U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Native American Programs

Newsletter for Native Y outh

2012 vol. 2

Boys & Girls Clubs of America President Spends Time with Native American Club Members
Jim Clark became Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) President and CEO in January. In his first two months he has been on the road visiting Clubs across the country. Two of those visits were to Native American Clubs, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County - Tulalip Boys & Girls Club in Tulalip, WA, which serves youth from the Tulalip Tribes and the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley Gila River Branch - Komatke Unit in Tempe, AZ. This Club serves youth from the Gila River Indian Community. In his blog, Mr. Clark said, A future that includes more Boys & Girls Clubs in Native American communities would be a truly great future for young people. Kids from both Clubs had a blast spending time with Mr. Clark. He played pool with them, saw their artwork, and toured their Club buildings. He was able to see what life is like for the Club members. Mr. Clark even asked Club members questions of his own, such as, Whats your favorite game to play at the Club? and, How do you like the staff here?
Kids from the Komatke Unit pose for a picture with Mr. Clark when he came to visit their Club.

Mr. Clark also took time to talk to the Club staff. At the Komatke Unit, Mr. Clark heard about how staff are involved in the Gila River Indian Community. He was very impressed when the staff told him that their members come to the Club every day for the outstanding youth programs. The Tulalip Boys & Girls Club also held a ceremony for Mr. Clark. They performed a traditional song with drums while some of the younger Club members wrapped Mr. Clark in a Pendleton Blanket. Club members were excited to welcome Mr. Clark to their Club!

Mr. Clark sits with members of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club in Tulalip, WA.

Chuck Thacker, the Unit Director at the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, said this about Mr. Clark: It was an honor to have him, for him to take the time to stop by and see us. What a great experience it is to have a gentleman of his caliber be so kid-oriented and positive. It really means a lot to the Clubs. To learn more about Mr. Clark, watch an interview with him on http://MyClubMyLife.com: http://bit.ly/yUuViw.

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Did you know?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said America should be a place of freedom, justice, equality and opportunity. He wanted every person in America to reach these goals through kindness and service to each other and our country. Every year, the third Monday in January is a day on, not a day off. Americans across the country work on projects to honor and celebrate Dr. King. Go here to read more: http://mlkday.gov/about/serveonkingday.php.

Club Members Create I Have a Dream Postage Stamps

This year, the Boys & Girls Club of La Plant in La Plant, SD celebrated the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service by learning about service, unity, individuality and goal-setting. Club members created an "I Have a Dream" poster, completed a word scramble and participated in a unity spider web. Club members also looked at a collection of postage stamps and talked about the qualities of the hero that gave them the honor of their picture going on a postage stamp. Then, Club members made postage stamps with their own faces and wrote down what changes they want to see in the world.

Club Helps Collect Over 250 Pounds of Food

The Boys & Girls Club of Brookings - Moody County Unit in Flandreau, SD celebrated Dr. Martin Luther Day, Jr. Day of Service by learning about Dr. King and participating in a coloring contest. Club members listened to the I Have a Dreamspeech and talked about the changes in our world since that speech. The Club helped with a food drive that collected over 250 pounds of food for their community! Five Club members also participated in an I Have a Dream essay contest with their middle school.

Boys & Girls Club of La Plant Club members I Have a Dream Postage Stamp.

Be a Buddy, not a Bully

Moody County Unit Club member participating in a Dr. King coloring contest.

The Penobscot Nation Boys & Girls Club (PNBGC) in Indian Island, ME honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a three-day event. Activities included a traditional drumming session and watching a movie that helped Club members explore the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Kings life. Club members also went on a scavenger hunt. At each stop they acted out scenes from the movie and then came up with solutions to bullying. Club members made anti-bully picket signs and marched around their community chanting Be a Buddy, not a Bully! On the last day, Club members held a talking circle and shared what they learned that week, and each youth also got a PNBGC Peace Prize.

Mentoring Corner
Mentoring with Culture and Fun in Bay Mills
The Boys & Girls Club of Bay Mills in Brimley, MI makes the most of the cultural resources they have in their community. Cathy Devoy, a language teacher at the Ojibwe Charter School, came to the Club to teach the mentors and mentees how to make corn husk dolls. She explained how children and families used to make their own play things many years ago. Cathy also taught the matches Ojibwe words. In Ojibwe the word for play is daminaa and daminawaagan is the word for doll. Last fall, a cultural assistant from the Ojibwe Charter School took matches out to the local bog to pick cranberries. She taught matches how cranberries are a food used for many different things, such as flavoring and dessert. During winter, the mentors and mentees enjoy playing floor hockey. This becomes very competitive as both the youth and the adults have fun conversations about who is going to beat who!

Mentees Dakota and Dayton getting ready to play floor hockey.

Helping Others
Phoenix C. and Arlene Mack, a mentee and mentor with the Poarch Creek Indian Boys & Girls Club in Atmore, AL started their Christmas community service project early. In October, they planted cuttings in recycled bottles. After the cuttings grew roots, they decorated the bottles to be sold. They sold them to raise money for the Hair Care and Salon Program at the local nursing home. Because the regular fees paid by the residents do not cover these items, they wanted to make the community more aware of the nursing home program and encourage others to support it. On December 21, 2011, they gave a $416 donation to the Atmore Nursing Home. The donation was presented in a fun way as a large oversized check!

