| FFA Nation

American Indian Members Preserve Their Culture

01/27/2010 |

An interesting aspect to the National FFA Organization is the unique qualities of each chapter. Some chapters are found in small towns, some in the absolute “middle of nowhere,” and some are right in the center of a major American city.

And in Montana, there are FFA chapters that operate on American Indian reservations.

“We have seven reservations across Montana and six FFA chapters on them,” explains Bill Jimmerson, state advisor for the Montana FFA Association. “Those chapters represent six percent of our state’s membership.”

For these FFA members, Jimmerson says, getting involved has meant doing a lot of the same things that kids in chapters anywhere else in the country might do – taking classes like horticulture, animal science, welding and woodworking, for example, or raising pigs, sheep, horses and chickens.

But it has also meant exposure to subjects that might not seem so ordinary to other FFA members across the country.

“Several years ago, we wanted to find a way to encourage students on reservations to be successful FFA members,” Jimmerson says. “To do so, we had to find a way to connect the FFA mission with their culture.”

The result was the FFA American Indian Career Development Event (CDE), the only one of its kind across the country.

The objective of the American Indian CDE, for those who participate, is to educate the audience – be it at an elementary school, the state FFA convention or even the national FFA convention – about agriculture in American Indian life.

“We’ve seen all types of programs,” Jimmerson says. “The chapters have discussed how their ancestors used native plants, what their symbols represent, how they utilize the buffalo, medicinal techniques of the tribe or even the clothing of the American Indian.”

Each chapter selects a topic that interests them, then the members work together to prepare a 15-minute presentation and take it to other schools to teach those students about their tribe.

“In Montana, every school has to do something to help teach about the American Indian culture,” Jimmerson says. “This works perfectly with our program, and many schools request our FFA chapters to come.”

And the benefits are two-fold.

“The school children learn about Montana history and culture, and the FFA members become better presenters and leaders,” he explains.

The challenge? For most of the American Indian members, it’s not a subject they know much about. Few live on farms, and most have little personal experience with traditional American Indian practices.

“I’ve been told that the tribe’s elders also really like our program, since their children are learning more about their own cultrue and history,” Jimmerson explains.

Laura Moore, former advisor of the Plenty Coups FFA chapter, agrees.

“These students study hard,” Moore says. “It takes time – usually a month of solid research.”

As they prepare, the students also study traditional singing, American Indian dancing and, of course, public speaking.

Although the program is year-round, the chapters really step up their practice for the state competition, held as part of the Montana FFA Convention.

“The American Indian chapters perform at the convention delegate session, where the judges evaluate their performance,” Jimmerson explains. “A state winner is chosen, and they perform again at the big session that evening.”

Among these chapters, competition is fierce, and winning state is a big honor. For one, it means a trip to the national FFA convention in Indianapolis.

“We have a state sponsor who pays to send the winning chapter to the national convention,” Jimmerson says. “And we’ve been fortunate that they have been able to perform while there – as part of the National FFA Talent Revue or even in a hallway near the career show.”

The benefits of the American Indian program have expanded beyond their CDE, Jimmerson says.

Last year, the Lame Deer FFA Chapter had its first State FFA Degree recipients, and another student won the state entrepreneurship award. Another American Indian chapter had a state finalist in the public speaking career development event.

“It’s been amazing to see these FFA members grow,” Jimmerson says. “Because of this program, we are seeing more American Indian students get involved with other FFA programs and become leaders, which is, of course, our ultimate goal.”