Stories on College and Career Preparation: What Mentoring Supports Helped or Hindered Nez Perce Males?

• In Event: The Power and Possibilities for the Indigenous Good: Collaborative Indigenous Initiatives in Education

Abstract

The Nez Perce Mentoring Project (NPMP) addresses the need for strengths-based, culturally sustaining/revitalizing approaches to prepare Native boys for college/career endeavors. The purpose of this study was to explore the preparation and mentoring supports that are perceived as helpful within the Nez Perce community and that may be further nurtured through the NPMP. Through focus groups utilizing Indigenous methods, participants conveyed the importance of wíiwyeteq’is, someone who is always growing. Wíiwyeteq’is is woven into four themes that guide the NPMP: piˀnit’ipec (reciprocal giving), híitemˀyekin’ (someone who is prepared for life), timmíyuninˀ (someone who is responsible), and qaˀnqaˀán (someone who is respectful). By bolstering cultural strengths, programs such as the NPMP may continue to help young men build meaningful lives.

Authors

• Zoe Higheagle Strong, Washington State University - Pullman

• Emma Minke McMain, Washington State University - Pullman

• Joyce McFarland, Nez Perce Tribe