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All about the Y-Indian Princesses
The Y-Indian Princess program is different from scouting, sports teams, and
many other activities because it is specifically intended to be a parent AND
child organization. Our members join the program specifically because father and
daughter want to spend more time together. This program provides a wealth of
opportunities and settings you are unlikely to find otherwise.
From a parent's perspective this program gives you, as a father, the chance to
bond with your child on many levels. The idea is to "form bonds that last a
lifetime" -- so that when your children enter the turbulent middle school and
high school years you have built a strong relationship and many positive
memories. They have also learned how to have fun with their peers, in good ways.
And, particularly important for the girls, they have developed a strong sense of
accomplishment and self worth, and are able and willing to speak up for
themselves.
From a daughter's perspective there is an opportunity to have a wide circle of
friends, to get a sense of identity and belonging that is rare in today's world
of small families. It is like having a dozen sisters and uncles to trust and
rely on. The older girls take on leadership roles, helping and teaching the
younger ones.
In addition to forming strong parent/child relationships, the program also
provides opportunities:
- To see things and do things you otherwise might not: camping , canoeing a
scenic river, Horseback riding, sifting for fossil teeth of giant whale
sharks.....
- To meet other parents and children and make lasting friendships. To join
in a large circle of friends you have much in common with and will enjoy
sharing with (parents as much as kids)
- To learn more about where you live - to see the big and little places
that make Florida special, from Lake Wales to Arcadia, Yumatilla, Fruitland
Park, Fish Eating Creek, and many more.
and finally;
- To learn about Native American culture and the environment around us,
up-close and personal, in ways that no book or film could ever match. After
you have joined with your children in the spiral dance at the State Pow-Wow,
or lain on your back on the dock of the Swamp Safari at midnight while the
stars wheel overhead and the alligators glide below, you will have a personal
appreciation for what that means.
Typical Activities
The program includes a variety father and daughter activities, Tribal
activities, and Nation activities. The Seminole Nation follows a fairly regular
schedule, and include some local, and some overnight activities:
- The two key events of the year are the Spring and Fall Nation Camp-outs in
April and October of each year. These are father and daughter only events
packed with activities, held at full-featured camps with cabins, lakes, dining
and activity areas. The Fall Camp-out includes horseback riding; the spring
camp-out includes our version of the Pinewood derby.
- The Sunshine State Pow-Wow is held in March of each year; entire families
are invited to gather with Tribes from Guide and Princess programs across the
state and join in war games, storytelling, dancing, and other contests.
- In November, families are invited to join the annual camping, canoeing and
fossil hunting expedition to Peace River.
- In May, families are invited to John Pennicamp State Park in Key Largo to
sail and snorkel and see the underwater world around us.
- In December we have a Dad and Daughter Dance to end the year.
- Other Nation activities have included the Davie Rodeo, the Museum of
Science and Discovery, the Miami Metrozoo, Glass-Bottom boat excursions along
the coast,overnight camping at Billie Swamp Safari on the Big Cypress Seminole
Reservation, trips to Orlando, local Beaches and Sporting events.
Typical Tribal activities include:
- House Meetings, which generally include a craft activity, and may also
include planning for Tribal Events, Nation Events or community activities.
- Out Meetings, such as trips to local or state parks, an expedition to the
Everglades, a canoe trip on the Loxahatchee River, a trip to Jupiter
Lighthouse and Blowing Rocks Preserve, overnight stays at Spanish River Park
or The Miami Seaquarium, behind-the scenes tour at local fire and police
stations or local businesses, participation in community service
activities....
Commitment
The success of the program hinges on the continued commitment of fathers to
expend time and effort. Once again this is a parent AND child activity. It is an
ongoing commitment to set aside time for Tribe and Nation events, as well as
projects you and your daughter have together.
As with any group or program, the more more you put in to it as a
participant, the more you get out of it. For those willing to make a bigger
commitment, volunteer positions as a Tribal Chief or Medicine Man, a Nation
Longhouse Chief, or Nation Officer can be very rewarding.
Goals and History of the Program
"An Y-Indian Princess is a girl with a Dad like mine"
The Y-Indian Princess program is designed for Dads and Daughters, growing
together, spiritually and mentally. Sponsored by the YMCA, it is a spin-off of
the Indian Guides program established in the 1920's for for Dads and Sons. The
purpose of the Y-Indian Princesses Program is to foster the understanding and
companionship of father and daughter.
The program is open to girls, Kindergarten through 6th grade (and then some),
and their Dads. The YMCA is dedicated to providing good opportunities for people
to achieve their greatest and most satisfying potential as caring, responsible
human beings. Y-Indian Guide Programs (Guides, Princesses, Maidens, and Braves)
help fulfill this mission by:
- Fostering companionship and understanding between parent and child, and
setting a foundation for positive, lifelong relationships
- Building a sense of self-esteem and personal worth.
- Expand awareness of spirit, mind and body.
