103 Native Youth Pollinate for the Future
The open space technology communications model is similar to pollinators in the natural environment. Individuals move and buzz around through preference areas of subject matter. In the case of the Native Youth Climate Adaption Leadership Congress (NYCALC), topic areas with the potential to be “pollinated” were Networking, Education, Spirituality, Sustainability, and Respecting Elders. Unlike flowers, these topics were specifically chosen by 103 indigenous, high school students from across the United States and American Samoa. Like butterflies, bats, and bees, students were able to to browse through these topic areas and decide which topics they were most passionate about. Students communicated and creatively designed a presentation about their chosen topic throughout the NYCALC week at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
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Indigenous youth from diverse cultural backgrounds immersed themselves in brainstorming and taught faculty about their solutions to the question, “What can you do to cultivate/nurture adaption to make your community resilient in a changing world?” As young leaders, indigenous students provided inspiration and encouragement for a bright future.[/caption]
Jamilla Martell, Dilon Ortiz, Ben Hunter-Francis II, and La’akea Judd share their experiences of NYCALC. (Click on the image to view a slideshow of these experiences)
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My tiospaye (extended family (Oglala Lakota language))[/caption]
NYCALC, who would’ve thought bringing nearly two-hundred people together would feel like family on their third day of just meeting? The week was memorable at the least, but really, a life changing experience that connects you to an indigenous family and indigenous ally family that supports, encourages, and believes in you. We all are there for each other and that was really, the heart of NYCALC.
