Program Overview: The Haskell Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) is a new program developed specifically for American Indian/Alaska Native students. The project is an outreach program for high school students to begin planning and preparing for college. The cost involved in this endeavor is minimal. The project provides a two-week long college orientation program and will be held on the historic Haskell campus. Haskell will provide room and board, course materials and offer academic sessions in reading comprehension and math fundamentals. Travel to and from Lawrence, Kansas will be the responsibility of the student. The objective of the program provides students with an opportunity which prepares and assists their transition to a post-secondary environment.
Eligibility Requirements: The program is open to American Indian/Alaska Native students who have recently graduated from high school (May 2008) and have an overall cumulative high school GPA of 2.0. Students must be U.S. citizens and provide proof of enrollment in a federally recognized tribe. A $50.00 application is also required to hold the student’s space in the program. Students must complete and submit the following information:
1. Haskell Summer Enrichment Program application 2. Recommendation forms completed by a teacher and school counselor. 3. Haskell Admissions Application (Note: The $50.00 application fee will cover the Haskell Admissions Fee. Students must complete this document in order to receive course credit.) 4. $50.00 application fee (money order only, payable to Haskell Indian Nations University) 5. An official high school transcript (necessary for acceptance into the program) 6. An essay that demonstrates the students’ interest for pursuing a college degree (one page – topic: Why college is important) 7. A pre-program phone interview
The application and supporting materials must be received by May 16, 2008. Final candidates will be contacted for a personal interview the week of May 19-23, 2008. All applicants will be notified of a decision regarding their application by May 27, 2008 by email and a letter will be mailed to their home address. Final and official high school transcripts which indicate the successful completion of a student’s course of study should be received no later than May 30, 2008.
Application deadline May 16, 2008
Submit to: Darryl Monteau Haskell Summer Enrichment Program Haskell President’s Office 155 Indian Avenue Lawrence, KS 66046 (785) 749-8407 (785) 749-8411 fax
The Heart of America Indian Center and Haskell Extension Office is hosting the 27th Annual American Indian Culture Camp.This year’s summer camp theme is =Building our Community=.Our goal is to educate youth about service learning and volunteer opportunities within their community.
The camp begins Saturday, July 5th and runs through Wednesday, July 9th at the Rotary Club Youth Camp in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.We are looking for campers and volunteers to help make this summer a fun and memorable one.
Youth campers aged five to 13 are welcome to sign up for camp with a May 30, 2008 deadline.Youth aged 14-16 can also sign up for the Counselor In Training Program.Space is limited and youth will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, so don’t wait to sign your child up!For more information and to register please contact Ed Smith or Nancy Blue (see contact information below).
We are also looking for volunteers that would like to help us run the summer camp.We are looking for people who can fill the following positions:assistant director, nurse (first-aid), head counselor, craft coordinator and instructors, snack/meal coordinator, counselors (aged 17-19), and senior camp counselors (aged 20+).
Don’t worry if you can’t make a time commitment for all five days, we appreciatively welcome whatever time volunteers are willing to donate.Volunteers will be subject to a background check and will need to complete our short training course.For interested parties, and job descriptions, please contact Ed Smith (see contact information below).
Ed Smith can be contacted at 785-749-8412 or at his Haskell office located at the East Portable.Nancy Blue can be contacted at the Heart of America Indian Center COOP, 816-931-8831.
The Hualapai Tobacco Program is pleased to announce and invite you to the 2008 Tobacco and Health Youth Conference, On Eagles Wings Soaring Above the Influence. in Phoenix Arizona . Please see the attached conference announcement for further information. Also attached is a group registration form, which must be received by May 28, 2008, there is no registration fee for your group as this youth conference is funded by the Hualapai Tribe of Peach Springs, Arizona and is open to all organizations.
The purpose of the conference is to provide all Arizona youth between that ages of 13 to 18 years the finest quality of resources and tools to make positive decisions in all areas of their lives, to lead a healthy, commercial-tobacco, alcohol, drug and substance free lifestyle using traditional methods of out-reach including culture and traditions of Indian tribes and ethnic groups represented in Arizona.
As part of the conference activities there will be a cultural dance on Tuesday June 17, 2008 starting at 7:00PM. All styles of dance are welcome from traditional, folk, hip-hop to contemporary and will be on a volunteer basis as this allows youth and others present to mingle, sample and participate in other types of dance. Please advise should your group desire to participate in the cultural dance and need special equipment.
Should you have any questions or require further information regarding this event please contact the Hualapai Tobacco Program. You are welcome to pass this invitation on to your contacts.
ON EAGLES WINGS! Hualapai Tobacco Program Pete Imus, Program Coordinator POB 207 Peach Springs, AZ 86434 P: 928-769-2207 F: 928-769-2588
Photo courtesy Christine Begay -- Christine Begay, Yankton Nakota/Arikara/Dine', is a ''Street Team'' citizen journalist in MTV's ''Choose or Lose '08'' campaign - a project engaging young people from the 50 states and District of Columbia to cover the 2008 elections from a youth perspective.
Begay gives Native youth perspective for MTV project
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Armed with a mobile video camera on Super Tuesday, Christine Begay was out and about, interviewing students at the University of New Mexico and voters at polling places, and posting the live videos almost instantly to MTV's ''Choose or Lose '08'' Web site.
Begay, 23, is a member of MTV's ''Street Team '08,'' a group of 51 citizen journalists - one from every state and the District of Columbia - who were specially recruited through an extensive nationwide search to cover the 2008 elections from a youth perspective, utilizing mobile technology.
