Meet the nation’s new chief:
Q&A with Nelson “Black Crow” Scott

Black Crow is the father of Carleigh (Tiger Lilly), 11, and Jacob (Screaming Hawk), 9. Carleigh is a member of the Proud Stars tribe. Jacob is a member of the Fire Hawks. Black Crow was named “Soaring Eagle” when he and his dad were in the program in 1975-76. He was in the Cheraw tribe. “We used actual tribe names back then.”

Why did you pick the name Black Crow? I came up with the name Black Crow because I am a huge fan of the band The Black Crowes and I wanted something that would be fairly true to the Indian theme of the program.

What do you do when you’re not being “Black Crow”? “In ‘real life’ I am a mild-mannered insurance agent.”

Any memories from being a kid in the program? “I can remember making and delivering the invitations. My parents still use one of the ones we made as a Christmas ornament on their tree every year.”

Was the program different then? “Back then you had to actually find your shark’s teeth on the beach out at the point (at Spring Outing).We didn’t have the luxury of a shark tooth pile.”

Any favorite Spring Outing activities now? “I love it all! Just being in Arapahoe, there on the river and spending time with my kids and the staff. Awesome experience.”

What do you like about the program? “I like the Indian them and the fact that we often refer to the Great Spirit in our meetings and outings. The fact that YMCA of the Triangle keeps the “C” in YMCA is huge for me.”

Anything else? “The one-on-one relationship with our kids. This program is great for developing that, especially with fathers and daughters. There aren’t many things where a father can actively participate with their daughters.”

Any advice for dads new to the program? “Put all that you can into the program. Stick with the theme. When you go to the outings, spend every possible minute with your kids that you can. Standing around and ’shooting the breeze’ with the other dads can be done anytime. Our kids are God’s gift to us and will be our little girls and little boys only for a short time. Soon these days will be gone. Make as many memories as you can.”

Anything else? “When naming your tribe, creativity is great. Just try to be respectful.”

Any advice for kids new the program? “Be kids…have fun!”

What do you hope to do as Nation’s Chief? “I just want to be a good advocate for the program.”

Favorite community service project: “My daughter and I helped with a soup kitchen in JoCo and I think it really helped her understand that there are people in this world that don't always no where that next meal is coming.”

Favorite sports teams: “I am a proud graduate of East Carolina University and a proud Pirate! Arrrgh! Believe it or not, as far as pro teams go I am a Cleveland Browns fan.”

You can keep up with Chief Black Crow by reading his blog at chiefblackcrow.blogspot.com

Getting bigger & better every year

The Araphoe Nation of Y-Guides and Y-Princesses is already the largest such father/child program in the country. But we keep growing, and we’re welcoming a lot of new Guides and Princesses to the program this year. We have 105 new Princess tribes this year and 61 new Guide tribes. That brings our totals to 750 Guides and Princesses tribes and 12,118 active dad and kids.

The Rockmont Report

For Y-Guides and Y-Princesses, the year kicks off with the Fall Outing at Camp Kanata. But for a lot of Trailblazers, the year started with a great weekend at Camp Rockmont in beautiful Black Mountain, N.C.

Princesses and Guides become Trailblazers when they enter their fourth year in the program, and can remain a Trailblazer as long as they want. Many kids have a goal of driving their dad to camp and for some, Rockmont achieves that goal and they even get an official "I Drove My Dad To Camp" certificate from Moose.

More than 1,500 Trailblazers and dads visited Camp Rockmont over three weekends. Many of whom took advantage of early camp arrival on Thursday when went whitewater rafting on the French Broad River with Blue Heron Whitewater on Friday.

Some stayed in cabins, and others stayed in Tent City (and got special t-shirts). There were all sorts of great activities, from the zip line to the Saturday night square dance. But the highlight, of course, was the annual Blob contest with "Thunder" and "Lightning" awards given each weekend to the best dad duo demonstrating their awesome blobbing techniques. The big news came from Moose, who told the crowd on the final weekend that this would be the last time he ever blobbed someone. Moose says he has done the blob about 40 times, but says it is starting to take a toll. “I would love to pass the torch,” he says. Any takers?

Special daddy-daughter date nights make great memories

Over 500 Third Year Princesses and their dads traded in their vests and patches for sparkling dresses and coats-and-ties for the annual Daddy Daughter Date Nights at the Crabtree Marriott this fall.

Some arrived in limousines. Many of the girls wore corsages. And some of the dads broke out their tuxedos.

The four separate nights were kicked off with lemonade, fireballs and photos before the grand ballroom was opened for a delicious sit-down dinner. After dining, the dance floor was filled with Big Braves and their Princesses shaking and spinning to the Electric Slide, the Hoe Down Throw Down and other popular tunes. There was even a twist contest, and the night was capped off by the crowning of The Sweatiest Dad. Trust us, there was no shortage of candidates for that title.

Special thanks to our DJ's, Twin Spin, who have been spinning the tunes for our date nights for over 15 years.!

