Native Youth Community Adaptation and Leadership Congress (US)

NYCALC​ ​provides​ ​training​ ​in​ ​leadership principles,​ ​STEM,​ ​conservation,​ ​and​ ​outdoor​ ​skills​ ​for​ the​ ​next​ ​generation​ ​of​ ​native​ ​leaders​ (rising high-school seniors) and​ ​their​ ​communities. The​ ​one-week, on-site ​Congress​ ​utilizes​ ​open​ ​space​ ​technology​ ​to​ ​allow​ ​students​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​personalized​ ​action​ ​plan​ ​each year​ ​that​ ​is​ ​relevant​ ​to​ ​current​ ​issues.​ ​A​ ​mini-grant​ ​program​ ​provides students with resources for implementing lessons​ ​learned​ once they return to their communities​ ​with​ ​the​ ​goal​ ​of​ ​empowering​ ​communities​ ​to​ ​address​ ​social​ ​change​ ​and conservation​ ​priorities.

Goals

• The Congress has four primary goals:
  • Training​ ​for​ ​tribal​ ​youth (rising high school juniors/seniors),​ ​Jr. Faculty (currently enrolled/college-age),​ ​community​ mentors (youth leaders, educators, etc.),​ ​and​ ​conservation​ ​professionals​;
  • Empower​ ​communities​ ​to​ ​implement​ ​and/or​ ​continue​ ​existing​ ​programs​ ​via​ ​mini-grant​ ​opportunities;
  • Broaden​ ​the​ ​awareness​ ​of​ ​the​ ​roles​ ​and​ ​responsibilities​ ​of​ ​conservation​ ​communities;
  • Federal​ ​employee​ ​and​ ​tribal​ ​leadership​ ​training​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​cultural​ ​competencies​ ​and​ ​relationships.

Themes

• Conservation, Leadership, Networking, Empowerment, Individuality, Inclusion, Competence.

Benefits

• All meals, room and board, and travel are provided for all participants for the entirety of their stay.

Duration

• The NYCALC Congress is an annual program that occurs during the end of June or beginning of July of each year.

Eligibility Criteria

• Groups of 3-5 students and 1 mentor from any federally recognized tribe of the United States, including those from U.S. Territories that are rising high-school seniors are eligible to apply for the Congress. This means the students should be in their junior year (11th grade) of high school at the time they submit their application. Sophomores and Juniors will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applying as a group does not automatically determine an individual’s acceptance into the program. Meaning each application will be reviewed individually and must show the student demonstrates leadership activities they have participated in relation to benefitting themselves and/or the tribe/community.

For more information, visit NYCALC.