- Provide the framework to meet a mutual need of spending enjoyable,
constructive quality time together.
- Emphasize the vital role that parents play in the growth and development
of their children.
- Offer an important and unique opportunity to develop and enjoy volunteer
leadership skills.
The Pledge
We, father and daughter,
Through friendly service to each other,
To our family, to our tribe, to our community,
Seek a world pleasing to the eye of the Great Spirit.
Slogans
- "Friends Always"
- "Pals Forever"
- "Forming Bonds to Last a Lifetime"
Aims of the Program
- To love the sacred circle of my family.
- To be clean in body and pure in heart.
- To share understanding with my father/daughter.
- To listen while others speak.
- To love my neighbor as myself.
- To seek and preserve the beauty of the Great Spirit's work in forest field
and stream.
History of the Program
The Indian Guides program was established in 1926 as a way to ensure that
hard-working fathers stayed involved in their sons lives. The program was
developed by Harold Keltner of the Saint Louis, Missouri YMCA, with the help of,
and based on the example of his friend Joe Friday, an Ojibway Indian. According
to Joe Friday, "The Indian father raises his son. He teaches his son to hunt,
track, fish, walk softly and silently in the forest, know the meaning and
purpose of life and all he must know."
Keltner designed the father and son program based upon the strong qualities of
American Indian culture and life--dignity, patience, endurance, spirituality,
feeling for the earth and concern for the family. The Indian Maidens, a sister
organization for mothers and their daughters was established in South Bend,
Indiana in 1951. The Y-Indian Princess organization for fathers and daughters
got its start at the Fresno, California YMCA in 1954. Finally, in 1980, the US
national YMCA recognized the need for an Indian Braves organization for Mothers
and Sons.
Use of the Native American Theme
(a South Florida Editorial)
There is currently some controversy over the use of traditional Native
American names and themes in the program. Below are some brief editorial
thoughts on the subject. In addition, here is an article reprinted from the
Los Angeles Times.
Participants in the Y-Indian Princess program are encouraged to find positive
and respectful ways of using the Native American theme in their activities.
While a tribe may participate in a variety of events over the course of a year,
the Native American theme has been an instrumental part of the program for
three-quarters of a century.
That's saying quite a bit considering the changes that occurred in American
society over that time. In 1926 when the Y programs began, the world was a very
different place. Yet the program, which is entirely a volunteer organization,
has continued to win the interest and involvement of parent and child alike,
regardless of the world of distractions that surround us, and has remained
largely true to its original intent to the present day.
In addition to selecting tribal and individual names, program activities
often include Native American crafts, artwork and storytelling. Our semi-annual
Nation Camp-outs include contests for Native American costume. Parents and child
(and friends and grandparents) are often involved in researching and creating
traditional costumes. The most recent winner wore a Lakota costume whose detail
would have rivaled more than one museum display I have seen.
Once a year we attend the Sunshine State Pow-Wow (held at different locations
each year). Included in the activities are visiting native American storytellers
and dance groups, along with various classes and workshops on crafts, tribal
languages, and other topics. A father and daughter activity, in this case,
becomes a four-day long family expedition to join literally thousands of others
from Guide and Princess Nations across the state.
In South Florida we are fortunate to be close to two tribes, including our
namesake Seminole Tribe and the
Miccosukee Tribe.
Both hold annual Pow-Wows within easy easy travel distance (in Hollywood and on
the Tamiami trail, respectively) and both tribes have a variety of cultural
events at their respective museums, most notably at the A-Tha-Thi-Ki museum on
the Seminole reservation.
We also annually attend, as a tribes or as a nation, overnight events on the
Big Cypress Reservation, including reenactments from the Seminole wars, rodeos,
and late night story telling.
In our own tribe we were doubly fortunate to include among our members a
daughter whose mother was a Choctaw, originally from Alabama. Her comments on
the program and participation were valuable in increasing our exposure to, and
appreciation of Native American cultures and sensibilities.
Most of us are all too aware of the ways in which entities ranging from
Hollywood to Professional and Collegiate sports organizations have appropriated
and abused Native American names, faiths, and culture. Most of these have
clearly been self serving and disrespectful. I wouldn't dream of suggesting
otherwise. On the other hand, it does not have to be that way.
My own children have slept many nights in Seminole chickees in the
Everglades, eaten Seminole meals and danced in Seminole and Tale ka dances. They
have watched fancy dancers and hoop dancers and jingle dancers, eaten chicken
roast over a fire pit by starlight with Jimmy Sawgrass, listened to tellers of
stories and folklore at A-Tha-Thi-Ki, and learned which words and actions are
respectful and which are not.
I am grateful to have had the chance to expose my children to these things,
and I wonder, if it had not been for this program, what their understanding of
Native Americans might have been based on. A John Wayne movie perhaps? A casino
advertisement?
We are not corporations or movie producers or baseball team owners. We are
simply parents trying to raise their children. And as a parent, I am proud to
say that the only cowboys my children have ever known, have been Indians.
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