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Have you heard about the YMCA’s Y-Indian Guides and Y-Indian Princesses programs?  Fathers, you may remember being part of the Guide’s wonderful group when you were a youth.  Our local YMCA continues its sponsorship of their Guides (father/son) and Indian Princesses (father/daughter) programs.  These programs have been around and active for several decades and have fostered stronger family relationships, memories and the appreciation for family and community.

These programs are organized into Longhouses which are then made up of individual tribes.  Locally, the Old Portage Longhouse is the family of West Akron, Copley and Bath area “tribes” for the father/son programs while the Ipany Longhouse is the family of West Akron “tribes” for the father/daughter programs.  These Longhouses help to nurture these relationships and provide a structure of activities, events, meetings and other fun things to do – together.  Similar to Scouts, but dissimilar in that father and son/daughter are together every step of the way in the Y’s program.  And in some cases, it’s even the grandfather or the uncle getting involved!

We are looking for some new members to join our ranks and embark on a wonderful adventure of camping, hiking, games, crafts, wood car building and racing, learning, sharing and growing together.

Within our Longhouses are many “tribes”, or groups of fathers/sons and fathers/daughters from similar schools or developments that meet periodically to share in our activities.  Some activities include all of the Longhouse’s tribes while others are geared just for the enjoyment of the individual tribe members and families.

Just to give a taste of the types of activities that we enjoy each year would just scratch the surface of the enjoyment fathers & sons/daughters receive each year.  Our spring and fall campouts are definitely the pinnacle of the Longhouse events.  Camp Y-Noah down in Green Township stretches over hundreds of acres of woods, hills, streams and lakes. 

Fathers and sons/daughters explore new paths each time they hike to the horseback riding stables, wall climb and zip line station, the Archery range, the BB Gun Range, the Alpine Tower, the Canoe livery and the Craft barn. 

Fishing is also a favorite past time.  However, nothing can come close to the experience everyone gets at our Saturday night bonfire and Longhouse ceremony.  Here, everyone gets to revel in the roar of the massive bonfire, the mystery of the Guides and Princesses tale and the face painting and feather awards.  But don’t worry, we don’t rough it too much.  We enjoy the Y’s incredible hospitality with cabins, bunk beds and a dining hall.

Who remembers their pinewood derby days in Scouts?  We too have fun each winter building race cars with our sons or daughters and then racing them in multiple heats and brackets.  Everybody walks away a winner at this event.

So, would you like to hear more?  Fathers, Grandfathers, Uncles - would you like to spend that quality time growing and learning with your boy or girl?  Mothers, would you like to see the bond between your children and their father strengthened?   Read this article written by one of the members of the program The Eagle Express Summer 2009.

To Join Y-Indian Princesses, contact Ipany Longhouse Chief of Chiefs Blind Squirrel (a.k.a. Jim Koewler) at JimIP2007@koewler.net, or (330)-659-9518 so that he can answer your questions and get you signed up for this year’s excitement.

To join Y-Indian Guides, contact Old Portage Longhouse Chief of Chiefs Jeff Gorbach, Chief Thunderhawk at  jgorbach@att.com or (330)-864-7704 so that he can answer your questions and get you signed up for this year’s excitement.

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