Phoenix C. and Arlene Mack present their donation check to the Atmore Nursing Home.

Fun with Crafts

The mentors and mentees at the Boys & Girls Club of Nowata in Nowata, OK enjoy doing many different activities. Recently, one mentor and mentee match had fun making t-shirts together and now they are making a scrap book. Another mentor and mentee made Valentines Day cards together and took them to the local nursing home. Many of the matches like to make cookies and simple desserts in the Club kitchen. Each week, the Club also has adults from the Cherokee Nation teach lessons to the children about Cherokee history. Spending time with their mentors is a very important part of the mentees week!
Boys & Girls Club of Nowata mentor and mentee have fun making t-shirts.

Baseball Comes to the Club

In February, the Arizona Diamondbacks visited with youth from the Gila River Indian Community in Laveen, AZ. The Gila River Casinos and the Arizona Diamondbacks held a free baseball clinic at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valleys - Gila River Branch Komatke Unit. The mini baseball clinic gave youth an opportunity to meet with players, as well as Baxter, the Diamondbacks mascot. There were 60 Club members who went to the clinic. The youth Gila River Indian Community youth with Baxter and Arizona Diamondback players. played fun games and activities together with Baxter, pitcher Ian Kennedy, infielder Ryan Roberts, pitcher Bryan Shaw, and the 2011 National League Left Fielder Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, Gerardo Parra. All of the youth had a great time playing healthy and fun activities and learning about baseball with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baxter. They even got free baseball hats! This was an unforgettable and exciting day full of fun and games!

Club Members Learn How to Use Ulus

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Alaska Wainwright is located on the Chukchi Sea Coast in northern Alaska. This remote, arctic town has a population of 556 people and the only way in or out year-round is by plane! Skiffs, ATVs, and snow machines are used to drive people around the community. Wainwright, AK is filled with a lot of culture and the Club embraces every inch of it! This winter, elders visited the Club and taught members how to skin a seal using an ulu. An ulu is a traditional knife used by Eskimos, both Yupik and Inuit. Today, both men and women use an ulu to skin and clean animals and to cut food. Skinning animals is a skill that young people in the village of Wainwright must learn because the village depends on the animals to feed the community. The ulu is not just for use on animals and food. If needed, the ulu can also be used to trim blocks of snow and ice to build an igloo!

Two Club members use their ulus, under the direction of their elders, to skin a seal.

Y outh leadership camp in Washington, D.C.

Reserve a spot on your summer calendars for a youth leadership camp. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Native American Programs is hosting two week-long camps for Native teens. This is a perfect opportunity for your Club members! Stay tuned for details on dates and the application process. Updates will be posted to www.NAClubs.org.

from the Nations

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community
Mesa, AZ

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale - Lehi and Red Mountain Branches have a new program called D.O.N.T., which stands for Diverting Our Native Teens. This program is a partnership between the Salt River Departments of Corrections and Probation and the Club. D.O.N.T. works with youth in the early stages of the juvenile justice system. Its goal is to teach youth social skills and give them the tools they need to make positive choices. D.O.N.T. shows them a path other than incarceration and how to become successful members of their community.

Prevention program (T.R.A.I.L. stands for Together Raising Awareness for Indian Life). Fifty youth at the Club are learning about type 2 diabetes, physical activity, and how to make healthy food choices during T.R.A.I.L lessons. This quarter, T.R.A.I.L members also met a local celebrity, Andrew Lacapa! Andrew is a local comedian known throughout the community. He spoke with the youth about his own experience having type 2 diabetes and how to prevent diabetes. Club members also shared a laugh or two with Andrew!

White Earth Reservation

Naytahwaush, MN

Club members from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the White Earth Reservation who participated in the Ice Fishing Derby.

Little Earth of United Tribes

Minneapolis, MN

"Saving the Language" Awardee, Trinidad F .

White Mountain Apache

Whiteriver, AZ

The Together Raising Awareness for Indian Life curriculum.

This year the Boys & Girls Club of White Mountain Apache started the On the T.R.A.I.L. to Diabetes

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities - Little Earth Unit has found a shining star in Trinidad F At . 16-years-old, Trinidad works hard for his people and shows leadership with his peers and community. He has an A/B average in school and participates in many after-school cultural activities. Recently, Trinidad started a writing campaign to continue Ojibwe language classes at Little Earth. He encouraged other youth to join this campaign. After much hard work, Trinidads campaign worked and the Ojibwe language classes will continue! The Wicon Wast Mentoring Program at Little Earth recognized Trinidad by presenting him with the Saving the Language Award. Congratulations Trinidad! Keep up the great work!

In February, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the White Earth Reservation in Naytahwaush, MN hosted its 4th Annual Ice Fishing Derby. Twenty mentors and twenty-four mentees took part in the event. Many community members and board members from the Club also participated. Cash prizes were awarded in three categories: largest bass caught, largest northern caught, and largest walleye caught. A raffle was also held. The grand prize was an eight inch ice auger tool. At the end of the event there was a drawing for all the youth. Two lucky mentees each won a new bike! Everyone had a great time and next years event is already being planned.

