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Overview of the National Native American
Mentoring Program
In 2004, the Navajo Nation, a federally recognized tribe located in the states of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a unique National Native American Mentoring Program to serve children whose parent(s) are incarcerated in tribal, state or federal prisons. Building on the strong network of Boys & Girls Clubs located in Indian Country, the Navajo Nation teamed with local Boys & Girls Clubs to establish and implement the National Native American Mentoring Program over a three-year period. The program is grounded in each Club’s philosophy of positive youth development, organizational infrastructure and appropriate personnel designated to coordinate and supervise such a mentoring program.
Initially, the National Native American Mentoring Program was established in 16 Boys & Girls Club organizations that served over 20 tribes, located in the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota. Clubs in these states were selected due to their state’s high rates of incarcerated Native Americans. The result – more than 400 youth were matched with a caring adult mentor by the end of the project period. Because of the program’s tremendous success, there has been a steady interest on the part of Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country to expand upon this mentoring model. In 2007 the Navajo Nation received a second 3-year funding award from the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to expand the program!
 In 2007, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) agreed to embark on an endeavor to develop a program open to all youth in need of a positive role model and extra attention, regardless of their family background. Funding to establish this three-year initiative was awarded to NCAI through the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. While NCAI will administer the entire project, the partnership includes 15 Boys & Girls Club organizations located in the states of Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Washington.
Club staff are trained by Dr. Susan Weinberger, President of Mentor Consulting Group (MCG). MCG’s Train the Trainer Model has proven to be an effective approach that enables local programs to train their own mentors. Additional training and technical assistance is provided by Outreach Services, Inc., a consulting and training corporation specializing in mentoring and building effective teen-adult partnerships to prevent suicide, violence, and substance abuse in tribal and rural communities.
Each local Boys & Girls Club has identified a Mentor Program Coordinator to oversee the Club’s mentoring program, including supervision, oversight and monitoring of the mentors and mentees. All program coordinators are trained to be responsible for identifying youth, recruiting, training, and supervising mentors, and most importantly, monitoring the relationships between the mentors and mentees. A training manual has been adapted for specific use by the Club sites.
The Navajo and NCAI programs will be in place until 2010. Each national partner works with FirstPic, Inc., a consulting firm that has been instrumental in establishing Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country since 1996 and has overseen several national program initiatives in Indian Country. FirstPic, Inc.’s strong relationships and nationwide knowledge of Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country facilitates the implementation of the National Native American Mentoring Program.
Participating Clubs, Navajo Nation
- Boys & Girls Club of Fort Defiance-
Tse Ho Tso Unit, AZ
- Boys & Girls Club of Tuba City-
ToNaneesdizi Unit, AZ
- Boys & Girls Club of Crownpoint- Tiists'oos Nideeshgish Unit, NM
- Boys & Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area, MN
- Boys & Girls Club of Fort Peck, MT
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Three Affiliated Tribes, ND (2 awards)
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Green Country, OK
- Boys & Girls Club of Nowata, OK
- Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa County, OK
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Tahlequah, OK
- Boys & Girls Club of King County – (IWASIL Unit) Seattle, WA
Participating Clubs, NCAI
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale -
Lehi Branch, AZ
- Boys & Girls Club of the Lewis Clark Valley – Lapwai Unit, ID
- Kickapoo Boys & Girls Club, KS
- Waterville Area Boys & Girls Club – Maliseet, ME
- Waterville Area Boys & Girls Club Penobscot Nation, ME
- Boys & Girls Club of Bay Mills, MI
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the White Earth Reservation, MN
- Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Cheyenne Nation, MT
- Cherokee Youth Center, NC
- Boys & Girls Club of Sequoyah County, OK
- Chickasaw Nation Boys & Girls Club, Inc., OK
- The McCurtain County Boys & Girls Club of the Choctaw Nation, Inc., OK
- Boys & Girls Club of the Grand River Area, SD
- Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County, Inc., WA
- Boys & Girls Club of the Grand Traverse- Peshawbestown, MI
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