The vision of the Seventh Generation Kinship Framework is to build lasting relationships between Native youth and caring adult mentors within their community employing the following strategies:
- Connection through one-on-one mentoring and group cultural activities;
- Enhance the cultural identities of Native youth by integrating cultural values, kinship ways, and practices into all group mentoring activities; and
- Decrease youth contact with law enforcement and the courts by guiding them toward healthy lifestyle choices.
The Seventh Generation approach to mentoring, developed under an OJJDP grant, was inspired by the Maza Tiopa Mentoring Program, Porcupine, South Dakota, which created a mentoring program for children of incarcerated parents. The Maza Tiopa Mentoring Program was based on the traditional culture and kinship relations of the Lakota people. The Seventh Generation Mentoring model can be easily duplicated by other Native programs to create a similar mentoring program.
Resource Files:
Presenter Name:
Stephanie Autumn, Director, Tribal Youth Resource Center Jeri Brunoe, Brunoe Consulting
Resource Date of Presentation:
August 14, 2024
