If you ask many local fathers of young daughters, they will tell you they're part of a tribe—brand more specifically, a tribe in the Indian Princess program. Southlake resident RonniebrCook, of the Cheyenne tribe, is one such dad. He's been part of the father/daughter organization for four years with his daughters, Alexis (10), and Geneva (8). As the incoming assistantbrchief for the 18-tribe-strong Yo-He-Wah Nation (the DFW/North Tarrant County chapter of thebrnational program), he's moving up the totem pole, too. Cook encourages dads to check outbrthis unique program that forges a lasting bond between fathers and daughters.br
I JOINED THE INDIAN PRINCESSbrPROGRAM BECAUSE: I wanted to go fishing and camping like I did with mybrdad growing up. Having two girls, therebrweren't many organizations that filledbrthat niche. There are many dad/son andbrmom/daughter opportunities, but thebrbonding experience between dads andbrdaughters is extremely important.br
THROUGH THE PROGRAM, DADS ANDbrDAUGHTERS GET TO: do a little bit
of everything. We build rockets, go tobrhockey games and go camping, amongbrmany other activities. There's an eventbron the calendar once a month where webrdevote 100 percent of our attention tobrour girls. It's important because manybrtimes, as dads, we get busy and it's hardbrto slow down.br
CAMPOUTS ARE ESPECIALLY UNIQUEbrBECAUSE: we have so many familiesbrthat we take up an entire state park. It'sbrgreat. When I was a kid, I'd get on mybrbike and explore in the woods. It's hardbrto let kids explore today, but campingbrprovides a safer environment so kids canbrget out in nature. We have four daddy/brdaughter campouts and one familybrcampout each year.br
ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVENTS IS: thebrannual Sweetheart Dance in February.brIt's a formal event so everyone dressesbrup. We get to show the girls how webrwould want boys to treat them. We getbrto instill in them what a proper date isbrand show them a really nice time.br
INDIAN PRINCESS TRIBES ARE BASEDbrON: region and friendships. Most peoplebrjoin through word of mouth—theirbrdaughters' friends. In the Cheyennebrtribe, most families are from Southlake, so the girls see each other and play nonstop. Ifbrdads/daughters don't know anybody when theybrregister, they can be matched in a tribe from theirbrelementary school.
AN ADDED BENEFIT OF PARTICIPATING: isbrdeveloping friendships with other dads. You seebrthe same group of people every month, so it's abrgreat way to form new friendships. When we gobrcamping, there are no cell phones. We're outside,brcooking s'mores, playing games, riding bikes—webrall really look forward to it.br
THROUGH INDIAN PRINCESS, I GET TO: seize thebropportunity to spend time with my girls. Whenbrthey grow up to be women, they will be able to do mother/son or mother/daughter activities, butbrnothing like this.br
BEHIND THE SCENES, THE INDIAN PRINCESSbrPROGRAM: operates like a well-oiled machine.brEverything is volunteer-based. We have dads whobrare lawyers, accountants—you name it. Thesebrguys believe so much in the program that theybrinvest a lot of time to make the events happen. Ifbreverybody does a little piece, nobody has to do abrton.br
MY INDIAN NAME: was chosen by my kids. Theybrpicked Stinky Catfish. Alexis' name is SingingbrBluebird and Geneva's name is Little Kitten.brEverybody gets a patch to put on their vest afterbreach event, and my vest has a catfish on it. It's fun.brThe vest is a neat keepsake because they can lookbrat it and see all the events they attended with theirbrdad.br
THE BEST PART OF IT ALL: is spending time withbrmy daughters and building lasting memories.brThere is such a short window of time when girls want to be really involved with their dads.brJust being able to hang out with them—thosebrmemories are irreplaceable. Indian Princess givesbrdads an environment and opportunity to show ourbrdaughters how much we love them.