Abstract
Indigenous youth are systemically underserved by 4-H and other positive youth development (PYD) organizations. Many underserved First Nation communities in the United States could greatly benefit from programs that foster youth thriving; however, these programs tend to be ineffective in creating culturally reflective spaces for Indigenous participants. In this article, we argue that the Peoplehood Model should serve as a unifying model for the inclusion of Indigenous identity in programming, and that cultural humility should be firmly integrated into program design and assessment. We also propose that, to support Indigenous youth thriving, PYD practitioners must intentionally create a “partial vacuum” that supports youth creating program context and thriving.
Highlights
The authors’ primary lens is 4-H programming, which is foundationally guided by positive youth development (PYD) philosophy
Indigenous youth are systemically underserved by 4-H (Farella, Hauser, et al, 2021) as well as other youth-serving organizations. 4-H program leaders and Extension directors have noted a systemic lack of service for Indigenous communities (Elliott-Engel, 2018; Hiller, 2005)
In this paper we explore three main ideas relating to youth development within Indigenous communities: (a) recognition of a persistent legacy of exclusion and lack of cultural relevance within educational institutions, (b) identification of themes of identity that can be generalizable or largely relatable in positive youth development (PYD), and (c) exploration of the Peoplehood Model as a suitable framework to inform broad and cohesive social movement(s) supporting Indigenous youth through PYD
Summary
4-H is the largest youth development organization in the United States (R. Lerner & Lerner, 2013). This is complex and evolving—youth can oppose and accept both colonial and traditional elements of identity, and a youth’s definition of self is not static. PYD initiatives must create what we have termed a partial vacuum, defined as a program space that buffers youth from dominant and directive cultural narratives to support their creation of personally relevant contexts and metrics of success (Deardorff, 2009; Fields, 2020). Without a context of safety and belonging, we cannot truly fulfill our mission as educators
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