Hualapai Tribe

Youth Camp

The Hualapai Youth Camp is a week-long experience held at a Tribally-owned facility located in the forest 40 miles from Peach Springs. Youth Camp activities are designed for youth 8 to 13 years and involve interactive health education activities, healthy food preparation, regular physical activity and field trips with elders and/or cultural experts to culturally relevant sites (e.g. petroglyphs and plant gathering areas).

The aims of the Youth Camp are to:

• Increase youth’s knowledge of healthy food choices.
• Increase youth’s knowledge of health behaviors associated with the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Steps Taken to Community Agreement, Approval and Implementation
Youth Camps were initially developed through a Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) supported network grant involving the Hualapai Health Department, Indian Health Service and the University of Arizona. The initial plan was approved through a Tribal resolution when the HRSA grant was submitted in 1996. A significant component of the HRSA support was the development of a 22-element ropes course designed to build teamwork and self-esteem and to provide a novel form of physical activity.

Once the HRSA grant was funded, elders and the Hualapai Tribe’s Department of Cultural Resources were invited to participate in planning to incorporate traditional Hualapai knowledge of health behaviors. These collaborative activities have served as the foundation of the Camp’s continued implementation under the direction of the Indian Health Service (IHS) Special Diabetes Programs for American Indians (SDPI) supported Hualapai Diabetes Prevention Program.

The following local and regional programs have collaborated with the Camp coordinators to engage youth in safe, informative activities:

• Hualapai Behavioral Health.
• Hualapai Tobacco Prevention Program.
• Hualapai Departments of Natural and Cultural Resources.
• Indian Health Service Public Health Nursing.
• Elders.
• Grand Canyon Resort Corporation (providing a white-water river trip for campers).
• Hualapai Tribal EMT Services.
• University of Arizona, College of Public Health.
• Chemeheuvi and Ft. McDowell Tribe Yavapai Apache Tribes.

Funding
Camp costs include:

• Four to six Tribal employees who serve as counselors and health educators.
• Three to five consultants as cooks and ropes course facilitators.
• Maintenance of the ropes course.
• Food and supplies (paper products, flashlights, rain tarps, etc.)
• Vehicles and gas.
• Outdoor restroom facilities.

From the initial HRSA grant and the current SPDI funding, camp activities cost approximately $10,000 a year.

Participation
An average of 28 youth participate in the camp each year.

Obstacles Encountered and Overcome
The Tribe’s camp facility has not been regularly maintained and, since 2004, bathrooms and showers have not been available to campers. In addition, in 2003, 2004 and 2006 low rainfall yielded significant fire danger in the forest and the Department of Natural Resources wouldn't grant permission for the camp to occur at the Tribal facility.

When camp was held at the Tribal facility after 2004, outdoor restroom facilities were rented for the weeks of the camp. In years when the Tribal facility could not be used due to fire danger, arrangements were made to hold camp in a state park in the mountains off-reservation.

Keys to Success
The camp draws on the strengths of the community engaging various Tribal partners.

Each year, the camp has implemented evaluation activities. Some measures, e.g. pre/post body weight and random glucose level, are used to teach youth the impact of changing their behaviors for one week.

Pre- and post-camp focus groups track youth change in knowledge of food choices and diabetes risk factors. These evaluation activities have been used in guiding the successive development of camp educational activities and in demonstrating impact in order to support requests for continued funding.

Contact Information
Emma Clark
Manager, Hualapai Diabetes Prevention Program
PO Box 397
Peach Springs, AZ 86434
928-769-2644
[email protected]

Nicky Teufel-Shone, PhD
Consultant, evaluation and ropes course facilitation
520-419-4228
[email protected]

Sandra Irwin, MPH
Director, Hualapai Health Department
PO Box 397
Peach Springs, AZ 86434
928-769-2207
[email protected]