Bead Awards
The primary purpose for the bead awards is for the parent and child to spend time together learning and creating a closer bond. All other purposes are secondary to building this companionship.
Although many other worthwhile objectives can also be served at the same time (sense of achievement, increasing mental and moral development, elimination of self-consciousness, etc.) we must never lose sight of our basic reason for being in the Algonquin Longhouse Program - to build a bond between ourselves and our child so that we might truly be “Friends Forever”. The following principles are essential to this purpose:
1. The awards must be a joint parent and child effort, learning and earning together, neither trying for the bead until both are ready.
2. The award must be earned by the parent and child each individually and at the same meeting.
3. A parent with two children must learn, earn, and be awarded a bead with each child, in order that each of his children might get the full benefits of companionship with her parent. The parent wears the combined beads.
4. Awards are presented at the same meeting that the award is earned, with some simple but solemn ceremony led by the Tribal Chief or Medicine Man.
5. The Princesses work hard to earn these awards; they expect and deserve them while the thrill and accomplishment is still fresh in their minds. The child tries first, and if successful at it, the parent follows. If the child is unsuccessful, they both wait until the following meeting and try again. (The possibility of the parent missing is a remote one if he has truly spent sufficient time with his child learning the requirements. Under no circumstances is any Princess to wear a feather, claw or bead that he/she has not earned.
6. Earned beads are available through the Tribal Chief.
TRIBAL AWARDS (SMALL BEADS)
Purple - Starter: Join the Algonquin Longhouse Princesses.
Yellow - Names: Memorize and recite your Tribes’ members and Dads real names and Princess names. (Up to 8 pairs for larger tribes.)
Orange - Program Goals: Memorize and recite the Motto, Six Aims, and Pledge.
White - Craft: Make or donate property needed by the Tribe; make an award for a Nation campout; or make a "significant" craft project and show it to your Tribe (Excludes School Projects).
Green - Campout: Attend a Nation campout in Fall, Winter or Spring.
Brown - Recruitment: Invite a friend to a Tribal meeting or event; participate in or help with a local festival; or walk in a local parade while distributing recruitment materials.
Blue - Nature Report: Take a nature walk and tell the Tribe what you saw on the walk; participate and report to Tribe on what you did at a Nation Campout; take a canoe trip; attend an individual Tribal
overnight.
Black - Songs: Learn the songs 'America' and 'Friends Forever' and sing them for your tribe. Dads, this means you too!
Red - Meetings: Host a Tribal meeting; participate in and report on another Tribe’s meeting or outing; be "significant contributors" by helping your Chief in planning or running a Nation event.
After child and parent have earned all 9 Tribal Awards, they may continue on to the Advanced Awards:
ADVANCED AWARDS (BIG BEADS)
Dark Red - Community Service: Organize and/or participate in a significant way in one or a series of community service or ecological events. Be prepared to report on the event and answer questions relating to the "who, where, what, why and how" of the event(s) and how your participation made a positive impact on someone else's life.
Tan - Nature Report: Collect and be able to identify 10 things from any nature-related groups such as the following: Trees - Birds - Mammals - Fish - Insects - Planets - Constellations - Rocks - etc. The items can be collected in person, by photograph or by book or internet research.
Dark Brown - Outdoor Skills: Complete an advanced outdoors skill (to be individually selected) with minimal adult assistance: • Cooking a meal over a campfire • Catching a fish • Starting a fire with a single match using only fire materials found in nature • Learning rope knots • Testing the quality of water in a pond • Master the ability to orient and/or navigate using a map, compass, the sun, moon, planets, constellations and/or other natural landmarks.
(Outdoor skills do not be demonstrated live to the council, pictures work very well)
Alternative: Complete a second project described under the Nature Report category
The Princess Motto:
Friends Forever!
Princess Program Aims:
To Be Clean In Body and Pure In Heart!
To Be Friends Forever With My (Dad/Daughter)
To Love The Sacred Circle Of My Family
To Be Attentive While Others Speak
To Love My Neighbor As Myself
To Seek And Preserve The Beauty Of The Great Spirit’s Work in Forest, Field And Stream
Pledge:
We Dads and Daughters,
Through Friendly Service To Each Other,
To Our Family And To Our Community,
Seek A World Pleasing To The Eye Of The Great Spirit.