Why YMCA Indian Guides Exists
During their elementary school years, children tend to see their parents as guides, teachers, and heroes. They start to understand that parents protect and nurture them. A strong relationship is based on our ability to ask open-ended questions that help our children think and move beyond simple yes or no responses. We strive to invite our children to accept challenges and opportunities, celebrate accomplishments, and face fears.
We seek to encourage you as a parent to “get to know your kid while your kid is still a kid.”
For these reasons, we have designed the program for one parent and one child to participate together for most activities. If this dynamic is not practical for your family or others in your group, be flexible and work with your YMCA leaders to develop a structure within the program that works for you.
What YMCA Indian Guide Participants Do
Your local YMCA will assign you to a small group of parent–child pairs called a Tribes who meet on a regular basis in each others’ homes, usually biweekly or monthly. Occasionally, several tribes come together to participate in larger activities such as campouts, parties, or parades. These outings are called Federation outings. The core of the YMCA Indian Guides program is these tribes and federation meetings and adventures. Typical activities include ceremonies, games, crafts, songs, stories, skits, and outdoor pursuits such as camping, hiking, and swimming.
Determining the Membership of Tribes
Tribes are usually made up of 7 to 10 parent–child pairs. YMCAs use various methods for breaking new membership into tribes. Here are some possibilities:
By gender, by neighborhood or other common bonds, by meeting night, by ages or breaking into Circles by age group—grouping children together by kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and so on.
Single-age Circles allow activities to focus on age-appropriate needs and interests. Circles grow up together and share many passages. There is no competition among younger and older children.
YMCA Indian Guides Compass Points
The four main direction points on the compass are the essential components of the program.
• The Family is True North—the focal point of the program.
• Nature and the camping experience are integral parts of the program.
• The spirit of the program is experienced through belonging to a small Community, called a Circle.
• Fun is the magic of the program.
As children grow, these values become their own internal compass.
- Adapted from YMCA National
