Abstract
To engage tribal community members in adapting an evidence based, youth life skills curriculum for transition-age youth who have experienced multiple risk factors that prevent a healthy transition to adulthood. This exploratory, qualitative study draws on the voices of twelve critical community member (providers, parents & youth) that identified the specific cultural adaptations for the curriculum. Three primary overlapping themes emerged (1) the importance of incorporating AIAN identity and ceremony in the intervention design, (2) how the program should be integrated into current service delivery and (3) the specific curricular components to be delivered, including by whom and how they should be delivered. The inclusion of tribal members is key to building culturally relevant service delivery systems that will meet the needs of American Indian adolescents and young adults who are who are transitioning to adult hood in a American Indian community. Implications for policy and practice are offered.
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Notes
Wapitat Ttawaxt is one of nine primary Yakama Nation virtues. It emphasizes the need to grow up in service to others and offering to help others in as many ways as one can think of. This includes taking part in planning and engaging in positive community events and activities that prevent violence, helping others heal from traumatic experiences, eliminating substance use and chemical dependency, promoting positive understanding and involvement in Indian culture, modeling and encouraging education and the pursuit of life goals for others, and working to increase the unity of all people (Wilkins, 2008). This virtue really describes the spirit and goal of the proposed project.
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Acknowledgements
This project was funded by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration under grant number 1 H79 SM081963-01. The contents of this material are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the SAMSHA. We also thank all our Tribal partners and study participants from the Yakama Nation for their contributions and guidance.
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The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Board as well as the Yakama Nation Tribal Council. Informed consent was obtained through a written consent process. Caregivers provided signed consent for the one minor who participated in the study.
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Day, A., Cross, S.L., Abrams, N. et al. Wapítat Ttáwaxt (Community in Service to Community): Results of Community Stakeholder Engagement into the Initial Development of a Tribally Adapted Interdependent Life Skills Curriculum for American Indian Teens. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 41, 329–339 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00847-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00847-3