| Tips on Building a Strong Tribe |
| • Make a Date: Take Date: Hold tribal meetings twice a month (one meeting may be a tribal outing or Federation gathering) and set the dates well in advance. Let nothing interfere with hosting the meeting! Changing dates frequently to accommodate specific member’s schedules is typically the first sign of a weakening tribe. Hosting parent and child should send out reminder e-mails or phone calls a couple of days in advance of the meeting to remind everyone. If you really want to get them excited, hand deliver invitations to the meeting. • Go Scouting for Outings: Besides your regular twice-monthly meetings, plan occasional tribal activities such as tours, shows, park visits, and other things of interest to your children. Be creative. Special events, outings, and family activities build fellowship, enthusiasm, and tribe strength. As you recall the outings that you did together, you find that you built great memories that will last forever. • Get Down to Business (Meetings): The adults in the tribe must schedule parent meetings to get together independent of the children. These meetings are to discuss and make plans for upcoming tribal and/or Federation events, to share ideas, critique meetings and activities, and plan future meetings, projects and outings. (And will help keep the business portion of the tribal meeting short). • Celebrate Accomplishments: Many successful tribes create a tribal beads/awards program for good behavior, special projects, and personal accomplishments. Awards are typically beads, necklace items, feathers, charms, medallions, patches, or other small tokens. They may be handed out for attendance and other recognition. • Take the Time to Plan the Time: Each meeting is planned by the host with time allocated for a variety of appropriate activities. These would include ceremonies, sharing, songs, stories, games, crafts, snacks, and tribal business. Rushing through (or dragging through) a meeting will lose the attention of the children. Captains start and end the meetings on time and business is kept to a minimum (save it for parent meetings). • Make Your Monthly Statement: Key information is discussed at the monthly Town Hall meetings and at least one representative from your tribe needs to attend. At minimum, the Captain attends Town Hall but all tribe members can and should attend if they can. Aside from serving on Council, this is the best way to stay involved in the program. The more involved you are, the more involved your child will be. • K.I.S.S. and Tell: Remember to K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) – the simpler it is, the more effective it most likely will be. The focus of the tribe should be on the companionship between parent and child. Each child should be able to recite the purpose, the slogan, and AIMS of the program. The tribe should practice repeating them together at each meeting. Shared activities and experiences that teach good lessons should have the highest priority. • Go Down in History: Create some tribal traditions and stick to them. Traditions can be rules or ceremonies that everyone follows such as wearing vest or T-shirts to meetings, using Adventure Guide names, or beating the drum to announce each child. Traditions can also be certain stories or songs that are performed frequently by the tribe. Making a tribal bead pouch, wampum bag, talking stick, or other craft can begin great traditions for your tribe. • Pursue the Pure Power of Participation: Tribes that participate in Federation events tend to remain the stronger tribes. The tribes that co-host Federation events tend to remain the stronger tribes. The tribes that also plan Tribal events tend to remain the stronger tribes. Tribes that recognize those that participate tend to remain the stronger tribes. Do you see the pattern here??? • Share and Share Alike: Each adult should share the operations and positions of the tribe. This includes sharing and rotating tribal offices and requiring participation in planning and implementation sessions. The first sign of a strong tribe is when every member (not just the Captain) is doing their share of planning, reminding, contacting, and updating the other members of the tribe of each activity that they are going to be involved in. Each person should hold office for a period of not less than three months and not more than six months. Equal sharing of all the tribal responsibilities helps everyone stay involved and most importantly…HAVE FUN!!!!! • Parent/Child Togetherness: All parents and children sit together during meetings, crafts, and snack, and participate together in all activities. Children should NEVER attend Y- Adventure Guide meetings without their parent/sponsor. THIS IS THE ONLY PROGRAM RULE WHICH MUST NEVER BE BROKEN. |
| Friends Forever * We build strong kids, strong families, strong communities * Friends Forever |
| Simi Valley Federation |
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