Local and Agency Partnerships in
Managing Piiion-Juniper Woodlands
David ~ u j a n '
INTRODUCTION
TRAINING METHODOLOGY
Rural communities in the Southwest have close ties to
piilon-juniper woodlands. These ties are economic, social, and
spiritual. Because of these ties it is very important for land
managers to work with these communities to describe desired
conditions for the woodlands. The Tonantzin Land Institute has
experience and skills in working with Hispanic and Indian
communities that may be useful in implementing a management
program in the pifion-juniper.
Tonantzin Land Institute is an advocacy organization whose
focus is on the land, water, and human rights of traditional
communities in the Southwest. Formed in 1982 by Native
American and Chicano representatives, the organization has
evolved into the only minority directed and managed program
of its kind in the region. It is staffed by five persons and its
Board of Directors represent eight different tribal alfiiiations and
three Chicano communities. Approximately f@ traditional
communities from Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado
are actively associated with Tonantzin through the various
projects that it sponsors. Our work is financially supported by
foundation grants, M-raising events, and service contracts.
David Lujan is a co-founder of Tonantzin Land Institute and
presently serves as its Director. He has developed numerous
organizations throughout the country and has worked on several
community development projects designed for tribal and
Chicano groups in both rural and uhan settings. His fifteen
years of organizing includes serving as the Legislative Advocate
for the five legal services programs in New Mexico and several
years of training the staff of farmworker programs throughout
the eastern part of the United States.
A training program has been developed by a critical
evaluation of Southwestern and National organizing efforts.
Over the past ten years, we have collected and developed
relevant materials that will be used in training programs. The
material can packaged to give grass-root organizations the basic
as well as the advanced training needed to effect social change.
The training program starts with the premise that materials
and processes should serve the empowerment goals of
participants. It begins with thorough understanding of "power"
as the basis for learning how to advance the will of our
communities. We utilize techniques that show how institutional
powers garner information, people, and financial
resources-demonstrating clearly how they use these "elements
of power" to advance their agendas. We have learned, through
parnful experience, that we can garner the same elements and
move our communities from reactive postures to proactive
positions. The training program is separated into three distinct
segments; each one corresponding to the natural development
of grassroot organizations.
The first phase focuses on the day to day reality that leads
to the formation of community groups concerned enough about
an issue to do something about it. We refer to this phase as the
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT stage. Training objectives at this
stage would include learning how to analyze and choose issues,
using direct action, supporting citizen's campaigns, building
coalitions and recruiting leaders, developing effective strategies,
and generally learning how to deal with short term organizing
efforts.
The second phase is termed the ORGANIZATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT stage. Unfortunately, many groups jump to
this stage prematurely only to fmd that not everyone in the
organization holds the same notions about social change or that
the excitement of the issues had worn off and the mundane task
of developing an organizationjust wasn't something they wanted
to spend evenings and weekends doing. We use training
techniques designed to help the group take a good sense of
permanency or "staying powerttwhich is important if the group
is serious about creating concrete improvements in people's
lives. Critical skills such as holding effective meetings, problem
solving, listening skills, writing proposals, and learning how to
develop membership plans and carrying our fund-raising
campaigns can be provided in this phase. The group "being of
one mind, will have a clear vision with measurable goals and
objectives and everyone in the core group should willingly share
in the workload--no matter how mundane it seems.
' Coordinator; Tonantzin Land Institute, Albuquerque. NM.
It is a long haul for any community group to develop the
capacity to move fiom a position of reacting to issues and
concerns to a situation where the group is predetermining what
it wants to accomplish. It's a difference of "always putting out
brush fires" and truly "taking control of our lives". The phase
where we actually take control is referred to as the
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT stage. As social change
advocates, our training program insists upon looking at this
phase in a truly holistic manner rather than jumping to the
assumption that economic ventures is the answer to our plight.
Skills in community-needs assessments, financial analysis,
community infrastructure and land use planning, and market
analysis can be provided, but not without l o o m at how
bankrupt our spiritual and cultural condition is and not without
challenging outselves to pmeed with true alternatives that
senice the needs of our entire community rather than the
aspirations of a handful of socalled "leaders".
It has been our experience that the groups who are aware and
accept the fact that organization ~IC living, dynamic creations
and that there is a natural process by which they grow that those
groups are more likely to be mund dunng the had times as
well as the good times. The trust, the clarity of vision, and the
sense of mission will be evident to themselves, their
constituencies, as well as their adversaries. "ORGANIZING
works and anybody can acquire the skills to do it effectively
and in turn bring about social justice.
Our suggested program -for any group would include
delivery of three training sessions over the course of three
months. Technical assistance consists of telephone and written
communication as the need arises. Appropriate reference
material is provided at every step to assure that the group is
able to monitor and evaluate its own interpretation of how
things should be done. The three sessions, each to be covered
during two- or threeday training events, can be delineated as
follows:
A. Organizing skills - A thorough
organizational and community assessment
is conducted to assure that the group is
operating with the same set of assumptions
about what needs to be done and to begin
formulating ideas about how things should
be done. Translating problem and issue
areas into strategies and assessing the
group's strengths and weaknesses will be
an objective of the session. Generally, the
group will learn how to analyze, how to
plan, and how to evaluate its actions so
that what it does with the community is
deliberate and not reactive in nature. We
will help the group develop specific
individual and organizational "actions"
that will serve to establish the group's
credibility and set the stage for
expanding its community of base of
support.
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B. Strategic Planning This threeday session
serves to help the group develop a process
by which it determines what and how it
wants to do things in the next one- to
five-year horizon. Specific techniques will
be provided by the trainers then the group
develops and implements specific action
plans to include a membership plan and a
fund-raising plan. Initiation of these critical
"road maps" will be monitored closely by
the trainers in collaboration with the
designated staff and board representatives.
Evaluation and Adjustment - The final
training session serves to take a critical
look at the accomplishments of the group
during the course of about six months. The
performance of specific individuals will be
looked at to develop positive ways by
which that performance can be improved.
A one- to five-year strategy plan will be
developed and distributed to demonstrate
that the Board is clear and committed to
bring about change in the community. The
plan will have established financial goals
and will recognize the need to continue
developing the capabilities of the group as
well as of the key leaders.