Indigenous Youth Camp
August 11 -16, 2024
Register for camp on the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indian’s website HERE
Read Oregon Sea Grant’s January 2024 article: Summer Camps Introduce Indigenous and Migrant Youth to Science and College
Overview
The Environmental Leadership for Youth (ELY) Indigenous Youth Camp is hosted by the OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences as an extension of the New Beginnings for Tribal Students program. The camp is intended to increase interest in the environmental sciences and access to higher education for Indigenous Native American youth through hands-on activities and engagement with Indigenous leaders, natural resource professionals and graduate students. The residential summer camp is designed for youth entering 9th – 12th grades, self-identifying as Native American (proof of enrollment is not required) and living in Oregon.
What we do
The ELY Indigenous Youth Camp is based at the OSU campus and youth sleep in the dorms and eat at the student dining facilities to get an idea of campus life. We take field trips to educational sites around the Willamette Valley, the coast, and beyond. Some of the camp activities include: field trips to cultural and ecological restoration sites; meeting with professionals in the field and learning about career backgrounds and education tracks; nature journaling and collection of culturally-significant plants. Youth participate in lab activities using the scientific process, as well as discussion of multiple ways of knowing and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, to help answer inquiry questions. Youth also enjoy a catered diner with special guests at the OSU Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws longhouse.
We explore various homelands, eco-regions and habitat types while, for example, snorkeling in the upper Santiam River, rafting on the Willamette River, exploring the OSU Research Forest, and tide-pooling at the beach near Newport. Youth tour campus at Oregon State University and Southwestern Oregon Community College and learn about the wide breadth of environmental science-related academic programs, financial aid and college access tools specifically designed for Indigenous youth.
Learning outcomes address STEM topics and Next Generation Science Standards, as well as tools to help access and explore options in higher education. Self-empowerment and civic leadership are also key topics.
There is no cost to participants, and in 2024 we’ll be offering a $$ stipend to youth completing the camp.
WATCH this 2-minute promotional slide show from Aug. 2022.
Partners
The ELY Indigenous Youth Camp at OSU is organized in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTLCUSI) with faculty from the OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, and Southwestern Oregon Community College. Camp coordination is lead by OSU’s New Beginnings for Tribal Students Program Manager. Sponsors include USDA-NIFA New Beginnings for Tribal Students grant, CTCLUSI, Oregon Sea Grant, the College of Forestry, and the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. In 2022 the Calapooia Watershed Council co-sponsored the ELY Indigenous Youth Camp, and continues to generously host our freshwater snorkeling field trip.
Contacts
Questions about ELY?
Email the ELY Youth Camp Coordinator, Bessie Joyce bessiejoyce4@gmail.com
or Dr. Guillermo Giannico, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, giannico@oregonstate.edu
