NEW MEXICO (KRQE) –  A new program is geared toward creating job opportunities for Native American youth while connecting them to their cultural roots. United States Interior Secretary Deb Haaland rolled out guidelines for the Indian Youth Service Corps.

The plan is to employ young people on public and tribal lands for conservation projections like clearing brush to prevent wildfires and protecting cultural sites. The Interior Department is dedicating $3.5M this year to establish the corps. The projects can take place on Tribal lands or on federal lands where tribes have ancestral connections.