Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth: A Toolkit for Service Providers

Not a week goes by without a negative news story about the rates of problem behaviours among Aboriginal youth in Canada. These statistics do not tell the whole story and we must shift our paradigm from one focusing on defi cits to a strengthsbased approach. This toolkit presents a wide range of guidelines, strategies, templates and case studies for those who work with Aboriginal youth. The toolkit is divided into four sections. The background and overview section provides a historical context for understanding the challenges facing Aboriginal youth and makes a case for the importance of building youth engagement and empowerment. The guiding principles section identifi es four key tenets of effective programming with Aboriginal youth: understanding and integrating cultural identity, increasing youth engagement, fostering youth empowerment, and establishing and maintaining effective partnerships. Specifi c strategies are organized around these principles to help individuals and organizations improve the work they are doing. The working with schools section highlights challenges and opportunities in working with partners in the educational system. Finally, the research and evaluation section offers a range of considerations for program evaluation and other types of research. Throughout the toolkit a mix of conceptual guidelines and practical strategies are presented.