Towaoc looks to future with new youth program

Towaoc looks to future with new youth program

Sept. 9, 2000

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

The adjective "sovereign" is defined as independent, or self-governing. For the Ute Mountain Utes, securing their nation’s sovereignty means fostering education for the young people destined to lead the tribe into the future.

SHANNON ROOT, Dallena Lopez, Alfreda Wall, Kiffany Cotonuts, Bridie Lopez, Erica Cuthair, Wendy Laner, Sheena Tailfeathers, Vida Clark and Michael Salazar, all youths and staff involved with the new Ute Mountain Ute Youth Opportunity Program, pose at the kickoff of the program on Sept. 1

A big boost towards that goal comes in the form a $2 million Department of Labor grant, part of a $1.3 billion effort to combat high unemployment in the nation’s Indian communities.

Now, with a new director and nine of 15 advocates hired so far, the tribe’s Youth Opportunity Program is ready to begin working with the 50 mostly Ute kids already enrolled.

The program targets Towaoc and White Mesa youths between 14 and 21. There are 275 in that age group between the main two reservation towns.

Headquarters for the program is in the old Head Start building in Towaoc, with a satellite office in White Mesa.

"We’re serving a need," said director Clara Martinez. "We’re really getting it going now, with kids becoming involved in different achievement and education activities."

The idea is to create a one-stop center to serve Ute Mountain youths. For some, that means guiding them back into the classroom, or into jobs. For others, it means putting ideas in their heads for future careers. Students will be tracked also to ensure they are moving in a positive direction, something that has not been done before.

The newly funded education initiative potentially could continue for five years, with an additional $8 million earmarked depending on the program’s initial success.

To reach young people, the Youth Opportunity Program draws upon local organizations such as the Re-1 school district, Southwest Open Charter School, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Montezuma County Partners, and local school-to-career programs. Overall goals include more job training and placement, tutoring, career and skill assessment, cultural awareness, physical fitness and health, mentoring programs and work experience.

The coordinated training effort and infusion of funding for education puts the tribe in a better position to someday take over federally-funded programs now run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That’s the option the tribe always has had, but it has come up short on the trained staff needed to run every department.

Obtaining that independence means encouraging young people to acquire the skills to become involved in government, natural-resource management, agriculture, law enforcement, construction, planning, retail, archaeology, arts and culture, and education on the reservation. As the tribe grows, so do those opportunities.

The din of nail-guns and the beeping of heavy equipment going on next door to the Ute Casino also represent progress for the 2,000-member tribe. A new travel center and grocery store are going up now, with more plans for a hotel, museum and golf course in the works.

On Friday, the Utes officially opened their new Head Start facility in anticipation of increased enrollment.

"Education for our young people — that is what it is all about. It is where it all starts," said Selwyn Whiteskunk, vice chair for the Ute Mountain tribe.

Going away to college or professional training will look more attractive to young Utes, tribal leaders say, if they know jobs are waiting for them back home.

The Clinton administration freed up the funds this year in an effort to combat high unemployment and school-dropout rates on the nation’s Indian reservations. For the Utes, unemployment has hit 39 percent with the school-dropout rate at 45 percent.

Often high-skilled jobs go to non-Utes, a trend that tribal leaders want to buck.

"We’re not growing like we are to employ non-Indians or non-Utes," said Wilfred Madrid, Ute Mountain administrator. "The whole reason behind this is to tie development with jobs for Ute Mountain Utes."

"We’re giving kids a sense of confidence and self-esteem that they can use as a tool to succeed in other areas of their lives," said Steve Hendricks, recreation coordinator for the program.

"Some kids are just not used to success, so it’s those we’re trying to reach. They need that feeling of accomplishment and fortitude so that they can better manage those other things that come up in life."

Eventually, the Youth Opportunity Program will be established enough to run on its own, said Martinez.

"We want it to sink into the community so that it becomes a cadre of well-trained people who will carry it on," she said.