By NB3 Foundation

  NB3 Foundation announces 2021 NB3FIT Youth Golf Team  

NB3 Foundation is excited to introduce the 2021 NB3FIT Youth Golf Team. The team is made up of 14 elite Native youth golfers ages 12 to 18 from across the state of New Mexico. The golf team was formed to provide an opportunity for young Native golfers to pursue their passion for excellence in golf, contribute to their communities and serve as positive role models to their peers.  

“It’s been a long time coming and I’m excited we are able to provide this opportunity to Native youth golfers around the state,” Clint Begay, director of NB3FIT said. “Many of our youth face a number of barriers when pursuing high levels of competition in golf. My hope is that we can help bridge the gap by providing skills training, equipment, tournament opportunities and youth development through mentorship and community service.”

The golf team will meet and practice regularly, attend 10 golf tournaments through the end of the year and develop a community service plan, completing at least five hours of community service each month.

“It’s great that we are able to provide this opportunity to Native youth. It was not long ago that I was in their shoes, so I know how much golf means to them. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure they succeed on and off the course,” Demitrius Payne, NB3FIT coordinator said.

The golf team has started practicing and will be competing for the first time at the NB3 Junior Tour event May 15-16. They will continue to play 10-12 more tournaments throughout the summer giving them the opportunity to advance their golf skills to compete at all levels.  

2021 NB3FIT Golf Team members 

Angelo Martinez, 12, Albuquerque, NM, Hispanic, Bosque School  

Zachary BlueEyes, 14, Kirtland, NM, Dine’, Kirtland Central High School 

Tristen Toledo, 15, Albuquerque, NM, Pueblo of Jemez, Walatowa High Charter School 

Ardell John, 15, Kirtland, NM, Dine’, Kirtland Central High School 

Skyler Woods, 15, Kirtland, NM, Dine’, Kirtland Central High School 

Luke James, 15, Gallup, NM, Dine’, Miyamura High School 

Noah Pozernick, 15, Gallup, NM, Dine’, Miyamura High School 

Adiance Cheromiah, 16, Laguna, NM, Pueblo of Laguna, Laguna-Acoma 

Kyle Begay, 16, Kirtland, NM, Dine’, Kirtland Central High School 

Lance Nerva-Chee, 18, Albuquerque, NM, Dine’/Kewa Pueblo, Cibola High School 

Maddison Long, 14, Albuquerque, NM, Coeur d’Alene/Dine’, Volcano Vista High School 

Melody Sandoval, 16, Albuquerque, NM, Pueblo of San Felipe, Amy Biehl High School 

Shandiin Harper, 17, Farmington, NM, Dine’, Piedra Vista High School 

Emily Kitseallyboy, 18, Kirtland, NM, Dine’, Farmington High School 

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By NB3 Foundation

Report evaluates NB3 Foundation’s Native Youth on the Move initiative

This report, prepared by Emily A. Haozous, PhD, RN, FAAN Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, provides the qualitative results of nine interviews, the NB3 Foundation’s Native Youth on the Move post report, and the final reflections document produced by New Mexico Health Equity Partnerships.

The interviews were between NB3 Foundation staff and partner organizations, and contained discussions regarding successes, achievements, lessons learned, and self-guided evaluation of each organization in their work related to the Native Youth on the Move initiative. This report provides a detailed description of the key themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis of those data. The data from the eight partners organizations, NB3 Foundation staff, and the additional contextual data generated qualitative themes of: growth, COVID pandemic, relations, and keeping track, with further subthemes described in the full report. A separate theme of collective impact characterized the partner organization relationships as mutual, mixed mutual, hub or spoke organizations, or non-mutual. Each partner organization is also briefly described in the full result.

About the Native Youth on the Move initiative: 

In fall 2017, the NB3 Foundation began a new partnership with the Nike N7 Fund on a unique initiative – Native Youth on the Move – designed to increase the number of Native youth (ages 7-18) participating in play, physical activity and sports in the greater Albuquerque area. This place-based initiative is a first for the NB3 Foundation and the N7 Fund. With the three-year grant from the Nike N7 Fund, the NB3 Foundation served as the back-bone organization for this project, bringing together local Native and non-Native organizations, leaders and stakeholders to address barriers and lack of participation in sports and physical activity among Native youth.

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3FIT youth put in over 6 million steps during two month step challenge

Since July, NB3FIT has been hard at work learning, practicing and mastering the art of providing virtual youth programming. During the most recent eight-week session, NB3FIT worked to include more physical activity and healthy nutrition activities for the youth. 

