This document presents a number of tools for adapting youth-focused programs to meet the needs of young Aboriginal people. They advocate for a strengths-based approach, which means focusing on factors that protect Aboriginal youth from violence, suicide, substance abuse, etc., rather than giving too much attention to negative statistics. Their approach also emphasizes understanding and integrating cultural identity, and they offer a self-assessment guide, specific strategies, ideas about working with schools, and research considerations.

From Abstract:

From coast to coast to coast in Canada, there is growing recognition that many youth programs do not adequately meet the needs of Aboriginal youth. Some programs have been developed without any thought to the unique circumstances of Aboriginal youth. Others have been superficially adapted with respect to program materials, but without a deeper consideration of the myriad programmatic, organizational, and evaluation factors that require fine tuning. Many program staff and community leaders are eager for guidance to more meaningfully adapt or develop programs that meet the needs of these youth.

This toolkit is our attempt to provide such a guide for front-line service providers, facilitators, educators, community partners, and researchers. We hope that individuals from all these groups will find something in this manual to help them improve their work with Aboriginal youth.

Access this Resource: 

Strategies for Healthy Youth Relationships has made this resource available for free on their website: https://youthrelationships.org/engaging-aboriginal-youth-toolkit

Crooks, Claire, Debbie Chiodo, Darren Thomas, Shanna Burns, and Charlene Camillo. Engaging and Empowering Aboriginal Youth: A Toolkit for Service Providers, 2^nd edition. Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2010.