The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal Youth Program

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's Tribal Youth Program will focus on at-risk youth ages 11 to 17. The program will serve at least 100 youth each year. The project will be located in the community centers in each of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation's three remaining districts. The Tribal Youth Project will utilize recreational opportunities and traditional Ojibwe concepts regarding rites of passage as incentives and rewards for successful progress in an educational afterschool program designed to reduce truancy, delinquency, and drug and alcohol abuse. The program will be administered by staff of the community youth services department who will work in close collaboration with the Nay Ah Shing tribal schools, Ne-Ia-Shing Clinic mental and behavioral health department, tribal police, tribal courts, parents, elders and others to target at-risk youth throughout the school year. These at-risk youth will be referred to the program, but the program will also be open to any youth who wish to participate. In order to provide good models and friends for the at-risk youth, some successful students may be specifically targeted for recruitment to the program.CA/NCF