Native American Families Make Programs Their Own

The FAST (Families and Schools Together) program has long been a successful program that Family BASICS uses to build parent partnerships in schools. During FAST, families meet once a week for several weeks, and participate in fun activities to strengthen families and empower parents.

When Native American families participate in FAST, Family BASICS adds some flexibility to the program, incorporating important and meaningful elements of Native American culture. The result has been an extremely enthusiastic response! This success is thanks in part to critical partnerships with the Missoula Indian Center and local schools.

"There is such a need for families to find a place to interact together, says Family Advocate Luanne Kicking Woman, who is also a member of the Missoula Indian Center board. "Indian families coming from other areas feel so displaced when they come to Missoula; they are craving friendship and community, and that is what they get through this group," she says.

In the 2002-2003 school year, some of the creative programming included recruiting for FAST in the communities, making it a community celebration, and raising awareness about the FAST program. Families who attended the classes incorporated drumming, traditional costume design, and literacy activities into their programs. In March, participants in the parenting group held a powwow at Sentinel High School, which gave them a chance to perform for the public, and show the results of their hard work.

In addition to the parenting group, Luanne Kicking Woman works with "Indian Clubs" at local high schools. The clubs meet weekly over lunch, work on various causes, and raise money to attend an annual conference. This year, ten local youth attended the Youth Leadership Conference in Seattle. The clubs raised money to host the First Annual Missoula Youth Conference in April, and had 150 Montana youth attend.