Indigenized Adulting - Life Skills with Indigenous Knowledge

The Keetoowah Cherokee lands span 9 tribal districts that encompass 13 counties in northeastern Oklahoma. The tribe itself boats 15,000 members, many of whom live within the tribal borders and in some of the worst poverty in the state. Poverty is the problem, and it affects nearly all tribal members, making the scale massive within our community in a problem that is already massive on a global scale. The majority of the rural schools we support in our districts are 100% Native American and 100% of the students receive free lunches, meaning they live below the poverty line. The major factor that contributes to this problem is lack of education. Education is the key. Education is the solution to a better life for the students of the tribe. Our solution is education. Starting from an early age we want our students to feel worthy, to feel as though they can achieve anything they want in life. We believe the best way to accomplish this is by teaching them various life skills and intertwine those teaching moments with stories of our traditions and cultural ways while learning with the elder Tradition Keepers of the tribe. Each class earns the student money in their tribal college savings account and by the time they graduate high school, they have money to start college, trade school, etc., they have developed invaluable life skills, learned traditional ways, and nurtured a years-long relationship with various tribal elders. 

Our solution, quite simply, is education. Starting from an early age we want our students to feel worthy, to feel as though they can achieve anything they want in life. We want them to know that education can help to provide them with a better life. We believe the best way to accomplish this is by teaching them various life skills throughout their elementary, middle school, and high school years and intertwine those teaching moments with stories of our traditions, history, and cultural ways while learning with the elder Tradition Keepers of the tribe. We utilize various technology for these classes, including a SmartBoard, washer/dryer, dishwasher, car, etc. Each class the student participates in during their time in K-12 earns the student money in their tribal college savings account. By the time they graduate high school, they have money to start college, trade school, etc., they have developed invaluable life skills (car maintenance, laundry, cooking, money-management, resume skills, etc.), learned traditional ways, and nurtured a years-long relationship with various tribal elders. This sets the student up for success in life and in knowing that they have a community supporting them.

Our solution will primarily serve students in the tribe in grades K-12. However, we never turn away someone that wants to learn, therefore our life-skills classes will also be made available separately to adult learners. The solution will impact their lives by empowering the learner with a sense of self-worth and accomplishment. We want our students to truly feel worthy and ready to take on the world. We want them to see that education, in all forms, is so important. The students we serve are underserved because they live in some of the poorest areas in the state and attend schools that are overlooked for state funding. Education is the key to a better life for the next generation. Our hope is that they take that education and invest their skills back into the tribe, therefore benefitting the entire tribe for generations to come. 

We are working to directly improve the lives of the Keetoowah Cherokee people. The Keetoowah are one of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes and their capital lies in the heart of "Green Country" in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. However, they are vastly overshadowed by Cherokee Nation, one of the other federally recognized Cherokee tribes with whom they share their capital city. Because of the power and prestige of Cherokee Nation, the Keetoowah are often looked at and treated as second-class. Because we are working for the tribe in their small (but mighty) education department, we worked directly with the tribal citizens and students we serve to achieve this solution. The tribal college savings account that accompanies the classes is the first of its kind for tribes in this area. 

My team and I comprise the whole of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Education Department. We are small (5 total staff members - all Native American and all from this area) but we are mighty and we are excited and ready to carry out this solution as we have the tools and knowledge of this tribal community to do so. 

We're applying to Solve because we need partners of all shapes and sizes to grow and strengthen our program. While financial help is always appreciated, we'd really love to partner with companies that make things like tires, motor oil, dish soap, laundry detergent, money-management firms that could help with financial literacy, etc. We also always need technology. Students today cannot survive without a laptop or tablet and helping them with internet access in the rural areas is always a challenge.

I am the Assistant Director of Education for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians Education Department. 

Our solution is innovative in solving native poverty because we're broadening the traditional definition of education and intertwining those experiences with our tribal elders. Those elders are sharing their wisdom to the younger generations in a safe space on tribal grounds where the students can feel supported and heard. In turn, the students are also earning money for their higher education. We want our students to become well-rounded individuals who truly believe that they can achieve success in life through education in all forms. We want this to grow and encompass other positive departmental participation and community-wide participation for our students. 

Next Year Impact: Double the number of students we serve with the classes/college savings plan to 100. Hold 2-3 classes per month for students. We will achieve this primarily through a marketing campaign. We'll then have enough students to hold multiple classes per month. 

Next 5 Years Impact: From the moment a Keetoowah child is born, they are issued a tribal college savings account. This account will be added to over their K-12 years in a variety of ways, most prominently being the life-skills classes offered through the education department. Hold 1-2 classes a week for students. We will achieve this through marketing and again be able to offer more classes with more students. 

Indicators we are using to measure our progress include the number of tribal members enrolled in higher education, the number enrolled in technical schools, the number graduating high school, surveys that we plan to conduct for high school seniors, then again when they graduate from college/tech school. We are also measuring the number of youth speakers of the language and youth participating in our summer internship program. 

We expect our solution to have an impact on the problem because education is the key. Plain and simple. When a student feels smart, seen, heard, and worthy, they will excel in school and in life. To achieve more, you have to know that more is even a possibility. It is our job to engage them with that possibility. 

The core technology that powers our solution is blending the old traditional ways, with modern era technological convenances. We want our indigenous students to be making an arrowhead with a Tradition Keeper while using VR to walk through our ancestorial homeland forests where they see the berries that are going to be used in later lesson to make traditional dumplings. The core technology for our solution is being open to all technology. 

Our team consists of the director, a Cherokee man; the assistant director, a Cherokee woman; the intake specialist, A Keetoowah Cherokee woman; the librarian, a Choctaw woman; and our contract instructor, a non-native woman. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our team and we work extremely well together. 

We provide value in terms of impact by providing our customers with life-long education, both in the traditional and practical sense. We provide these products and services free of charge through our education department. Our students want these services because it earns them money for higher education. However, our students need these services because it provides them with life-skills that they will both need and use in their high education and adult pursuits. The classes also offer them traditional knowledge that is critical to the tribe's survival and quality time with a tribal elder. 

We will bring in money to sustain our program through grants, donations, and selling other classes to adult-learners. Our revenue stream will cover our expected expenses every year with our projected growth. 

For the past year we have been offering classes to adult learners through AMCA national certifications in careers such as Certified Medical Coding and Billing, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant, Certified Mental Health Technician, etc. We teach the classes in house and are gearing up to launch our online classes. All the revenue from these classes goes to help fund the proposed program.