Youth Heritage Programs
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I have
seen young people, especially, losing the elements of their heritage that are
most essential to them. In many cases, they cannot speak their native languages.
They do not have access to their native ceremonies. Many no longer know the
meaning or the power of the emblems and symbols and icons that have always
defined their spiritual being. N. Scott Momaday
Project Objectives
The goals of the Youth Heritage
Programs are to build and support intergenerational relationships that help
young people appreciate traditional wisdom and values, and to foster
intercultural relationships across ethnic and community boundaries. Youths and a
selected group of elders, together with artisan volunteers, participate in
activities that include storytelling to learn community history, hands-on
instruction in local traditional skills and crafts, team building exercises, and
a family cross-cultural fair to share the knowledge and skills learned. With continued funding from the McCune Foundation, the Buffalo Trust is using the project model as a basis for further exchanges between Native elders and youths. We have taken the model used in Cochiti Pueblo to the Jemez Valley and are holding an abbreviated program in the spring and summer of 2001. The year round program will begin in the fall of 2001.
Cochiti Pueblo
In 1999, the Buffalo Trust
coordinated a two-week cultural affirmation and immersion camp at Cochiti
Pueblo, New Mexico. Fifty 5th and 6th grade Native American, Hispanic and Anglo
students and their families from the neighboring communities of Cochiti Pueblo,
Santo Domingo Pueblo, Cochiti Lake, Silé, and Peña Blanca participated. The
Trust acted as a catalyst and facilitator, and provided on-site leadership.
Funds for the project and in-kind commitments came from The McCune Foundation,
Santa Fe Community College, Sandoval County, Bernalillo County, and the Buffalo
Trust. Jemez Valley
In the spring of 2001, the Jemez
Day school started their youth heritage program. For two months, the children
wrote poetry, did arts projects, and learned oral histories all based on
traditional stories of the Jemez Pueblo. Their program culminated in a very
successful field trip to a local archeological site. The students, families,
teachers, and other community members made the day a memorable event. Elders and
children shared stories about the site itself as well as having the first-hand
experience of visiting their ancestors. As a further indication of their success, four sixth grade students received awards for their poetry from Creative Communication, Inc. who sponsored a five-state contest for Native children’s writings. These four poems will be part of a forthcoming publication by the contest sponsor.
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