I'm also thinking of a book in collaboration with the former student I mentioned who is in prison. He sends me his work every week, and he has written some beautiful poetry. I'd like to recount his story, and show how the circumstances of his life made him susceptible to gang activity and drove him to commit murder. The community could be strengthened to keep such a life from going off-track. And not just here.
People talk about the many problems on the reservation, but it's only here.
The same things that happen here can happen in an inner-city or a suburban setting. We don't listen to young people as closely and as carefully as we should. Meeting with students more often, perhaps every week, and distributing books we could read aloud in groups would be helpful. One week we could focus on a published book, the next on the students' own writing, maybe with an open-mike session. This is an initiative for literacy support and empowerment.