Progress 04/01/06 to 03/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The most important output for this project has been the development of two projects. 1) A 4-H AfterSchool Program has been implemented which serves close to 30 youth each day. Youth in this AfterSchool Program complete homework, have a nutritious snack and are then engaged in a 4-H project activity. This has increased enrollment in 4-H in the Poplar area (where the AfterSchool is located) by 60%. The project hired an AfterSchool Coordinator on a very part-time temporary basis to lift this project off of the ground and it has been an overwhelming success in the community of Poplar. Parents are required to attend and participate in the leadership development, mentoring and education of their respective children. 2) The development of an Assiniboine and Sioux Traditional Village has increased the level of interest in 4-H and provided a necessary outlet for youth in an impoverished community to re-connect with their land base and establish a relationship with animals, native plants and the outdoors. The Fort Peck Tribes have shown overwhelming support by allocating approximately 100 acres of land for this enterprise. Youth will be allowed to do hands-on activities with animals, range and horticultural projects, as well as complete traditional types of projects such as drum making, leathercraft, etc. Youth and their families are primarily responsible for the development of this village, therefore the work of the Extension Agent is to coordinate and oversee the project. Dissemination occurs via the hands-on learning gained from the 50 youth who attend and work at this Village. Other activities of interest completed in this project by the Fort Peck Reservation FRTEP include the implementation of the Health Rocks! curriculum in area middle schools as well as the maintenance and continued development of 4-H Clubs in each of the five communities across the reservation. PARTICIPANTS: FRTEP agent for the Fort Peck Reservation has partnered with the Fort Peck Tribes gaining access to over 100 acres of tribal lands for project implementation. Subsequently, collaborating with the tribes includes all of their programs including law and justice, community services, BIA, and Housing. A Program Assistant has also been hired on the project, who has completed Archery Training and provided classes throughout the reservation accordingly. The project has provided training in the forms of workshops to the Indian Agricultural Symposium held annually in Las Vegas, the Indigenous Farming Conference held in Callaway, Minnesota and various workshops sponsored by MSU Extension throughout the State of Montana TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for this project are reservation youth between the ages of 8 and 18. The majority of the participants are middle school age. To date the program has served over 250 youth through programming, 4-H Club involvement and AfterSchool programs. Middle School age youth are not yet into their teenage years and have an interest in animals and learning. They still have hope for their future and an energy which drives them into many directions. They are easily channeled into 4-H and are eager to delve into projects. I believe that the project is too new to determine any level of change in actions or conditions at this point, however with the implementation of the AfterSchool program and the Indigenous Village we anticipate behavior changes in the next fiscal year. These changes will come in the way of increased skill levels in math and science, knowledge of leadership and how to speak publicly. Change in eating behaviors and realistic goal setting for future. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The only major addition in this program has been the implementation of the Indigenous Village. This has been done to allow youth a safe place to learn and grow and to be able to gain hands-on experience in learning about animal husbandry and horticulture as well as their own native culture.
Impacts
The Fort Peck Reservation is a very impoverished area and currently has an extremely high rate of truancy, suicide and drug and alcohol abuse. The Fort Peck Reservation Extension 4-H Program has provided a "safe" learning environment for youth to continue with in-school learning and add on a critical out-of-school learning piece as an alternative to truancy, underage drinking, drug use, suicide and other social evils. This add-on learning piece; through projects such as the Traditional Village, 4-H Club involvement and the AfterSchool Program, are an essential medium for youth to not only interact socially, but to gain valuable life skills which will enable them to be successful in school, at home and in a social environment where they are faced with insurmountable obstacles. While working with the local Indian Health Service it has been determined that an overwhelming 78% of reservation I.H.S. users are obese - not just overweight, but obese. As a ready response to this problem, the Fort Peck Reservation FRTEP has developed a community Indigenous garden project to help promote healthy food consumption and a physical environment to combat this epidemic. 4-H youth will work in the garden throughout the summer months with volunteer leaders. In December, 11 youth from the Fort Peck Reservation attended the Indian Agricultural Symposium in Las Vegas. This project was partially sponsored by the resources of the FRTEP project and partially by IAC. This group of individuals also went on a Leadership trip to Washington, D.C. to learn about their national government and how it relates to them on the reservation. This group trip was also partially sponsored by the FRTEP project. These two trips were learning activities that most reservation youth never have the opportunity to participate in. All of these activities are greatly impacting youth on the reservation and as a result, enrollment has doubled in this last project year.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 04/01/07 to 03/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: An established 4-H presence on the Ft. Peck Reservation is giving youth a significant opportunity to learn essential life skills such as; animal husbandry, sewing, cooking, sport fishing and wildlife conservation. Youth are also learning critical skills in decision making and responsibility via holding offices within their respective clubs. These skills are paramount to developing a self-sustaining society who can draw on both cultural and modern day skills to break the cycles of poverty and make the world about them a better place. Involvement from local volunteers will impact this process and strengthen the community with 4-H having been the developmental wheel.