Native Connection | featuring online resources

Stephanies Unwasted Weekend
Meet Stephanie. She is a teen who lives on the Isleta Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico. Her goal? Giving back to her community. How did she do it? By planning a cultural preservation day for members of the Isleta Pueblo community. They gathered for a day of traditional music, dance, crafts, and many other activities. MTV posted a video on Stephanies project as part of its online series, Unwasted Weekend. Check it out here: http://on.mtv.com/xWdxaS.

Close Up Community Action Projects

Youth across the country have many ideas to make their communities better. Close Up, a group in Washington, DC, helps youth put their ideas to action. Recently, Close Up brought Native American students to DC. They talked with people in the government about the challenges facing their communities. Watch this video, http://bit.ly/w8qFPh, of a teen from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall, ID. She talks about her plan to work with the government to find a solution for an old power plant that is ruining the tribes drinking water.

National Museum of the American Indian

Do you know theres a museum devoted to Native Americans? The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), located in Washington, DC, is the 18th museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans. The museum works with the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere to protect and foster their cultures. You can go to NMAI Web sites Education Page to learn more about the museum and even download online exhibits. Visit http://www.americanindian.si.edu/explore/ foreducatorsstudents/ to discover all of these great online resources!

More than That

A group of students on South Dakotas Rosebud Indian Reservation wanted to share their story about life on the reservation. They want the world to know that "we are more than that." They created a video to show positive aspects of their lives and community. These youth care about their culture, their tradition, and their futures. To watch this inspiring video, go to http://bit.ly/s59wdJ.

Diabetes Prevention Corner

Four Winds Nutrition Guide:
Using traditions of old to guide us to a healthier future
The Medicine Wheel is a sacred symbol used by tribes across the United States. This symbol shows the balance of the natural and spiritual world. People can use this balance to help them eat healthier. Kibbe Conti, a Lakota nutritionist, worked with elders to develop a Native American nutrition model based on the Medicine Wheel. Her guide is called the Four Winds Nutrition Guide. Each wind represents an important part of a balanced diet. The West Wind brings rain that all life needs. Today the West Wind includes sugar-free and alcohol-free drinks. The North Wind is strong like the buffalo. Today the North Wind includes all lean animal food products. The East Wind stands for the dawn of a new day. Today the East Wind includes fruits and vegetables. The South Wind represents the warm summer wind and plants that require time to grow. The South Wind includes all grains and starchy vegetables. While many people are still learning the importance of balance, the Medicine Wheel has been teaching balance to Native American people for centuries. MyPlate is a nutrition tool that shares the idea of balance with the Medicine Wheel and the Four Winds Nutrition Guide. While the nutrition tools differ slightly in their food groups, both nutrition tools encourage people to eat healthy and balanced meals. The Four Winds Nutrition Guide encourages a balanced diet of water, animal food products, fruits and vegetables, and grains and starchy plants, and MyPlate encourages a balanced plate of protein foods, fruits and vegetables, grains and dairy. To learn more about MyPlate, play the Blast Off game by visiting: http://1.usa.gov/rIwKma

Recipe { Pineapple Salsa Try this spin on traditional salsa!

Pineapple Salsa Ingredients:

2 diced whole pineapples cup diced red onion 1 diced red pepper 2 Tablespoons lime juice
Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

cup chopped, fresh mint or 4 tsp. dried mint cup chopped, fresh cilantro or 4 tsp. dried cilantro 1 small seeded/chopped jalapeno 2 pinches of salt

First, ask a Club staff member to help you when chopping fruits and vegetables! Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Serve with chips or as a sauce with meat or fish. Enjoy!

Word Search
Try to find all the Spring words in this Word Search! They can be up, down, diagonal or back words.

bloom rain flower sunshine green worm

M R N E E R G E K O F V K O N W A B O R W I R O I S A L H Z E R S I E S B V W M N N N G M U O T X U O V Z H L T S L D F C Q F O

JOKE

What word in the dictionary is spelled incorrectly?

Answer: Incorrectly

Asks YOU!

Each quarter, we ask youth to respond to a question from Club Notes. Here is how Club members from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities - Little Earth Unit answer the question,

What do you like most about spring time?

I like going swimming and I like the weather because its usually hot. I like going to summer school too!" - Dario, 9 years old I like sleeping . - Daniel, 13 years old You get to go swimming! And I like going to summer school . - Destiny, 11 years old I like spring break and going outside with my friends to play." - Kaaynen, 13 years old Send us your responses to next quarters question,

What fun things do you have planned for the summer?

Email responses to clubnotes@firstpic.org. Include Club name, first name, and age.

Send your artwork, letters, pictures, articles, and any other exciting Club news to:

Lets hear from YOU!

c/o FirstPic/HUD:ONAP 2614 Chapel Lake Drive Gambrills, MD 21054 clubnotes@firstpic.org

Club Notes