Generation Indigenous (Gen I) was launched by President Obama on December 3rd, 2014. Gen I is a Native youth initiative focused on removing the barriers that stand between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed.
This broad US Government initiative will take a comprehensive, culturally appropriate approach to help improve the lives and opportunities for Native youth and will include:
- New Native Youth Community Projects, administered by the Department of Education (ED) through the existing Demonstration Grants Program to provide funding in a select number of Native communities to support culturally relevant coordinated strategies designed to improve the college-and-career readiness of Native children and youth.
- New National Native Youth Network program in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Center for Native American Youth. The Youth Network will support leadership development, provide peer support through this site which will be extended to include links resources and tools, and empowers youth to become leaders within their communities. The White House, in cooperation with the Aspen Institute, will also host a high-level convening on challenges facing Native youth in February 2015.
- The release of the White House Native Youth Report that acknowledges past failures of federal policy on the education of Native students, explores the breadth of the challenges facing Native children, and makes recommendations for a path forward.
- The launch of the Cabinet Native Youth Listening Tour, which will begin next year as part of the President’s call to hear directly from Native youth on how to bolster federal policies to improve youth outcomes. In addition, the Administration will expand federal outreach on youth internships and employment opportunities across the federal agencies.
- The first ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering to engage hundreds of Native youth in a day-long convening in the summer of 2015. This gathering builds on the November 2014 Native Youth Conference hosted by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the tribal youth visit with President Obama.
There are several ways to get involved in Gen-I, but the most direct way is through taking the Gen-I Youth Challenge. The Challenge is for youth, organizations, businesses, schools and tribal leaders to get engaged with youth and do something positive in their communities. Challenge efforts can be new or ongoing, but we want to capture positive community impact to share it with others. More about the Challenge can be found here.
This website is not owned or maintained by the federal government. It is owned and maintained by the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute. CNAY also leads the Youth Network and social media accounts as part of Gen-I.