The Street Team members were plied with the latest equipment - mobile video cameras, laptops, editing software and cell phones - and charged with uncovering the untold political stories that matter most to young people in their respective states. Each member is to file weekly multi-media reports - short form videos, blogs, animation, photos and podcasts - that are distributed via www.Think.MTV.com and to more than 1,800 sites in the Associated Press Online Video Network.
The project is supported by a $700,000 Knight News Challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Knight News Challenge, at www.newschallenge.org, is an annual worldwide competition awarding $5 million for innovative ideas that use digital media to inform and inspire communities. The foundation plans to invest at least $25 million over five years on bold community news experiments.
The MTV project came right on the heels of Begay's graduation last spring, with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Fort Lewis in Durango, Colo., and a new full time job at the nonprofit American Indian Graduate Center, under director Phillip S. (Sam) Deloria.
Begay applied to become one of the MTV ''Street Team '08'' journalists in August. Notified in December that she had made the team, Begay joined the other 50 members in New York in January for a three-day ''Journalism Bootcamp'' and an introduction to MTV executives and producers.
Each Street Team member had 15 seconds to introduce themselves. Begay used hers to provide her parents' background: Her mother is Yankton Nakota and Arikara from Lake Andes, S. D. Her father is Dine' from Fort Wingate, N. M.
''People were so interested in issues facing Indian country today and that one of the Street Team members is actually an American Indian. For me, that was my underlying hope in all of this - that I would be able to use the mainstream media to highlight a lot of issues in Indian country and especially in New Mexico,'' Begay said.
She began to fulfill that hope with her first piece - an autobiographical blog entry that takes an honest look at her own life growing up as an American Indian in the border town of Gallup, N.M.
''Life in our family seemed completely normal, that is compared to the communities we grew up in,'' she wrote. ''We have all seen poor neighborhoods, families living in poverty and struggling to raise their kids. Growing up in our communities was a different kind of poor. The kind of poor that reeks of dysfunction, alcoholism and racism. The racism came from communities, towns, governments and people who hated that we - I - was American Indian. The alcoholism was something that we saw on a daily basis, whether it was in my family or on the street. The dysfunction was not clearly evident to me until I realized that this was not the life for me ... ''
Begay began to notice fellow community members who had succumbed to addiction, living on the streets in tattered clothing.
'' ... My mom would always tell us, 'They were once your age and had dreams. They never dreamed that they would end up on the street like this.' It was a harsh but all too normal reality for anyone who grows up in Gallup or one of the many other border towns in the country,'' Begay wrote.
''I got a lot of private messages about that. People wanted to know what it was like growing up in a border town. Some people didn't know what a border town is,'' Begay said.
For her second piece, Begay did a video interview of former Miss New Mexico USA Onawa Lacy, who talked about racism and discrimination.
Her report on New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's withdrawal from the presidential race was scrapped because of ''technical difficulties,'' with the video, Begay said, teaching her an important lesson about the need to always have a plan B.
''I wrote for a newspaper in college and the reason I applied for the MTV project is because I'm confident in my writing skill, but a big focus on MTV is the video media. That was definitely an obstacle for me, but now that we have all this great software, I'm eager to learn all about it,'' Begay said.
Begay said she has found her peers to be very engaged and interested in the election and issues, but not in traditional media such as newspapers, networks or cable channels.
''The internet is huge. People of my generation who would never go to Fox or ABC or CNN are all over the Internet and this is definitely the push MTV is going for. There's a lot of enthusiasm and interest in the big issues - the war in Iraq, the environment, immigration, especially here in New Mexico,'' Begay said.
Begay can draw on her own life and circle of activist friends for stories, but she also intends to search out young people who are not involved.
''The ones who are doing things are the easiest to find, but the ones who don't care - their opinions matter too. Why don't they care?'' Begay said.
The MTV project takes place around Begay's full time job at the center, which she says fully supports her involvement in the project.
''For a lot of young American Indians, there's not a lot of opportunities, so I'm excited about the opportunity. I've got to go out there and represent them and let them know the opportunities are out there. We just have to get involved,'' Begay said.
The National Society for American Indian Elderly (NSAIE) works to improve conditions allowing American Indian Elderly to stay in their homes as respected members of their communities and keepers of their traditions. The NSAIE is among more than 1,200 AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) projects nationwide. As a branch of the Corporation for National Community Service, AmeriCorps VISTA has a mission to end poverty in all its forms. VISTA members who serve through the NSAIE work to enhance services for American Indian elders. The NSAIE VISTA members assist with capacity building, grant writing, coordination of services and other locally directed activities that help build stronger communities. We are currently recruiting for placements with American Indian elder programs. Positions are available with Tribes and Tribal organizations in 23 states. Volunteers serve in predominantly rural areas where the conditions for American Indian seniors are challenging, where the project can have the best impact. The work is challenging, but a year of service will give you the experience of your life. The NSAIE makes a difference through the dedication of individuals like you; we look forward to hearing from you. Feel free to send us an e-mail or call with any questions you may have regarding our program. Nothing But Good Shall Come From It. 200 E. Fillmore Street #151w Phoenix, AZ 85004
The early awareness content on our studentaid.ed.gov site has been needing an overhaul for a while. We've just been able to hire a new writer/editor, and she's taken a stab at it. If you're working with any middle school students (or if your own children are around that age), you might want to share the draft content with them. It's on our New Pubs page: www.fsa4counselors.ed.gov/newpubs
