Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth

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.