PROJECTS & PROGRAMS
Family Spirit Program
Family Spirit is a home-based program for new parents and pregnant teen moms ages 14-21 years of age. The program offers multiple resources for young native american families. Family Spirit is one of the first programs to provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of paraprofessionals as home visitors. The use of Native paraprofessionals is essential in reservation communities where there is a shortage of nurses and cultural barriers to non-Native home visitors.
Human Trafficking Awareness & Education
In partnership with the Tumble Weed Program located in Billings, Montana, we are hosting Human Traffacking Awareness and Educational Workshops in Lame Deer. In addition, The Tumble Weed Program sponsored a Human Traffacking Awareness Poster contest through our Best Beginnings Coalition. Students from the Northern Cheyenne Tribal School participated in the contest and received cash prizes for First, Second, and Third Place winners. The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council has approved to sponsor the winning poster on a Billboard located at the round-a-bout in downtown Lame Deer.
Missing & Murdered Indigenousness Women
The Best Beginnings Coalition in partnership with the Tumble Weed Program has recognized that many statistics from Human Traffacking Awareness and Education workshops also relates to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. This has led our Coalition to begin discussions of addressing MMIW issues reservation-wide. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has adopted a Resolution on MMIW and our Coalition desires to support our Tribal Leaders in protecting our Northern Cheyenne Women.
Drug Endangered Children
The Best Beginnings Coalition partnered with the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children and Northern Cheyenne Tribal Programs to host a 2-day “Drug Endangered Children Training: Moving from Awareness to Action to Sustainability” held in Lame Deer, MT. The attendance was overwhelmingly supportive with 97 participants on day one and 100 participants on day two. Resulting with the initial development of a Drug Endangered Children Plan for the Northern Cheyenne Nation.
Autism Awareness & Education
The Best Beginnings Coalition established an Autism Awareness and Educational Sub-Group. This Sub-group conducted “A Special Needs Resource Fair” and held a “Panel Discussion: Getting Connected to Resources.” Stakeholders from around the State of Montana and Wyoming provided valuable resources addressing Autism and Special Needs. See the Resource section for the Special Needs Resource Fair List of Stakeholders.
Child Care Center
The Northern Cheyenne Child Care Program is in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Club of the
Northern Cheyenne Nation (BGCNCN) Best Beginning Early Childhood Community Coalition to
begin the initial planning stages to identify funding sources in order to build a Child Care Center
to serve the Northern Cheyenne Nation.