 A step and water challenge were added to the curriculum, and as a collective (22 virtual programming youth; 5 coaches) walked/ran/danced/played a total of 6,309,573 steps – which figures out to about 2192.27 miles! To promote being active and to help with the calculation of steps, youth were given FitBit’s and challenged to complete a minimum of 5,000 steps a day.

 “It was a big success providing the youth the FitBit’s … we never thought we would get over 6 million steps,” Clint Begay, director of NB3FIT said. “It’s pretty amazing seeing what the youth accomplished, and even more amazing that they were motivated to complete the steps on their own time.”

 “It was really great to hear the youth talk about their walks and runs during our check-ins,” Autumn Quiver, NB3FIT program coordinator said. “You could tell the FitBit’s really motivated them to stay active throughout the day.”

 Along with getting in steps, youth participated in the NB3 Foundation’s Zero to 60 Challenge. They were gifted new water bottles and asked to track their water intake throughout the day. 

 “Staying hydrated is always something we want to promote with our youth,”  Quiver said. “Sometimes youth can view drinking water as ‘boring’, so we always try to be creative in the ways we motivate and encourage them to stay hydrated … gifting them new water bottles was one way we did that.”

 During check-ins NB3FIT coaches would ask about daily step and water goals and provide activities and ideas to help youth reach their goals. 

 “I think with virtual programming it’s good to know there are still ways to promote being active and healthy even if you aren’t physically present with the youth,” Begay said.  “We are still learning new things, but it is encouraging to see the accomplishments of the youth in this last session.”

 Moving into 2021, NB3 Foundation plans to continue virtual programming until it’s deemed safe to gather in groups. 

 

Total steps in 9 weeks (22 youth, 5 coaches)

6,309,573 steps = 2192.27 miles

 

Top 5 steppers!

5: Aubrey Quiver (6)- 187,393 steps

4: Illiana Morningdove (7) – 195,028 steps

3: Antone Quiver (11)- 219,895 steps

2: Elsie Chaves (9)- 279,808 steps

1: Quinton Begay(9)- 323,560 steps

 

 

 

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By NB3 Foundation

Gachupin, evaluation coordinator, graduates with Master’s in Public Health

Special congrats to NB3 Foundation team member Alva Gachupin (Pueblo of Jemez) for achieving an amazing milestone! Gachupin will be graduating from the University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health with her Master’s in Public Health on December 18.

We are so proud of Alva, not only has she played an integral role in  helping build and excel our Indigenous Evaluation and Research Department, but she has been accomplishing her educational goals at the same time!

Congrats Alva, you show us all that hard work and dedication pays off! We are so honored to have you on our NB3 Foundation team.

“I received my Master’s in Public Health from the University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The journey I set forth to reach this milestone has had its share of trials and tribulations and it tested my ability to continue to move toward my goals and to persevere from the different challenges along this journey. It gave me the ability to see through a different lens, it gave me the opportunity to learn and grow as individual, as a mother, and as a Jemez woman. Obtaining your hardest goals and dreams can be scary but the more you put yourself through uncomfortable positions, you come out even stronger. I did something that scared me for years, and I am fortunate and humble that I did take this journey. If it wasn’t for my past, and current mentors along my journey, I wouldn’t be where I am. I plan to grow my career in public health and to be an advocate for our Native American communities because all too often, we are a statistic and that has to stop at some point. The knowledge gained is not only for me, it is also for my people, and our youth that will someday lead us.”

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By NB3 Foundation

Farewell from Evaluation and Research intern

Caitlyn Olive

As an intern for the Notah Begay III Foundation, I had the opportunity to gain valuable experience as a doctoral student. I was given the opportunity to sharpen my writing skills through projects and to expand my cultural awareness through the opportunity to participate in the Indigenous Evaluators Convention and projects. I am grateful to the NB3 team for being so kind and welcoming to me. They took the time to introduce and explain aspects of their culture to me. I also gained the experience of exploring a new area of research, Indigenous evaluation methods. I learned the importance and difficulty of creating evaluation methods that capture both the people and the culture. Previously, I had learned how to use research to evaluate people, but in learning about Indigenous evaluation methods, I found that when you fail to evaluate the culture of the people, then you are not actually capturing the true essence of the people. I am so grateful for my time at NB3 Foundation and I know the next intern will be equally as blessed by this company.

