By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

Canoeing down the Flint River, sharing a hot dog at Camp Deer Point, pitching a tent for a weekend campout, or exploring the dark crannies of mammoth cave... These are a few of the experiences shared by parents and their children who are active in the Fayette YMCA Indian Guides and Princesses.

"A parent gets to know their child better," said Shane Borie, the program's coordinator. "It gives them one weekend a month to get away and spend one-on-one time," he added.

Based on Native American culture, the guide and princess program enables a parent to team-up with a son or daughter, and partake in a smorgasbord of activities involving the customs of their chosen tribe and the Creek Nation, the chosen name for the Fayette group.

Recently, the Nation traveled to McMinnville, Tenn., to explore Cumberland Caverns. Equipped with hard hats and flashlights, the spelunkers crawled and shimmied their way through a maze of tunnels and mouse holes, emerging triumphantly dirty.

Several times during the month, individual tribes meet to discuss upcoming events, create crafts, learn Indian lore, play games and socialize. At a recent meeting of the Nez Perce tribe, the only mother-daughter group in the Nation, balancing Styrofoam cups and plates atop their heads was the fun challenge of the night.

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