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History of the YMCA Guides and Princesses Programs
In the Beginning...
"The Indian father raises his son. He teaches his son to hunt, to
track, to fish, to walk softly and silently in the forest, to know the meaning
and purpose of life and all that he must know, while the white man allows the
mother to raise his son." These chance remarks made in the early
1920s by Ojibway Indian hunting guide Joe Friday to Harold Keltner, a St.
Louis YMCA director, struck a responsive chord.
Closing the gap
In 1925 Keltner arranged for Friday to speak before boys and dads in the St. Louis area.
One evening after a talk given at a father and son banquet, Friday was so
closely surrounded by fathers that the boys could not get near him. This
gave Keltner an idea. Perhaps this strong mutual interest in the Indian
could be put at the heart of a program aimed at closing the gap that he had
seen widening between American fathers and their sons.
American Indian Culture and Life
Keltner designed a father-son program based on the qualities of American Indian
culture and life: Dignity, Patience, Endurance, Spirituality, Feeling
for the earth, and Concern for the family. From this, Y-Indian Guide
programs were born.
Rapid Growth After WWII
In 1926, Keltner organized the first tribe of Y-Indian Guides in Richmond Heights, MO., with
the help of Friday and William Hefelfinger, chief of that first tribe.
Although it grew slowly at first, the program was eventually recognized as a
national YMCA program in 1935. The popularity of Y-Indian Guides grew
rapidly in the post-World War II period of 1942 to 1962, guided by John Ledie,
national advisor. Many new programs and organizational developments at
the local and national levels also evolved during this time.
The Y-Indian Princess program is born
The rise of the family YMCA following World War II, the genuine need for supporting little
girls in their personal growth, and the demonstrated success of the father-son
program in turn nurtured the development of parent-daughter groups. The
mother-daughter program, now called Indian Maidens, was established in South
Bend, IN, in 1951. Three years later father-daughter groups, which were
called Y-Indian Princesses, originated in the Fresno, CA, YMCA. Y-Indian
Braves, a program for mothers and sons, emerged during the late 1970s and was
officially recognized by the National Executive Committee of the National
Longhouse at Dearborn, MI, in 1980.
Since 1963, the
swift expansion of the program has continued with all these programs, and with
a corresponding group of programs for older children. Currently, about
900 YMCAs sponsor 30,000 Y-Indian Guide groups.
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