Hearing from Hawk at Pow-Wow

The Nation’s 3rd Year Guides kicked off their year with a Pow-Wow at the B.W. Wells Campground at Falls Lake. About 150 kids and their dads had fun at the Pow-Wow, enjoying camping, hiking, canoeing and kayaking. But the highlight of the weekend was Hawk, a Native American storyteller and musician who took part in the Saturday night campfire. Hawk told traditional stories from various American Indian tribes, and played a few instruments that he made. Hawk makes flutes, shakers and drums in the traditional ways of the American Indian. They had some rain, but that didn’t dampen the fun. Camping is fun no matter what…no televisions, no video games, no “to-do lists” for dads. It just was boys and their dads enjoying the outdoors!

North Carolina State Fair makes for "A Whole Lotta Fun"

Almost 5,000 State Fair patches were handed out at the first YGP Day at the NC State Fair on Monday, Oct. 19 as Guides, Princesses, Big Braves, moms and other family members rode the rides, ate the treats and scoured the Midway for fireballs and gold bricks.

With Moose home sick, it was up to Brown Bear and Golden Otter to play hide and seek among the throngs of fair-goers, many of whom raised an eyebrow or two at the sight of the pair concealing painted bricks, throwing fireballs and hiding a golden pumpkin at the pig races. The dynamic duo hid in plain site at various fair locations, with Otter giving clues on Twitter as they moved from place to place. It was never too long before they would be discovered by excited kids and dads in their Spring Outing tees or logo sweatshirts. Each family that spotted the pair had the opportunity to pull an envelope from Otter's backpack for a chance to win bags of fireballs, Moose Bucks good for anything from the YGP store, Winter Inning tickets or the top prize of a free Spring Outing for a father/child pair.

Brown Bear loved holding a baby duck and Andrew climbed the rock wall, but their favorite Fair pastime was all of the fine dining options - with Brown Bear enjoying the fried cheese cubes and Otter digging some NC State Howling Cow ice cream.

Totem Talk Topic: Camp Kanata With Fall Outings underway, Totem Talk editor Bill "Big Bear" Krueger went to the first third-year Fall Outing Experience and asked some Princesses and Guides: "What is the coolest, most awesome, most fun thing about Camp Kanata?" Clarissa "Windy Butterfly" Tribe: Trinity Tiger Cubs "The fire walk. When they shot the arrow across the lake, that was very cool."   Mary-Kate "Little Sunset" Tribe: Star Jumpers "I like the rock climbing. That's really fun. I like spending time with my dad." Connor "Flying Eagle" Tribe: Fighting Cheetahs "BB's and archery. It's fun that you get to shoot something. I can shoot BB's better than archery."   Hayden "Jumping Tiger" Tribe: Fighting Cheetahs "Probably the archery and the canoeing, because they're outdoors and they're fun and you have to use your strength." Carleigh "Dancing Donkey" Tribe: Wake Forest Wildcats "Probably canoeing and archery. In archery, you get to shoot at a target. In canoeing, I like how you just float and paddle."   Lauren "Running Cheetah" Tribe: Princess Huskies "I like to do archery the most. You get to shoot things and see how far you can make it go. Sometimes you get a bullseye and you're happy for yourself." Naomi "Tiger Lily" Tribe: Awesome Otters "I'd have to say the bonfire. I like when it booms and all of a sudden it flames into a big fire."   Erin "Prancing Unicorn" Tribe: Awesome Otters "When I dyed a t-shirt, because when I dyed the t-shirt I got to make it how I wanted it." Lindsay "Little Fawn" Tribe: Dancing Daisies "Canoeing. I like to do it with my daddy. I like to go under the water that's shooting into the lake."   Abby "Golden Lilly" Tribe: Dancing Daisies "I guess the basketball court. I like to play basketball. I play H-O-R-S-E with my dad." Rayna "Dancing Deer" Tribe: Chirping Crickets "The canoeing. It's just fun because I'm going with my dad, and it's peaceful, and you get out into nature."   Eleanor "Sunflower" Tribe: Star Jumpers "Tie-dying the t-shirts, because you get messy." Meredith "Brown Bear" Tribe: Arapahoe Nation "Fall is my favorite time of the year, just being at camp in the Fall. It's laid back and everybody is just having a great time. And the biscuits are pretty bangin'."

Mark Your Calendars

These are the highlights of some upcoming events. For a complete list and more information, visit the Nation's calendar.

Weds. Oct. 28 - Ellabration!
Oct. 30-Nov. 1 - Third Year Fall Outing
Sunday, Nov. 1 - 1st and 2nd Year Princesses Fall Outing
Nov. 6-8 - Third Year Fall Outing
Sunday, Nov. 8 - 1st and 2nd Year Guides Fall Outing
Tuesday, Nov. 10 - Skate Night - Jellybeans, Cary and North Raleigh
Nov. 13-15 - Third Year Fall Outing
Sunday, Nov. 15 - 1st and 2nd Year Guides Fall Outing
Saturday, Nov. 21 - Raleigh Christmas Parade
Monday, Nov. 30 - Winter Inning & PBS Sign-Ups begin - YGP Office

Totem Talk is the quarterly newsletter of the Arapahoe Nation. Story ideas should be sent to the editor: Bill "Big Bear" Krueger ..