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Purpose
The overall purpose of the Blueprint is threefold:
• to synthesize and summarize community-based research and planning around community improvement;
• to articulate the vision of community members for the future of the Twin Cities urban American Indian community;
• to identify strategies for community advancement towards the vision.
In the past, community development efforts have fallen short because they were often disconnected from American Indian community members. Decision-making often flowed from the top down, and lacked the grassroots participation that would create success. Another common concern has been limited results from the extensive studies conducted by and upon the community as typified in the Healthy Nations 1993-2000 evaluation document:
Along with the increasing data came subtle and erosive community concerns. These concerns focused on a perceived imbalance between action in the community and the gathering of information. Such a reaction reflected the historical outcome of many initiatives started in these communities. Some community members concluded that much would be known but little would be done.
The approach here is the reverse. From the start, community members have been actively involved at every stage of the process, building from within to create an enduring, self-sustaining structure. This process honors the previous research that has been conducted in the community and moves to implementation strategies.
