Indigenous cultures are the "heritage seed" banks of diversity necessary for sustainable human existence. And Indigenous youth carry the hope for survival of their socio-cultural heritages. However, Indigenous communities are frequently small, isolated, financially destitute, and under pressure from Western society, so the youth need help to gain a broader perspective and to truly appreciate and act on their birthright.
Discovery of counterparts around the world and how much they are alike despite distances awakens Indigenous youth to the value of their traditional ways and inspires them find ways to keep them strong. Our youth exchanges are life-changing.
In the short term, continued survival of Indigenous cultures/societies are at stake. In the long term, survival of humanity is at stake.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
