January 1, 2016
Advancing Positive Paths for Native American Boys & Young Men
Author: Moroni Benally
Publisher: First Nations Development Institute
Funders: Kalliopeia Foundation, NEO Philanthropy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This report highlights areas of success by five innovative programs among Indigenous communities in the United States. In the literature on boys and men of color, retaining connection to attributes of culture is difficult, but proves successful in achieving better life, educational and social outcomes. This report builds from this research and identifies in five key programs the mechanism for cultural diffusion, in both the domains of early intervention and policy programs, to provide Native boys and young men connection with cultural signifiers such as: values and ethics, self-sufficiency, family values, and environment. In the end, this report suggests the importance of these interventions and programs in further improved outcomes in education and the need to build on these and enhance their scale of operation.