This summer the Canadian 4-H Council hopes to do some pilot projects that will introduce the agricultural youth group to aboriginal kids.
The pilot projects still require a funding source, said Deb Hauer, project manager of the council’s aboriginal and 4-H youth feasibility study.
Last year the council received $241,500 from Agriculture Canada’s Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development fund to examine 4-H interest among aboriginal youth.
Hauer said 474 people across Canada were interviewed, including 4-H alumni, government officials and aboriginal leaders. The results showed that 75 percent of those surveyed thought there would be interest in 4-H among aboriginal youths.
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That interest led to the decision to look for funding for projects in several provinces. Saskatchewan and British Columbia will likely be two of them.
AnnMarie Nielson Griffin of the Saskatchewan 4-H Council said she will work with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations to target reserves that would be most receptive to the 4-H program.
One of the provincial council’s first jobs to get ready for that process is to add cultural information to its project material, such as bison’s importance to early Indians and the native herbs and plants used in aboriginal cooking and medicine.
FSIN official Cory Arcand said the program will likely start this fall since it will be run through schools on the reserves. He said the value of 4-H will be to merge the traditional aboriginal culture with the agricultural science side.
Arcand said the program will likely look at those aged 12 and up since this is the age level for a related youth livestock program run by FSIN. The interest in 4-H also ties in with FSIN’s renewed interest in farming its newly acquired treaty land entitlement land.
“We’re getting more land and less farmers,” said Arcand.
Canada-wide, there are more than 32,000 4-H members and 9,500 volunteer leaders operating 2,500 clubs. But data from Statistics Canada found that 4-H’s target audience of rural youth has decreased significantly. For the 4-H program to survive, it needs greater publicity and awareness, more financial support and a wider group of potential members.
The national council has been doing surveys over the past few years to deal with those issues.
In a survey of 4-H members, 88 percent said they would recommend the group to friends.
Members said 4-H has been useful in developing self-esteem, pride in achievements and leadership skills.
