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Project 7: Native Family Portrait Album |
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Principal Partners: To be named |
Project Description: The National Initiative to Strengthen Native Families was undertaken by the National UNITY Council as a means of addressing in a positive manner some of the issues that are of greatest concern to Native youth. Given the focus that is placed on the problems facing Native families, it is easy to forget that there is still much to celebrate. Therefore, it is the objective of this Initiative related project to collect and showcase portraits of our ancestors and contemporary Native families as a positive reminder of the strength to be found in a substantial percentage of Native families.
Youth council members will be invited to submit pictures of their ancestors such as great-grandparents, grandparents, and other relations of preceding generations. They will also be requested to submit contemporary portraits of the youth council member along with his or her family members. Those who submit photographs will be requested to identify the family members portrayed in the pictures and to provide a brief paragraph that completes the statement, “We keep our family strong by...”. The family portraits may be those taken by a professional photographer or simply snapshots of family members at family gatherings or otherwise engaged in fun activities. The pictures and statements will be required to be submitted in a digital format so they may be easily processed and incorporated into a Native Family Album for long term display on the UNITY, AISES, Native Youth Magazine, and RezKast.com Websites. The Webpages will serve as a positive reminder that Native America has much to be proud of and a strong foundation on which to build a future for those who will follow.
To ensure maximum participation, the member youth councils of the responsible Action Committee will each host a Family Portrait Day within their community at which time volunteer photographers will take family pictures. In addition, youth council members and volunteers will be available to scan existing photographs such as those of ancestors and existing family portraits. The families who participate in the Family Portrait Day will receive copies of their family portraits and scanned images on a CD. During Family Portrait Day the families will be invited to socialize with other participants and to share stories about their family histories and to enjoy a potluck meal. Each participating youth council will be encouraged to plan other family activities to take place throughout the day.