Program Information
The program is for fathers and sons and is geared to provide many opportunities for bonding and developing a strong father-son relationship that will endure well into adulthood for the boys. The benefits, needless to say are many, and the memories are priceless. Many current Indian Guide dads are former Indian Guides and want to pass on their experiences to their son(s).
The program is structured to run from kindergarten to fifth grade. The Indian Guide calendar follows the school year, so events usually start in September of each year. It is recommended to join no later than the beginning of third grade in order to provide several years of involvement in the program. However, some members have joined for only their final year and have had a blast. So, either way you are welcome to join the nation.
The basic unit of the Indian Guide Nation is the Tribe. Each Tribe is made up of at least two Dads and their sons. Some Tribes may have more than thirty members. Every year the Tribe elects the tribal Chief, who will lead the Tribe and represent it at the Nation meetings and events. There are other tribal officers that have specific tribal responsibilities. These are all spelled out in the Indian Guide manual. Each Tribe adopts or creates a tribal costume to wear at campouts or other Nation events. Historical accuracy of tribal costumes and knowledge of tribal history is encouraged and rewarded.
Frequency of meetings are determined by the Tribe as well as the structure of the meeting. Some tribes will do mostly outings while others will alternate meetings at members homes with outings or other events. Most tribes will meet twice a month and set a day of the week to meet such as the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month or the 2nd and 4th Thursdays as examples. Locations of meetings will also vary. Tribes may meet at a specific place or rotate from home to home. Each tribe will decide what format is best.
There are three Campouts every year; Fall, Winter and Spring. The first campout of the year is considered to be the Fall campout. Each campout is held at a YMCA camp and locations may change from year to year. The travel time can vary from several hours to under an hour, depending on the location of the YMCA camp. The campout takes place on a Saturday and Sunday, with Friday being an optional night. Saturday is the busiest day with tribal events taking place or just using free time to explore the camp grounds.
There are supervised activities for the boys such as archery, horse back riding, hay rides, BB rifle range, climbing wall, nature centers, crafts, tobogganing, sledding, ice fishing, boating, swimming etc… The activities depend on the facilities of the campground and the time of the year. There are several nation events held through out the year such bowling, rocket shoot, and a Lock-in as examples.
In order to encourage interaction between father and son, there is the Great Eagle Feather Award program. This program lists out a number of activities that the father and son must do together. Each activity/project successfully completed results in a feather award patch to the father and son which is then sewn onto their tribal costume. Completion of the full program results in a special Eagle Feather Award, usually given at a special ceremony at a campout by the Nation Chief. A second program, the Bear Claw, can also be used to earn Bear Claw patches through the completion of specific activities/projects.
The overall premise is to have involvement with your son and have fun together. There is no end to the creativity that you can bring to bear to outings, tribal events, nation events, etc…
All positions of the Federation, Nation, and Tribe are run by parents and is strictly on a volunteer basis. All the Indian Guide events, campouts, recruiting ... the entire program is run by the dads.
You can become active in a neighborhood tribe which meets for fun once a month. While there, you may play games, make things or plan special activities together. Generally a tribe is made up of several fathers and sons. These programs are based on father and child interaction and participation. Companionship is the purpose of Indian Guide programs and participation is rewarded not only by the quality time spent together but with patches, feathers, beads, bear claws and other trinkets. For more information or to join, call Chuck Pickerill Jr at the Tri-Town YMCA at 630-629-9622