The Healing of the Canoe’s Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth curriculum is an evidence-based, strengths-based life skills curriculum for youth that uses culture to prevent substance abuse, and connect youth to community and culture. (Visit our About page for more info). Our project team has offered curriculum implementation training to other American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes, organizations and communities across the United States and beyond. To date we have trained a total of 425 attendees from 59 Tribes and 18 Tribal organizations (view full list of tribes and organizations trained) in how to adapt and implement the curriculum.
Curriculum trainings are intended for Alaska Native/American Indian communities and/or organizations. Our trainings provide information on what the curriculum is, and how to adapt and implement it in your community – using community-based and culturally grounded strengths and resources to promote wellness and well-being. We do this through didactic teaching, digital stories, small group discussion and opportunities to role play facilitation.
Training Options
Curriculum Overview Training (1 day)
This one day training provides an overview of the adaptable Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth Curriculum. Trainers will travel to your community to provide this training, and we recommend that as many people from the community/organization attend as possible to get wider community buy in. This could include staff from various departments (i.e. Wellness, Youth, Culture, Justice, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment, etc.).
The training agenda includes:
- Healing of the Canoe project background and history
- Review of Curriculum chapters and handouts
- Using the Canoe Journey as a teaching metaphor
- Healing of the Canoe learning environment / how we teach
- Youth digital stories
- Community engagement
- Assessing community needs and resources
- Creating a Curriculum Adaptation Committee
- Adapting the curriculum to fit your community, culture and/or program
- Sustainability, evaluation and resources
Maximum number of attendees: 30-35
Curriculum Adaptation Training (1 day)
This training focuses on how to fully adapt the Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth Curriculum so that it includes your community’s cultural teachings, practices, values and activities. It is required that your community and/or organization have already participated in a general curriculum overview training (see above). This training is intended to help start the adaptation process. Your community should already have a curriculum adaptation committee in place, so that all members can attend the training.
Training agenda includes:
- Exploring issues of community concern
- Identifying community strengths and resources
- Determining target participants (i.e. high school, middle school, young adult)
- Deciding on teaching metaphor and curriculum focus
- Hands on adaptation of curriculum chapters
- Planning and coordinating adaptation committee meetings
- Development of an adaptation action plan
The training also includes a series of follow up TA/Consultation calls.
Maximum number of attendees: 15-20
Curriculum Implementation Training (1 day)
This training focuses on how to implement the Culturally Grounded Life Skills for Youth Curriculum (once adapted for your community or organization). It is required that your community and/or organization have already participated in a curriculum overview training (see above) and that there is a fully adapted curriculum in place. This training is ideal for those who will be coordinating and facilitating curriculum implementation.
Training agenda includes:
- Importance of a mutually respectful learning environment
- Implementation structure examples (school classes, camps, weekend workshops, etc)
- Facilitator preparation
- Facilitating sensitive curriculum topics
- Class facilitation demos
- In vivo curriculum facilitation practice
- Planning and resources for implementation
- Development of an implementation action plan
This training also includes a series of follow up TA/Consultation calls via teleconference or video conferencing. Maximum number of attendees: 15-20
Trainers are also available for additional technical assistance and consultation on topics such as community needs and resources, and community engagement.
Trainers are AIAN community and academic project team members who have been involved with the Healing of the Canoe project for a number of years. You will have an opportunity to provide feedback about the training to help us evaluate and improve the work we do.
Training Cost
If you host a training for your Tribal community or Tribal organization, you would need to cover the following costs:
- Daily trainer fees for 2-4 trainers
- Travel costs for each trainer from the Seattle are to your community/organization (i.e. hotel, airfare, gas, per diem).
- Printing costs for training materials
- Venue for training
- Food for attendees
There is the possibility of partial cost funding by the Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NWATTC) for tribes/organizations located in Washington, Oregon, Alaska or Idaho. Please contact us at info@healingofthecanoe.org to get more detailed information.
Want more info?
If you are interested in hosting a curriculum training in your community, please contact the Healing of the Canoe team at info@healingofthecanoe.org.