SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Schools in Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Ndilo are part of a national crime prevention program that for the first time is geared toward Northern aboriginal youth.

A leadership and resiliency program, sponsored and co-ordinated by the Fort McPherson-based Tl'oondih Healing Society, is being phased into these communities this school year. Supported by a $5 million cash injection from the federal government's National Crime Prevention Strategy, the program aims to teach high school-aged kids leadership skills and build their sense of community in hopes they won't later fall into a life of crime.

Similar programs have started up in Yellowknife, Hay River and in southern Canada, but this specific cultural-based project is the first of its kind in the North, said Linda Casson, program officer for the National Crime Prevention Centre.

"The different schools really saw a need to help their kids develop resiliency. Rather than always focusing on the negatives, why not come in and look at the strengths of the students and support and build those?" she said. "It's (about) trying to build strength in those kids so it carries them through the difficulties they might be experiencing in the community."

The project has already begun to unfold in schools and staff members are being trained to carry out the program.

Students are getting involved in community service activities, meeting in "resiliency groups" at least once a week to talk about issues they're facing - such as anger management and peer pressure - and going on adventures out on the land or in the community. Late last month in Aklavik, students went ice fishing as part of the adventure activities, which Casson said are designed to "help kids face risk."

"It depends how much risk the kids are able to take," she said. "For example, in Ndilo, the kids are learning to swim. That's pretty scary if you're 16 and you're really cool and you've never been in the water before. So they're all facing risk in these different programs in different ways."

Casson said the project will be reviewed in these three communities and then modified if necessary.

"Everybody's really excited to see how it works. It's going to be very carefully evaluated, so we'll know what needs to be changed when you're bringing a program like this to the North."

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.