The Healing of the Canoe curriculum template, trainer’s manual, and supporting materials are now available free online from the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board’s Healthy Native Youth website.
Healing of the Canoe is a flexible curriculum for Native youth focused on suicide and substance abuse prevention. It was designed to be adapted by Native communities using community-specific traditions and beliefs to strengthen youths' connection to their communities and cultures, and strengthen their hope and optimism.
The curriculum uses the Pacific NW Canoe Journey as a metaphor, providing skills needed to navigate life’s journey without being pulled off course by alcohol or drugs – with Native culture as compass and anchor. The generic curriculum template allows each community to use their own metaphors for a successful life journey. The curriculum and accompanying training manual were developed as part of the Healing of the Canoe Project, a collaboration between the Suquamish Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington. The development, evaluation, and dissemination of the curriculum has been supported by a series of grants from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Read: Drug Use Down, Hope Up: A Canoe Journey Inspires Native Youth, by in YES! Magazine
WATCH short videos about Healing of the Canoe:
