Submission Type: Innovative Idea
Final Rating: Innovative Idea
Date Submitted: Spring 2025
Focus Area: Healthy Environments and Relationships
Focus Population: Children, Caregivers, Guardians, Parents
Contact Information:
Kelly Tidwell
President
(918) 808-4934
Catalyst News
518 W Pittsburg Pl, Broken Arrow, OK 74012
Goals and Outcomes:
The goals of Rooted Together: A Cultural Guide for Families of Indigenous Children are:
1. To provide non-Native parents and caregivers with tools to understand and integrate Native cultural practices and traditions into daily life.
2. To foster stronger connections between Native children and their cultural heritage, helping them grow up with a sense of pride, belonging, and identity.
3. To support healthy, culturally informed environments that contribute to the well-being and development of Native children.
4. To create a scalable toolkit model that can be adapted by other tribes, enabling the replication of this project across different Native communities.
Brief Summary:
Rooted Together: A Cultural Guide for Families of Indigenous Children is a toolkit designed to help non-Native parents and caregivers raise Indigenous children in a culturally respectful and supportive environment. The toolkit will be developed in partnership with Muscogee Nation Child and Family Services and the Muscogee Nation Cultural Department. It will provide practical guidance, resources, and best practices for fostering a culturally rich upbringing that honors the traditions and values of Native communities. Additionally, this project will serve as a model for other tribes to develop their own culturally specific toolkits.