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When it comes to creating a thriving community, it’s the community members themselves who are the key to success. The Horizons Program helps communities build stronger leaders to address community issues and find ways to implement change.
The Horizons program is about the changes a community can make to move from poverty to hope, from waiting to leading, from decisions by a few to the participation of many, from indifference to pride, and from despair to prosperity. This initiative is for Native American rural communities of fewer than 5,000 and with poverty rates of at least 10 percent on or near reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
The program is intensive and challenging with a basic philosophy that communities must invest time to achieve long-term results. Horizons participants explore the perceptions and the sources of poverty, recognizing that poverty isn’t always about the lack of money. The program builds stronger community leadership, acknowledging that everyone has something to contribute, and for communities to thrive, everyone has to have an opportunity to prosper.
Open to all community members, Horizons focuses on practical strategies and tools. More specifically, it provides locally-delivered training, skill-building, and coaching to strengthen community leadership and civic engagement systems. Experience has shown that small communities can thrive if they have a strong leadership system.
Sitting Bull College Horizons uses a systems approach towards community development and poverty reduction. Its main components are:
- Community conversations and action planning focused on poverty reduction
- Inclusive, broad based leadership development
- Community visioning and action
HORIZONS...
- helps communities take charge and build stronger leaders to address poverty, economic decline.
- is designed for communities ready to commit to gathering citizens together to work for positive change.
Horizons leaders...
- Become involved in decision making.
- Gain a positive attitude.
- Understand their neighbors.
- Increase knowledge about the long term negative effects of poverty in their community.
- Come together with others and take action against the long term negative effects that poverty has on their community.
Horizons communities...
- Gain training and resources—about leadership, poverty reduction, community development, visioning, and strategic planning—to make a difference.
- Develop ways to take action—with your own considerable resources—instead of looking and waiting for outside help.
- Become part of a larger community of citizen leaders—working together to grow.
From the fall of 2006 thru the summer of 2008, Sitting Bull College will engage Native American communities in Horizons program activities. Sitting Bull College Horizons communities will participate in a series of community conversations to develop greater awareness and understanding of poverty, in-depth community leadership training, and a powerful community visioning and action process. With training and support from our staff, community leaders and residents will learn and plan together to address poverty. Our staff and partners will assist the community-based projects and deliver educational programming. This training and support is provided by Sitting Bull College, a Horizons project partner with the Northwest Area Foundation. Sitting Bull College is delivering the Horizons program with funding from the Northwest Area Foundation.
Contact Information:
| Mr. Al Nygard, Project Director | Ms. Laurie Running Hawk, Assistant |
| Sitting Bull College Horizons Project | Sitting Bull College Horizons Project |
| Telephone: 701-250-6825 | Telephone: 701-854-8065 |
| E-mail: anc@bitnet.net | E-mail: laurierh@sbci.edu |
