IMAGE: Let's work
together
to move forward
Earth Connections Camp: American Indian Nature Camp at Red Butte Gardens
Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City, Utah and Youth Garden Project in Moab, Utah
Earth Connections Camp: Reconnect urban American Indian youth with their natural world and cultural heritage.
Greetings all, my name is Chuck Foster. I'm employed with the Utah State Office of Education
as the American Indian Education Specialist.
I'd also like to introduce myself in Navajo. ...
The base of this preparation for these students is to have these kids
fit within the society, which they are part of.
I think a lot of these kids often times they feel left out. And, I think one of
the largest areas that we have with this camp is to instill that they belong in the society
and they have a lot of contributions. Their ancestors had a lot of contributions. And that's one area.
The other part is that
when they leave this camp you know sometimes it's difficult because they're
going back into a culture. They're going back into society where they're straddling two
worlds, two cultures... Two of everything
in terms of how they live and hopefully to have these kids adjust to those lifestyles.
I have thought about kids not actually bringing our traditions and keeping it up and alive.
Because, technology is "like" going overboard
and they're really relying on that instead of bringing the spiritual part in you.
What your elders taught.
Cause, soon they'll be gone and the things you want to know when you're older
are gonna die out too.
I think it's really important to connect back with what our ancestors used to do.
And to "like" keep the heritage and the tradition that we used to have and make it live on—so that it doesn't die out.
It's just something that we grew up with, and what our parents taught us.
And it's what they grew up with too.
Just knowing that it's gonna be passed down and it's gonna stay for a long time, if we keep it going.
The camp is an open invitation to all the students.
The open invitation includes their mind body and
spirit coming here and leaving that open in terms of what they can learn.
And I think that as they open up their hearts—mind, body, and soul—we feel that the
curriculum we have prepared for them will instill the identity, will instill their
culture...it will instill some of the academic areas in which they're
pursuing in schools today.
It's a way to keep native children grounded.
Not wrestling with two cultures and trying to understand an identity
of who they are. But recognize that they can...that they can be parallel.
And really even be beneficial. If they take the best of both worlds
but always keep their
cultural identity—that base of who they are and where they came from..
So have this camp is just a wonderful opportunity
for these youth to be able to come,
participate, and learn about their culture and be able to pick up on what is available
as well as future careers that they could have
in managing public land resources.