USA - Ellam-iinga: Resilience Pathways of Indigenous Circumpolar Communities and their Youths

Contemporary circumpolar indigenous youth typically grow up in remote, culturally distinct settings. These young people experience backgrounds of a rich cultural history confronted by rapid social transition. What are the resilience pathways for healthy d evelopment in the face of this? What are young peoples identifications with their indigenous cultural background? Does this reflect broader cultural adaptations to change? Answers to these questions can contribute to our understanding of successful educat ional and preventive health strategies for indigenous young people. A study of indigenous youth in three different international settings can explore the impact of divergent national social policies interacting with cultural transition. This project will provide travel for contacts with three circumpolar communities to establish memorandums of understanding regarding collaborative research relationships. While we anticipate the precise nature of each agreement to vary by community, common elements will i nclude significant local involvement in the research process. The proposed study consists of qualitative interviews using a collaborative methodology maximizing community input. Interviews are conceived as baseline interviews for a future longitudinal st udy. However, the proposed interviews will provide an important study on their own of life stories in early adolescence of indigenous people. Interviews will explore goals for the future, plans for attaining goals and any setbacks encountered, and strateg ies for coping with challenges. Interviews will emphasize perceptions regarding culture. This includes relationship to indigenous language, cultural practices, and cultural identity status, and perceptions regarding the future of their culture and cultura l identity in the context of globalization. The project will also implement tracking procedures to facilitate possible future longitudinal data collection through adult development.