Sample Program Description - Key Elements

As you work on a shared vision for your youth on the land/water program, it will be helpful to document the key elements of your program. You may want to write down program goals, participants, delivery approach, etc. This can also help the vision and program start to grow outside of you to be owned by a team in your community. It can help to host a planning meeting (or several meetings) with key stakeholders to clarify some of the following. This template includes sample responses from the Warrior program but you could easily adapt this to fit your unique program.

i. Program Goals (sample)

• Teach respect, responsibility, discipline
• Prepare youth to become future leaders
• Rebuild community pride through sharing skills and stories
• Prepare youth for Guardian work
• Prepare youth for post-secondary
• Train future emergency responders

ii.  Program Participants (sample)

Each community needs to decide who the program will serve. Examples of program participant details are - Indigenous boys and young men (9-17 year-olds); 18-25 year-olds in community; Girls / women / female-identifying youth, etc.

iii.  Delivery Model (sample)

The delivery model will be customized to community wants, needs and constraints. The basic Warriors program delivery model often follows a structure with these elements:

• Weekly meetings + monthly camping trips
• Building cabins - reclaiming land and territory
• Train the trainer model: communities teaching other communities

Different programs will follow different delivery models. For example, SEAS programs may follow models like this:

• Weekly SEAS "block" in student timetable
• Monthly on-the-land field trips
• Summer internship program - full days on the land/water for 8 weeks over the summer.

iv.  Administrative Structure / Home (sample)

Deciding on an administrative “home” for your program is an important decision – this is where your program will “live".

Different organizations / community entities may be better positioned to hold administrative responsibility for the program (e.g., receiving funding, submitting budgets and reports) vs. shaping program content vs. actually delivering / implementing the program. Partnerships between community organizations may help to support and resource your program more robustly.

For example, different sources of funding may be available to you depending on where you decide to host your program. E.g., FNHA funding will flow through a health department but not through a school. On the other hand, education funding may need to flow through a school and the school / education department will also need to be involved if you want youth to earn course credits for their participation in the program.

Some options for your program’s “home” may include:

• School
• Health department
• Nation / band-level
• Stewardship department