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What is 4-H Youth Rite of Passage?
"I have a lot more patience...I realized I have a lot to be happy about, and that makes life a whole lot easier when you come to that realization and [see] how many people are really standing by you and ready to support you no matter what."
--C.S. July 2006
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"I carry around my journal still to this day and write in it when I feel I should...I know that I will always remember the things I went through that week in July, and no matter how old I get, it will always have been one of the biggest impacts on my life."
--K.A. July 2006 |
About 4-H Youth Rite of Passage
4-H is this nation’s premier youth development program. It is based on developmentally appropriate practices and research-validated curriculums that promote life skills and core learning for competent, healthy maturing youth. 4-H RITE OF PASSAGE is a new addition to the WSU 4-H Challenge Program.
The 4-H Rite of Passage program was originally developed in conjunction with The School of Lost Borders in California. For over 30 years they have provided vision fasts for youth and adults as well as training for future vision fast guides. The School of Lost
Borders programs are now available internationally.
 Culturally appropriate rites of passage from adolescence into adulthood are critically important. Without accepted and honored ceremonies, adolescents are initiating each other into adulthood using the symbols of "maturity" that they see as the privilege of adults around them: alcohol, drugs, violence, and sex.
4-H in Washington State offers an alternative: a culturally appropriate rite of passage through a vision fast in the wilderness. We prepare initiates for as much as a 3-day fast alone, with minimum shelter, in the natural world. The vision fast process for participants involves 3 phases.
- Severance: leaving the world that they know
- Threshold: time alone
- Incorporation: Reentry into a new life and life status as an adult.
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Benefits of the Rite of Passage
The benefits of this work at the individual and cultural levels are many and include: self-knowledge (both strengths and weaknesses), leadership skills, self-esteem, self-confidence, sense of responsibility for self and community, fuller access to emotions, feelings and spirit, respect for self and others and a deep honoring of the natural world that supports us all.
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Activities During the Rite of Passage
On the first day we gather at an agreed upon place and travel together to a wilderness basecamp. The first days are given over to preparation (Severance). We meet in circle and practice “council” so that all voices may be heard.
 Participants will learn about the 4 Shields of human nature, wilderness safety and ethics, self-generated ceremony and go through an interactive interview to clarify their intention in marking their adulthood. They will also explore the nearby land for a place to solo and establish a “buddy pile” (see handbook for description) during this time. On the fourth, fifth and sixth days the trainee lives alone and fasts in a wilderness place (Threshold or Solo Time).
On the morning of the seventh day, the fasters return to basecamp and a celebratory feast is held in a nearby town (Incorporation). Days eight and nine are spent in circle telling the stories brought back from the wilderness. Each faster is heard and his/her story empowered by a council of elders and initiates are also prepared to reenter their lives as young adults.
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Preparation (Severance)
A Rite of Passage begins as soon as you decide to do it. The more thoughtful and honest you can be with yourself, the more you will get out of the experience. Spend time thinking about why you want to do the Rite of Passage. Write in a journal or talk to a trusted friend about your intentions. It is highly recommended that you complete the Day Walk described in the Handbook. You may also want to read The Book of the Vision Quest by Stephen Foster and Meredith Little.
Questions to ponder as you prepare for your
Rite of Passage*from John Davis and Nancy Jane of School of Lost Borders
- What do you hope to gain; what are you willing to give up?
- What “old skins” or self-images is it time to shed?
- What do you seek at this point in your life’s journey?
- What is the greatest gift you could give yourself during this vision fast?
- What is the greatest gift you could bring back for your people and your place?
- What inner tools and resources do you bring on this quest?
- What are your strongest fears or resistances; how might you sabotage your journey?
- What am I going to mark, claim, celebrate or confirm? What is my intent?
 Threshold (Solo Time)
This vision fast is a classic modern rite of passage or transition that involves the personal experience of a three day and night fast in a wilderness place. The traditional 4-H Rite of Passage Solo is based upon the following guidelines (taboos): no company, no food and minimal shelter. Within these guidelines leaders will assist each participant in planning for the solo experience that meets their needs.
Incorporation (Return)
The guides will assist participants with ways to authentically mark what they have done on their Rite of Passage. The group will have a celebratory feast in a nearby town, return to basecamp and tell stories to the elders council. There is also discussion about the upcoming year and the process of incorporation.
Threshold Circle painted by Bette Lu Krause
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Equipment and Accommodations
The trainers make no provisions for meals or accommodations. Participants are responsible for their own meal preparation including cooking/eating utensils as well as a tent, sleeping bag etc. Download the suggestions for what to bring here:
4-H Rite of Passage Equipment List
Reading List
Required: The 4-H Rite of Passage Youth Handbook: Coming of Age in the Wilderness
Suggested: The Roaring of the Sacred River by Steven Foster and Meredith Little. Available from School of Lost Borders Press: http://www.lostborderspress.com/lbpress/index.cfm
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