meaning within the historically lived experience of the tribal community, their ancestors, and Mother
Nature. In addition, by holding meetings at comfortable, familiar and sacred settings, the program
emphasis is on the importance in finding community-based solutions for caring for and connecting with
youth.
The various symbols are parameters that situate an individual within their community while also providing
a comprehensive and persuasive outlook on life.
Map out a path of ultimate transformation.
Tribal rites of passage embody a way of life, a praxis designed to restore wholeness and ultimate
meaning to human existence by involvement with the source of life, the sacred (Burke, 2004). The focus
is on this is what and how it is to be who I am being in this tribal community.
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2. Native American Youth Symbolic “Rites of Passage”
The rites of passage program director’s task is not one of seeking to impose a directive change, to fix or
to ameliorate the lived inter-relational world of the youth, but, rather, to attempt to clarify it so that its
explicit, implicit, and long-held assumptions, values, and beliefs can be examined and thoroughly
understood.
Provide a menu of volunteer opportunities.
As it is a huge commitment for individuals to commit to mentor/guide a young person for an extended
time, there are also other ways to volunteer. Other possibilities are to dance, pray or sing for youth and
their matches on a consistent basis. This can also help the tribal community to maintain an awareness of
the mentoring/rites of passage program, and its needs. In addition to sacred rituals, possibilities for
engaging others include:
• Helping obtain food for an event
• Offering bus transportation to a field trip and providing chaperones
• Donating space for trainings
• Securing financial resources
• Developing a collaborative community service event
• Suggesting additional venues for recruiting pitches on an ongoing basis
• Nominating mentor/guide candidates or suggesting groups who would be valuable community
partners.
Offer to serve.
Do not come empty handed. When you are approaching a tribal community to seek mentors/guides or
other resources bring something of value to give them. For example, provide the tribe with information on
other resources available in the community (e.g., other children’s programs, referrals to mentoring
programs that might be a better fit for their children than yours, daycare services, or health and mental
health resources). An additional example is that a tribal community might be looking for volunteers to
participate in their important events, or to help at a food drive. Be prepared to provide this assistance.
Provide no-cost trainings.
Another way to collaborate with tribal communications is to offer staff and even men’s and women’s
groups training on how to interact with young people. Put together a brief workshop using the strategies
and philosophies from your mentoring/rites of passage program, and during this training, provide
education along with fun and interactive exercises that will show individuals how to have greater impact
on their youth. After covering subjects such as, what a mentor/guide is and is not, the benefits of
developing relationships of trust and respect, and tools for communication it would be good to mention the
tribe’s rites of passage program. Inform them that if they are committed to grasping a better
understanding of youth and if they are really set on improving their own skills that they should consider
joining to assist with the rites of passage program for just one year.
Replicate the program.
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3. Native American Youth Symbolic “Rites of Passage”
The bottom line in reducing staff burnout is to let staff know that you appreciate them. Praising,
recognizing, and supporting the staff is key, but it is also critical to make them feel a real and important
part of the community. Solicit staff feedback regularly, and use what you learn to make program
improvements. Ask staff to think creatively about what they do and make suggestions to help the program
—then, as much as possible, use their suggestions. Include staff in planning meetings and in decision-
making whenever possible, and create an atmosphere where everyone in the program feels that they are
part of the mission of the organization and tribal community.
Build partnerships.
• Assess local tribal communities for the likelihood of collaborations.
• Look at their history of working with other youth-serving entities and other characteristics, such as
the age group, and socio-economic background of their members.
• To gain an audience with the targeted community, determine if anyone in your organization
knows its leaders or members.
• Spend the time needed to develop trusting relationships.
• Attend their ceremonies and events, and eat meals with them, if possible.
• Sell your effort to the tribe’s leader. Whether a healer or medicine man and encourage them to
develop messages to their members that highlight mentoring relationships in a spiritual context.
Ask if you can follow up by providing a recruiting pitch.
• Give presentations to the tribal men and women’s groups.
• Invite elder leaders to become part of the decision-making (and recruiting) process by asking
them participate on the advisory team.
• Offer your organization’s assistance.
• Consider ideas such as providing resource information to members, volunteers to staff their
activities, and no-cost trainings to staff and men and women’s groups.
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