Creating Your Vision

What is your vision for the campus and/or community?

My vision is for the young Native American ladies of Anadarko, Oklahoma to take pride in their heritage and community, to have high self-esteem, and to become leaders of the community and state, representing their community in a positive manner.

Assessing Your Campus and Community

What campus/community problem does your blueprint address? What structures, practices and policies institutionalize the problem?

The young ladies of Anadarko, Oklahoma have a defeatist mentality in every aspect of their lives. Many young people and their families are below the poverty line. Substance abuse is prevalent. The unemployment rate is 5.1% in Anadarko. Many young people turn to gangs for for a sense of family and culture. The Native American community of Anadarko is disenfranchised with mainstream society and their culture is not represented with pride.

What communities will you work with?

• Local community

Setting Goals and Deliverables

• Goal 1: Establish a program focused on cultural pride and self-esteem building for Native American girls in Anadarko, OK
• Recruit two girls and parents from Anadarko High School to accompany me to workshop called Keeping the Circle Strong: Celebrating Native Women's Health and Well-Being
• Develop curriculum geared toward building self-esteem and for girls, through Native culture.
• Organize a small conference for Anadarko students and parents. Invite Devery Fairbanks to present on community building and support.
• Have Native American elders meet with participants twice a week to work on traditional regalia. This would close generational gap and provide life and cultural history lessons while working on traditional regalia.
• Goal 2: Ensure the sustainability for the program
• Seek out funding sources and additional grants for the program
• Recruit five girls to participate in the program
• Train participants and other role models to become leaders to carry on the program
• Goal 3: Have girls personally invest themselves into the town of Anadarko
• Secure location for the program, specifically family to donate property to the Anadarko Youth Council. We will run the program out of the Anadarko Youth Council.
• Work with recruits to remodel property and make it their headquarters.
• After conference, continue work with the girls in the new headquarters. Facilitate participants community engagement projects.

What is your primary approach? Leadership and Capacity Building

Why did you choose this approach?

I chose leadership and capacity building because it seems to fit with the needs of the community.

Did you have secondary approaches? What are they?

My secondary approach is idea creation through the promotion of Native American culture.

What will your tactics and activities be?

1a.) Talk to Anadarko Indian Education tutors to target at-risk students.
1b.) Create list of potential recruits for program.
1c.) Poll parents to see if their student would benefit from program. Tell parents about program.
1d.) Talk to friends of potential recruits to see if they are interested in program. "Monkey see, Monkey do"
2.) After list of recruits is compiled, conduct introductory meeting and tell them about program. Brainstorm with recruits on naming of program and logo, after which they will become members.
3.) Invite parents to twice a week meetings.
4.) Create media campaign using media resources to promote program and ask for funding.
5.) Work with program members on hosting small conference in town to promote community esteem.
6.) Begin twice a week self-esteem curriculum with program members and Native Elders.
7.) Begin remodeling potentially donated property.
8.) The creation of buckskin moccasins and the remodeling of a potential headquarters is indicative of the struggles these young women face in their lives and strive to overcome.
9.) As the organization progresses, young women members will search for other at-risk recruits to perpetuate the lifeblood of the organization.

Connecting Back to Vision

How does your strategy contribute to your vision for your campus and/or your community?

My strategy is a direct contribution to my community. By helping the members of this program attain high self-esteem, I am helping build a better community. One woman at a time.

Resources and skills you will need

What skills do you need for this approach?

I will need leadership courses, training on being a role model for young women, and training for guidance counseling.