Program set at Rocky Boy to teach work habits

A program about to start on Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation will let teenagers get paid while learning about life in the workforce from different reservation employers.

The Chippewa Cree Tribe’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will hold orientation Wednesday at the Old Stone Child College gymnasium for its TANF Summer Youth Employment Program, set to begin next month.

Program coordinator Mike Geboe, said people can get an application from the reservation’s TANF office. Drug screening of applicants, a requirement of the program, will be performed Friday and next Tuesday at the office, he said.

The program will consist of classes, visits to tribal employers and presentations from employees and heads of several tribal departments, Geboe said.  

Applicants need to have two forms of ID and have the signature of a parent or guardian and only one applicant per family will be accepted into the program.

Fifty youth ages 14-18 will be chosen from the pool of applicants for the program that runs June 5-16.

Chosen participants will be paid $10 an hour.

Geboe said the program is meant to show youths what it is like to work in a traditional work environment by requiring them to file time sheets, show up on time and follow rules.

“We want them to be aware of all of the dynamics of working, and also careers too,” Geboe said.

He said a typical day will last from 8 a.m to 4:30 p.m.

After signing in, employees will take part in a talking circle where they will engage in discussion and some traditional practices.

Geboe said he wants speakers to talk about their careers, what it is like working full time and how they got to where they are professionally.

For more information, people can contact Geboe at 395-5814.