Organizations
and Opportunities for Indigenous Youth
Introduction
Introduction
| Bibliography | Pathfinder
There are many similarities
in the experiences of indigenous youth around the world. Indigenous youth
are subject to many social and economic factors that affect their likelihood
of happiness and success. A shared history of land displacement, disease,
forced removal from culture and consequential weakening of the family
structure, traditional lifestyle, culture and language is evident.(1)
Programs have been developed to address problems (substance abuse, depression,
and high drop out rates) prevalent in indigenous communities. Many Indigenous
organizations have established activities such as camps, training, exchanges,
conferences, and cultural events to improve the status of Indigenous youth
and keep the Native culture alive.
This pathfinder was created to help Indigenous youth, parents, and educators
locate organizations and opportunities for Indigenous youth. I searched
for sources that are available free on the Internet. Youth for the purposes
of this resource is defined as people falling between the ages of 15-24
years. Opportunities include but are not limited to, programs in education,
job training, life skills, sports, and dance. This pathfinder is divided
into country regions; however I encourage you to explore all of the links
for exemplary organizations and programs in other communities.
I began my search with the Internet search engine Google, performing several
searches that included the words "indigenous youth opportunities",
"indigenous youth organizations" and "indigenous youth
programs". Selected sites were created or sponsored by non-profit
organizations (.org) and government sites (.gov) since these are generally
reliable. I looked for programs and projects from dependable commercial
pages (.com). Additional resources were located in link sections of several
organization sites.
1 United Nations
High Commission for Human Rights (2000). Indigenous Children and Youth.
Retrieved April 2, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/indileaflet9.doc
Introduction
| Bibliography | Pathfinder
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