Project Falvmmichi

Domestic violence is a national problem. It is an acute problem as well in Indian Country, something recognized by the Choctaw Nation, a nation of more than 80,000 citizens, which knows that its own communities face the scourge of domestic violence and abuse. But the nation also recognizes that violence of this sort is a learned behavior, and that it is important to include the young in efforts to address it. Project Falvmmichi was conceived by a sixteen-year old citizen of the Choctaw Nation who believed that the cycle of violence could be broken by reaching out to younger generations of Choctaws. She presented the idea to the leadership of the Nation, and they gave it their support. The theme of the program is “Let’s just help the children.” The program uses a customized curriculum to foster a sense of respect for self and others among public school children and to teach non-violent means to resolve conflicts. It targets second-graders – seven-year-olds – and teaches that “it is not cool to hit or to be hit.” One of the keys to the program is that teen-aged citizens of the nation – known as mentors – are the ones who deliver this curriculum, in person, in the classroom, supported by adult sponsors with training in counseling, social work, and related fields. Today, more than 300 teen mentors work with more than 1200 students in more than thirty schools. Thus the nation enlists its youth, supported by its adults, to teach its younger children. These children look up to their teen-aged mentors while the teen-aged mentors have discovered that they have a critical role to play in their community, that their voice and actions can have practical effects on future generations of Choctaws. Teen-agers who couldn’t wait to leave now want to stay and take on a leadership role among their people. Perhaps most important, the program has led to a decline in violence in the classroom and, within the community, to a growing intolerance for violent behaviors that once threatened citizens, families, and the nation’s future. In the children, there is hope.