My only advice for student internships is to keep being such warm and welcoming colleagues. I immediately felt appreciated because you each took the time to meet me, even though I worked virtually the entire time. I also want you to know how great I think it is that you all take the time to tell your colleagues that you value them and their work. I think that is super important and something that is rare to find in a company.

Thank you for welcoming me with open arms and for guiding me as I learned so many new things. I am so appreciative to each of you, but especially Renee and Alva who were so kind and patient with me. I wish you all the best as you and I look forward to seeing what great things you accomplish next!

 

Caitlyn’s Cirriculum Vitae:

Anticipated May 2022

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction

University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM), GPA 4.0

Research Interests: Social-Emotional Learning in Physical Education and Physical Activity

Advisor: Dr. Karen Lux Gaudreault

 

May 2019

Master of Science in Kinesiology: Sport Pedagogy          

University of Georgia (Athens, GA), GPA 3.95

Thesis: The Influence of a Four-Week, Physical Activity Infused, Social-Emotional and Character Development Program on Children’s Social-Emotional and Character Development Self-Perceptions

 

May 2017

Bachelor of Science in Physical Education K-12 Pedagogy, Minor in Coaching                                            

East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, TN), GPA 3.93, Summa Cum Laude

Honors in Discipline Program

Tennessee Licensure in K-12 Physical Education and Wellness

 

We wish Caitlyn the best on her bright future!

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3 Foundation announces resignation of President and CEO Justin Huenemann

 

The Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation announces the resignation of President and CEO, Justin Kii Huenemann. Since 2015, Justin was a dedicated and valued member of our team who provided valuable leadership to the organization. Under his leadership, NB3 Foundation has been further recognized as a national leader in Native youth and community health. We are grateful for his many contributions which have strengthened our organization and furthered progress towards our mission.

 

“It has been an honor to serve Native youth and their families through the NB3 Foundation. At no time is it more important than now to have our young ones engaged in healthy opportunities that reinforce and support their abilities to achieve their fullest potential. I look forward to continuing to ensure our Native relatives are able to live life on their own terms” said Justin Huenemann.

 

Founder and Board Member, Notah Begay III shared, “Justin Huenemann elevated the NB3 Foundation to a position of national prominence through his leadership, creative thinking and networking. As a result of these efforts NB3 Foundation was able to enhance services to Native youth and expand our reach. It is with the deepest appreciation that we wish Justin well in the next chapter of his career.”

 

The Board and Staff wish Justin great success in his future endeavors. The NB3 Foundation remains committed to carrying on our work and our mission to ensure Native children achieve their full potential by advancing cultures of Native American community health.

 

The Board of Directors has named Chief Operating Officer, Jon Driskell, interim president and CEO of the Foundation.  If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Mr. Driskell at jon@nb3f.org.

 

 

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By NB3 Foundation

NYM Community Team continues work towards collective goal via ‘Cyber Huddles’

 

Throughout the country there are many organizations having to make tough decisions based on the current health crisis. COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging for organizations, like the NB3 Foundation, who bring youth and community partners together for programming and strengthening community knowledge. We do our best work when we are together with our youth and community partners, so we knew finding safe and engaging ways to stay connected is a top priority.

One of our initiatives, the Native Youth on the Move (NYM) project – a partnership with the Nike N7 Fund – aims to increase the number of Native American youth (ages 7-18) participating in play, physical activity and sports, has used this time to “pivot” to a virtual stage.

Six Albuquerque-based organizations, and two pueblo communities, make up the NYM Community Team. Before the pandemic, the NYM Community Team met on a monthly basis to check-in, learn new skills and plan future collaborations. Being that we could no longer have in-person gatherings we pivoted to an online schedule using “Cyber Huddles.”

The goal of the NYM Cyber Huddles are still the same as the in-person gatherings — share, learn, and have fun! With the help of our community partners, such as New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, we are able to provide a quality online experience that provides Indigenous evaluation, communication and virtual programming tools/ideas.

One of the tools that was recently offered by Mabel Gonzalez, of Mavel Photography, was “Photovoice.” Photovoice is a Community Based Participatory Research (action research) methodology. Photovoice provides the opportunity for community members, that are often excluded from decision making processes, to creatively document their voices and vision about their lives, community and concerns. It ignites interest about important topics that are relevant within a community and allows a community to express themselves through photography.

