Supporting and Inspiring Native Youth: Chapter 2

Critical Mentoring: Curriculum

  • Creating Conditions

    There is no one-size-fits-all model for working with or in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Instead, we invite you to reflect on how you can create the conditions needed to support and inspire Native youth. Creating conditions means examining your program structure, communication strategies, and personal biases to make sure you are not perpetuating oppressive systems.

    Mentors and mentoring program staff members can help create the conditions needed to support Native youth through ongoing exploration of:

    • The geographical and political landscape
    • Your personal identity and worldview
    • Native youth identity development
    • Your local and national resources
  • What Research Can Tell Us

    Mentoring providers strive to build high-quality, evidence-based mentoring programs, and the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ is a key resource practitioners can use to design and implement programs. However, it is important to remember there are limits to what we know from research—most mentoring research was conducted in urban areas with high populations of white, black, and Latino students, and very few studies specifically examine the impact of mentoring on AI/AN students.

    When reviewing research on mentoring practices, it is important to consider context before jumping in to application. First, use a critical lens to consider whether the research is applicable to your program and the populations you work with. Just because something works in one context doesn’t mean it will work in another. When reviewing research, consider some of the following questions:

    1. When was this study conducted, and what factors in society may have changed or remain the same since that time?
    2. What populations were studied, and how are they similar to or different from the youth and mentors you work with?
    3. What communities were studied, and how are they similar to or different from the communities you work with?
    4. What methodologies and techniques were used to conduct the research? As far as you can tell, were they culturally relevant or culturally responsive?
    5. If a mentoring program model is being studied, how similar is it to your program in its design and features? Specifically, how are mentors trained? What do you know about its approach to activities, case management, etc.?
  • Critical Mentoring Framework

    Critical Mentoring is a framework that embeds critical race theory into mentoring; it openly considers race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality in the program design and mentoring relationship. In “Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide,” Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan proposes a youth-centric framework for mentoring in which mentors and youth partner not to change youth but to focus on the assets youth already possess to elevate their voice, power, and choice.¹

    Although mentors of all backgrounds can be valuable in growing the networks and skills of the youth they support, Critical Mentoring asks mentors to think critically about context. For example, a mentor who intends to connect a mentee to an internship or work opportunity should be aware that some of these environments operate within Eurocentric, white, middle-class culture and values that may not affirm the cultural context of Native youth. Although there is positive intent to build career skills and social networks, asking Native youth to do so in an environment that devalues their culture and identity or does not allow them to be their authentic selves can be deeply hurtful.

    Instead, Critical Mentoring practitioners can support young people’s efforts to celebrate their identities and explore issues that are relevant to their everyday life. For example, mentors and mentees can engage in youth-led research projects (youth participatory action research²) or get involved in policy change efforts on topics that are significant and inspiring to the youth.

     

    1. Weiston-Serdan, Torie (2017). Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
    2. University of Berkley (2015). YPAR Hub. Retrieved from: http://yparhub.berkeley.edu/learn-about-ypar/
  • Interdependent Sense of Self

    Researchers Hazel Rose Markus and Alana Conner have examined how American society tends to support an “independent” sense of self—children are taught to value individuality, and workplaces encourage taking initiative and standing out from others.¹ However, Native American researcher Stephanie Fryberg writes about how Native youth have a more “interdependent” understanding of self. She suggests that for Native students, integrating and honoring community and culture are essential for achieving positive outcomes.²

    • An interdependent sense of self: To place more emphasis on interconnectedness with family and community
    • An independent sense of self: Understanding of self is separate from others and from social context

     

    1. Association for Psychological Science (2017): Declaration of Interdependence: Hazel R. Markus Discusses the Science of Interconnection
    2. Fryberg, S., & Leavitt, P. (2014). A Sociocultural Analysis of High-Risk Native American Children in Schools. In J. Burack & L. Schmidt (Eds.), Cultural and Contextual Perspectives on Developmental Risk and Well-Being (Interdisciplinary Approaches to Knowledge and Development, pp. 57-80). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511920165.006
  • Different Perspectives

    Consider the following statements and how they represent different perspectives on “sense of self.”

    Independent Sense of Self Interdependent Sense of Self
    Every child is a unique individual. Every child is an important part of a community, and together that community works together to be harmonious.
    My personal goals help me achieve and place me on my path. I understand my social responsibilities and obligations to my family.
  • Mentoring Program Design

    When designing a mentoring program with communities that honor an interdependent worldview, consider using different program designs, such as:

    Group or team mentoring: Brings together adults and youth into small groups that engage in activities and conversation. Some Native community members may feel that group mentoring is a better cultural fit than a one-to-one program.

    Youth-initiated mentoring: In many formal mentoring programs, a young person and an adult who do not know each other are matched, and they require a significant amount of time to build a trusting relationship. In youth-initiated mentoring, a mentee chooses an adult they are familiar with, and that person is enrolled in the program as a mentor. Mentees and mentors from different cultures may have difficulties identifying with each other; allowing youth to choose their mentors helps ensure they will identify with a mentor—which will enhance the relationship.

    In addition to using a particular design, your mentoring program can focus on goals or activities that will support Native youth. For example, your mentoring program staff members can talk to young people about understanding and strengthening relationships with the natural mentors in their lives. Natural mentoring or informal mentoring is the mentoring that occurs naturally in a community through sports, religious spaces, neighbors, shopkeepers, and extended family.

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Critical Mentoring

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Critical Mentoring: Application

Supporting and Inspiring Native Youth

  1. The Landscape
  2. Critical Mentoring
  3. Your Identity
  4. Native Youth Identity
  5. Your Resources
  6. Call to Action

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