Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth

Not a week goes by without a negative news story about the rates of problembehaviours among Aboriginal youth in Canada. These statistics do not tell the wholestory and we must shift our paradigm from one focusing on defi cits to a strengthsbasedapproach. This toolkit presents a wide range of guidelines, strategies,templates and case studies for those who work with Aboriginal youth. The toolkit isdivided into four sections. The background and overview section provides a...
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Not a week goes by without a negative news story about the rates of problembehaviours among Aboriginal youth in Canada. These statistics do not tell the wholestory and we must shift our paradigm from one focusing on defi cits to a strengthsbasedapproach. This toolkit presents a wide range of guidelines, strategies,templates and case studies for those who work with Aboriginal youth. The toolkit isdivided into four sections. The background and overview section provides a historicalcontext for understanding the challenges facing Aboriginal youth and makes acase for the importance of building youth engagement and empowerment. Theguiding principles section identifi es four key tenets of effective programming withAboriginal youth: understanding and integrating cultural identity, increasing youthengagement, fostering youth empowerment, and establishing and maintainingeffective partnerships. Specifi c strategies are organized around these principles tohelp individuals and organizations improve the work they are doing. The workingwith schools section highlights challenges and opportunities in working with partnersin the educational system. Finally, the research and evaluation section offers a rangeof considerations for program evaluation and other types of research. Throughoutthe toolkit a mix of conceptual guidelines and practical strategies are presented.