For the Seventh Generation: Building Pathways for Future Anishinaabe Leaders

The Justice Department's grant-making components have created a streamlined approach for federally recognized Tribes, Tribal consortia, Alaska Native villages and corporations, as well as authorized tribal designees to apply for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 funding opportunities. The Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) serves as a single solicitation for existing tribal government-specific grant programs administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The CTAS solicitation is designed to assist tribes with addressing crime and public safety issues in a comprehensive manner. The CTAS grant-application process was inspired by and developed after consultation with tribal leaders, including sessions at the Justice Department's Tribal Nations Listening Session in 2009, and has been updated based on continued tribal consultations and listening sessions. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides awards under CTAS Purpose Area 9--Tribal Youth Program (TYP) to federally recognized tribes to develop and implement programs that support and enhance Tribal efforts to prevent and control juvenile delinquency and strengthen juvenile justice systems for American Indian/Alaska Native youth.

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (SCIT) will implement the Project Venture Program, an evidence-based outdoor/experiential program that concentrates on American Indian cultural values to prevent alcohol and substance abuse among Native American youth. The program also addresses risk factors such as academic challenges and truancy rates of Native American youth. The SCIT Project Venture Program will serve 50 Native American youth ages 12-17, and after a year in the program, participants will become "service staff" or peer leaders for subsequent years. The goals of the program are to assist youth in the development of a positive self-concept, effective social and communication skills, a community service ethic, decision-making and problem solving skills, and self-efficacy. In addition, the program works to build individual youth resiliency to increase their resistance to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and prevent other delinquent behaviors.

Project Venture has an established, evidence-based evaluation component that measures drug and alcohol use. Academic skills and school attendance rates will also be tracked. CA/NCF