Reclaiming the Warrior

Responsible Fatherhood Project teaches Native men how to be Native fathers

By Alyssa Kelly

The Passages Responsible Fatherhood Program (Responsible Fatherhood) began with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes (CSKT) being awarded a grant provided by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (90FR006/0), which focuses on parenting skills and financial literacy. According to members of the program, CSKT is the first Native American tribe to be awarded the grant for a fatherhood program. The project has a team of four making it possible: Arlene Templer (director), Sharon Oakley (Coordinator), and Case Managers Gene Lozeau and Pat Matt. "The tribes started this program because there was a need to help fathers on the reservation," says Pat.

Ray Nichols and Tera Bigcrane watch their daughter sleep in this promo photo. Ray successfully completed the Responsible Fatherhood program. (courtesy photo)

According to the Indian Health Service Accountability Report, "Across the Flathead reservation, hundreds of parents are struggling with life's complexities and coming up short. Reservation history and modern society both share responsibility for these families in need. Looking back over the past 30-40 years, statistical data will verify that fewer and fewer Americans are living as a so-called 'traditional family units.' The data would also back up that more women are in the workplace. Many Natives living on the reservation also continue to battle their own inner demons about culture, tribal history, traditions, the language, and the very definition of being Native."

The Responsible Fatherhood's answer to the reservation's need is to teach Native men what it meant to be a Salish and Kootenai man in the day of their ancestors as far as traditions, values, customs, and the role of the father/man in the family unit. The men in turn, learn to use that knowledge in modern society. "We're going to have the men in the program learn from traditional mentors about different aspects of their culture and they can share what they learn with their own families," says Pat. As an attempt of connecting the men to their tribal identity, Gene has an idea of giving the men individual family genealogy sheets listing their family connections to their ancestors. "We're in the process of contracting tribal elders to give talks to the men on what it means to be a father from the tribal aspect," says Pat. Although the program's focus is on fathers, the overall goal is for the family unit as a whole to function more positively, and the services will be available to both genders.

Plans are in the works to teach the men about parenting and becoming more active in raising their children. Through Responsible Fatherhood, the men are referred to several other programs focused on parenting such as The Strengthening Families Program, and the Parents as Teacher's curriculum and Hanen's "You Make the Difference" program, which is available to clients through Responsible Fatherhood's coordinator, Oakley, who is also a Parenting Educator.

The program is also planning activities the men and their families can be involved in together, such as swimming, sports, pow-wows, dance regalia construction, tee-pee construction, and so on and so forth.

The first group to join the program began with a list of young fathers throughout the community submitted to Pat by Ruth Swaney. From there, Pat and Gene approached the young men and offered their services. "The day that we went out on the field to find the men, it was a really beautiful day. We went to the their homes and it was great because about every home we went to the men were outside doing yard-work or watching their children. We didn't even have to knock on their doors. I guess we took that as a sign of fate because all but a few that we invited actually showed up to be a part of the program," says Pat.

The young men that joined were able to attended the first event hosted by Responsible Fatherhood which were two-week classes on financial management taught by Rich Janssen of $-JGREEN FINANCIAL-$. The men completed the first financial literacy course last month and the response has been enthusiastic as the participants acquire new life skills and career training. They each received framed certificates of completion and a free box of tools. "It felt good to give to them. They were a great bunch of guys, really open," says Pat. The participants involved were: Ray Nichols, Jerome Quequesah, Travis Lozeau, Dustin Spotted Blanket, Justin Onesalt, Nakota Aimsback, and Randon Lefthand.

Throughout the classes, the men had learned more than just finances. "The young men were interested in all sorts of topics throughout the course and I just listened to what they had to say. So I went out on my own and found some information on the different topics they showed interest in," says Gene. He gathered information from numerous books that he felt the young men might find interesting including American Indians Stereotypes & Realities by Devon A. Mihesua, Letters to a Young Brother by Hill Harper, and American Indians, American Justice by Vine Deloria, Jr. and Clifford M. Lyte. "I just use anything I can to connect to young people," says Gene.

Ray Nichols, one of the young men involved in the program, was recently hired at the Kwataqnuk Resort in Polson right before attending the financial classes. "I learned how to budget my money, set up a bank account and choose the right bank with the best interest. I learned how to balance a checking account and how to fill out the paperwork and make a loan," says Ray. Through what he learned in the program, Ray is making plans to use his newfound knowledge on finances in his every day life. "I just got paid and I put some money away that I'll save until next pay-day and I'm going to set up a bank account," he says. Aside from being a client of the project, Ray Nichols and his family will be featured in the brochures for Responsible Fatherhood, which will be distributed reservation-wide.

During the class, the men learned that another way to save for their children would be to put away half of their children's tribal per-capita money in a separate account. After years of saving, their children would be able to have double their IIM by the age of 18. This was one lesson Ray plans on making a reality. "Every per-cap I'm going to put half of it away for my son in his own account. The program has really helped me by learning how to save for my son," says Ray.

The program is accepting up to thirty participants and retaining them for a minimum of one year. The assessments will help the clients choose a variety of options to acquire the skills they need in order to create the future they desire. The Responsible Fatherhood program is officially open and accepting qualified clientele. It is located in the former Even Start building across from the baseball fields behind Pablo Elementary School. For referral submissions or further information about participation eligibility, you can contact Sharon Oakley at extension 1170, Gene Lozeau at extension 1281, and Pat Matt at extension 1171.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.