PARTICIPANTS: Several local partners have been established for service provision to Ft. Peck Youth. Collaborative efforts in horticultural activities have been established with the Roosevelt County Extension Service and NRCS. Regarding the implementation of a viable 4-H program on the Ft. Peck Reservation, The Boys and Girls Clubs, all local Reservation schools, Ft. Peck Housing, The Ft. Peck Tribes and the Suicide Prevention Project, have all become involved partners in recruiting and working together collaboratively in an effort to engage youth in 4-H. One youth from the Ft. Peck Reservation (Brockton community) was selected to attend a Health Rocks! Training in Jackson, MS, March 13-16. She was accompanied by the Ft. Peck Agent. This is a train the trainer approach to implementing curriculum on tobacco and drug/alcohol use and abuse by young people. The Ft. Peck Extension Agent and the Brockton youth will work with the State 4-H Center for Youth Development to do three train the
trainer workshops throughout Montana. Additional work will be done on Montana's reservations in this capacity as well. The annual Intertribal Ag Conference was available to the Agent in December 2007. Large animal projects are taking shape on the Ft. Peck Reservation. The Agent attended a professional development conference on Equine Training in Alberta, Canada in February, 2008. In November 2007, a Program Assistant, Jared Smith, was hired to assist in program implementation across the reservation in an effort to reach more youth. He is currently working on an Archery Program. During the past year, the Ft. Peck Program worked with neighborhood 4-H Youth to sponsor a Spay and Neuter Clinic.
TARGET AUDIENCES: At this time, the Ft. Peck Program is targeting youth in the pre-teen age group. This group seems most interested in doing hands on projects and is most available. It is the goal of the Ft. Peck Program to recruit these individuals and provide hands on learning opportuniti3es which can enhance their quality of life. Youth on the Reservation live with extended family members and survive in environments that are not always nurturing. Consequently, they miss out on learning essential life skills, citizenship and responsibility. Through establishing Clubs and meeting on a regular basis, the Ft. Peck Agent intends to continue to implement life skill learning with the goal of improving the quality of life in the long term, for them and the next generation. One example of this is through teaching the "Six Easy Bites" project materials to youth, habits are formed and knowledge gained when learning why nutrition is important. Youth also learn how to make snacks and everyday
foods that are healthy.
PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Expansion would be the only major modification in the Ft. Peck Project. A reservation schedule of activities held one day a week in each of the five reservation communities has been adopted and implemented. Five new Clubs have been formed with active monthly meetings and officers elected. The new Clubs are: The Quills, Red Foxes, Golden Eagles, Crazy Horse and White Tails. Each Club has 10-12 Reservation Youth respectively.
Impacts
Significant progress has been made in 2007 with regard to increasing the number of Ft. Peck Reservation youth participating in 4-H. Five new Clubs have been established and have regular monthly meetings, elected officers and adult volunteers. This establishment of new Clubs offers roughly 75 reservation youth an opportunity to engage in 4-H. Extensive work has been done also to network with community partners to develop a youth equine program, archery program and youth ranch where traditional and cultural values are taught. A reservation wide spay and neuter clinic has also been established with reservation 4-H youth serving as volunteers. Three community gardens were grown during the summer of 2007 with over 30 youth in attendance at horticultural workshops. Three hundred and fifty trees were distributed with workshops on tree and shrub planting. Mini-camps have been offered reservation wide to engage youth in projects such as Wildlife, cooking, sewing, archery,
poultry, leathercraft and sport fishing.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 04/01/06 to 03/31/07
Outputs
The Mini Ichu Club of Brockton focuses on raising a community garden and completing sewing projects. This Club is comprised of seven teenage girls ranging in age from 15-18 and two community volunteer leaders. A "Shunka" dog 4-H Club was also formed, this Club is in the process of being chartered and currently holds a "reservation dog show" each year during the Poplar Wild West Days. Dog Clinics were set up for 4-Hers to learn dog obedience along with care and safety and community service was done by helping at the local spay and neuter clinics. Membership in this club is currently nine members, two local volunteers and three adult leaders.
Impacts
I very much hope to engage as many youth as possible in 4-H and garner help and interest from parents. Strengthen local communities, by working together and offering life skills to enhance learning. Keep traditional values alive and vibrant here on the Ft. Peck Reservation. Support tribal functions and meet needs of families where possible across the reservation.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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