The final Photovoice presentations were captured in this illustration by Taslim van Hattum, who is a graphic recording specialist, based in Northern New Mexico. Each Native Youth on the Move community partner took to the virtual stage to share a photo that tells the story of their work, vision, community and concerns. It was an uplifting, motivating and captivating celebration, and this illustration beautifully captures the passion and extraordinary work our community partners are doing to keep Native youth healthy and active.

Being able to provide a space for community partners to continue to share their progress and ideas means a lot to us at the NB3 Foundation. We miss our in-person time together with everyone, but we will continue to provide a fun, active, and engaging virtual experience for all of our youth participants and community partners.

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By NB3 Foundation

NB3FIT brings together youth for virtual summer camp

 

This time of year, our NB3FIT coaches and program youth are usually in full swing with summer soccer leagues and golf camps! However, due to the uncertain times we’re all  navigating through, the NB3FIT team has shifted its energy and creativity to focus on providing virtual programming to the youth!

In early July, NB3FIT launched the 2020 NB3FIT Summer Camp! The virtual camp is focused on providing fun activities for youth to do alongside their peers and coaches – while in the safety of their homes. The curriculum was built out to include physical activities, learning exercises, nutritional snack making and confidence building activities.

The NB3FIT staff prepackaged all the boxes and delivered them to the homes of the youth every Monday. In each box, were the supplies needed for the upcoming days of programming. From feedback from parents, youth enjoyed receiving the boxes and was something they looked forward to receiving each week!  Bright and early Tuesday mornings,  the youth would join the NB3FIT Zoom call with their fellow peers and coaches! Three hours a day, three times a week the youth and coaches were “together” again.

We know being distanced from one another is hard, so even this little glimpse of “community”  provided to the youth has proven to be a spark of joy and something to look forward to for both youth and our coaches.

With one-week left, summer programming is winding down, but the NB3FIT team will continue to provide tools and resources for Native youth to stay healthy and active!

Visit the NB3 Foundation YouTube page for nutrition and physical activity videos for the whole family!

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By NB3 Foundation

Visiting our Relatives: Community partners continue empowering youth, families during COVID-19

 

On July 16, 2020, the NB3 Foundation hosted a virtual Visiting Relatives Gathering with seven Community Partners from New Mexico as well as two guest speakers, Celena McCray and Waylon Pahona Jr. The gathering created a space for our relatives to share their organization’s “pivoting” during COVID-19.

Each organization or tribe, showed a short presentation about the steps they took to continue their activities. The conversations were inspirational and you could hear the strength it took to embrace the challenges we face today. Stories included shift from in-person programming to virtual activity meet ups. Resources and ideas were shared amongst the group especially using social media and technology to effectively engage their youth and communities.

This word cloud above is a depiction of the positive themes and ideas that came about during the Virtual Visiting Relatives conversation with community partners: Keres Children’s Learning Center, Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, Tamaya Youth and Wellness Center, Pueblo of Laguna, Running Medicine from Native Health Initiative , Spirit of Hoops with Mountain Chief Institute , and NB3FIT.  All the community partners came together to learn from one another about the pivoting that is happening during this pandemic in a positive way to keep moving their work.

 

Special thanks to guest speakers:

 

Celena McCray, is a tribal member of the Navajo Nation and her clans are the Bitter Water People born for the Mountain Cove People. She serves as the THRIVE (Tribal Health: Reaching out InVolves Everyone) suicide prevention project & WA DOH Parenting Teens – Project Coordinator at NW Tribal Epidemiology Center with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. She provides suicide prevention training, technical assistance, and develops culturally appropriate media campaigns and resources related to suicide prevention. Celena assists adolescent health project staff with www.wernative.org, the national multimedia health resource for Native teens and young adults. She also wrapped up her Masters in Public Health studies this year at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health in Portland, OR.

Waylon Pahona Jr. is Hopi & Tewa/ Maricopa grew up on the Hopi Reservation. He spent more than ten years within the Gila River Indian Community employed by WIA (Workforce Investment Act), as a Youth Coordinator for five years and five years with Gila River Health Care as a Lead Staff Trainer. Waylon is well known for transforming his life and being the founder/creator of Healthy Active Natives (HAN’s). The HAN’s social networking group on Facebook currently has over 75,000 HAN members nationally and internationally. Waylon also received the Healthy Innovation award by IHS Indian Health Services for his social media group and he is also an Ambassador for Tanka Bar jerky and currently the Wellness Director of the Fort Mojave Tribe.

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