Mamtunaata SNAP project evolves into a permanent program

Introduced in Eeyou Istchee in 2011, the Mamtunaata SNAP program teaches life skills to elementary school children and has since ushered in a world of behavioural improvement and support for families and kids alike.

According to Donald Nicholls, the Director of Justice and Correctional Services for the Grand Council of the Crees/ Cree Regional Authority, the idea was to provide everyday life skills programming for children aged 6 to 11.

“We wanted to make an impact in the community and we wanted to make sure that there were safer school environments,” said Nicholls. “One of our objectives was to help people get on a healthier path earlier in life. We believed that if we had programs to help people with life skills, it would help them make better decisions early on in their lives and provide support so that they wouldn’t make bad decisions later in life that could lead them to conflict in their families, in their schools and in the community or with the legal system.”

Looking for an effective program that would a good fit with Aboriginal communities, Nicholls turned to the Child Development Institute in Toronto. The Institute’s Stop Now and Plan (SNAP) program is a cognitive-behavioural program designed to help children regulate angry feelings by getting them to stop, think about the consequences of their behaviour, and plan positive alternatives before they act impulsively.

While this program had previously only been offered in urban environments, the Department of Justice was able to adapt it so that it could be delivered in Cree and incorporate the values and customs of Eeyou Istchee while still adhering to the program’s standards.

Developing this program for the Crees and with Cree values attracted national and international attention.

After consulting with the communities and their Elders, the program re-emerged under the moniker Mamtunaata SNAP. This version incorporated important cultural aspects, such as sharing circles, respect for the land and animals, accepting guidance and wisdom of Elders, and the importance of family and community strength.

According to Dorothy Nicholls, who served as the project’s coordinator, the name was chosen because Mamtunaata (stop and think before you do something) was the closest they could get to Stop Now and Plan.

“This is a saying that we all heard from our Elders when we were growing up. A grandfather would go by and if you were doing something he would say ‘mamtunaata,’ think about what you are doing,” said Dorothy Nicholls.

Pilot programs in Mistissini and Waswanipi in 2011 addressed children who were referred to by parents, teachers and local police. Participating children were getting into trouble at home, school or in the community.

Parents and teachers of the referred child answered a list of 130 questions about the child’s behaviour before and after the 12-week program to help chart the changes within the child. Simultaneously, evening programming was offered to parents to learn the same lessons as their children and how to support their offspring during the program.

According to Donald Nicholls, by the second year of the program they started to see families wanting all of their children enrolled in the program because of the kinds of lessons and support that come with it.

“They are life skills lessons and parenting lessons on supporting change and supporting children who may have conflicts wherever in their lives. For us, you could see the difference from where you started off the lesson,” said Donald Nicholls.

“At the beginning the children could be anxious or distracted but then throughout the program you would see the behaviour and the nature of that child change completely and the number of incidents diminish in school and at home.”

According to Celina Jimikin, a childcare worker and program facilitator, SNAP may initially been challenging since many parents had the impression that only “bad kids” go through this, when it is not the case. Once the results became evident in homes and classrooms, the program developed a waiting list.

“It is really for everyone. Even I use this program for everyday skills when I am going through a crisis, I use my SNAP. It isn’t just for kids,” admitted Jimikin. “It teaches you how to think before you act.”

Sheena Costain, a Community Program Support Worker who has worked alongside Jimikin, said a major component of the program is to help individuals understand their own emotional process to be able to change the outcome.

“If they are up against a situation where they feel themselves getting angry it was getting them to process that and understanding their emotions and triggers so that they would know when they were getting upset and then getting them to calm down physically and psychologically,” explained Costain.

“It was also about getting them to understand what was going on in their minds. If they were having negative thoughts, it was helping them to switch those to positive thoughts and getting them on a plan to keep their problems smaller.”

When the clinical phase ended in October 2013, over 100 Cree children had graduated from the 12-week program and hundreds of others had participated in SNAP sessions in classrooms or through various other programs. Then the project took on new life as 50-minute workshops (called troubleshooters) developed to be offered in schools throughout the region in 2014.

Since results showed a decrease in problematic behaviour and an increase in pro-social behaviour, it was decided that regional program officers would deliver the program in every community.

While the program underwent a hiring process so that it could be expanded into all nine communities, Costain and Jimiken decided to expand on another aspect of the program that focused on anti-bullying.

Setting up the SNAP Anti-Bullying Club, the two workers created a group of about 40 children from Grades 3-6 picked by teachers based on who would benefit from it the most, such as those who bullied and those being bullied.

“Though we do a bullying topic, we wanted to go into it deeper and make it about the kids,” said Costain.

Teaching them how to identify different bullying scenarios and then how to diffuse them personally or through the aid of an adult, these children have since become “PeaceMakers” throughout the school in Mistissini where it is being piloted.

According to Costain, while this program has already won over the children participating in it as they work for positive change in their own school, if the project is successful, it will be expanding to the other Cree communities as well.