United Tribes ) Michigan - Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Strong Sovereign Nations leadership development effort that targets newly elected tribal
council members.
There is clearly a need for a safe, creative space where tribal stakeholders can share ideas,
understand common strategies and needs, and explore common ground. One key player
asked whether the Kellogg Foundation itself would convene such a gathering. Such
opportunities for networking and reflection are rare. At one multi-stakeholder meeting
held to inform this report, one participant even noted, "Just having this meeting...has been
very helpful."
As a practical matter, creating a shared vision may first have to focus on stakeholders' own
local communities before extending across tribal and geographic boundaries for a more
collective view. The reality is that few practitioners have had the freedom to think
strategically or proactively, beyond the scope of immediate responsibilities. Perhaps one
possibility is a concurrent, two-track process of planning locally as well as globally. Such a
process would generate buy-in and energy around priority activities.
More than 40 stakeholders responded to a web-based survey seeking to learn more about
current needs and services relative to Native children age 0-8 and their families. Asked to
identify the five most important needs, respondents identified the following:
• Provide families with holistic prevention strategies (e.g., health, violence, substance
abuse).
• Incorporate Native language and culture into early childhood development.
• Increase collaboration among existing programs to maximize resources.
• Communicate effectively to families about available programs & help.
• Provide healthy food & more exercise for children.
The next two highest ranked needs were to
• Develop a community-wide vision/blueprint to support children's success; and
• Provide more child development education/training to parents.
The identification of holistic prevention strategies reflects a keen interest by stakeholders
in proactively addressing root causes. In meetings and interviews, practitioner after
practitioner bemoaned the lack of prevention services in Native communities.
"A lot of times our system is more reactive than proactive," said Julie Barber, clinical
supervisor of behavioral health for the Sault Tribe. "What's lacking is the proactive."
Tribal culture is seen as the unifying glue for holistic strategies, especially when healthy
human development encompasses cognitive, physical, mental and spiritual domains. Given
assimilation, there is a need to teach basic values and re-teach cultural traditions, while
reclaiming indigenous knowledge as it relates to tribal languages, native foods and plants,
interacting with the environment, hunting and fishing, and conducting ceremonies.
"If we're sending a message back to Kellogg, we really want to have our programs be
culturally focused," said Eva Petoskey, director of the Anishnaabek Healing Circle-Access to
5