"My indian name in nanatache, it means he who lost his American Express card and doesnt give a fuck..."

Okay, so the above quote I used is a line from the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and is quite funny but I want to talk about something I find appalling, actually... that was just a better title, and still slightly in context, than my original one ("I am Choking Chicken, Hear me Roar" which is a product of my own diseased grey matter...)

There is a show on ABC right now called Brat Camp - its a reality show, following this group of problem kids while they go through this program thats sort of a cross between Scared Straight and a Tom Brown course (for those who dont know Tom Brown is a wilderness survival expert with some decidedly odd "native american"-esque stuff in his courses and beliefs).
They take these kids out and through a series of essentially trust and character building exercises built around a wilderness survival theme teach them to be better people.
Now, as that is said above I think its a great idea - very few things can bring people togather with their self better than A. being in the wilderness, and B. having to essentially fend for themselves in that wildnerness, and few things inspire confidence in one's self better than being able to take simple materials and build a fire in the rain.
But, the entire thing is tainted with this quasi-Native American theme crap like some bad vacation resort. The counselors all go by these names like "Strong Elk" or "Boulder", instead of their real names and the camp name is even something like Sage Burning or something. The kids go through these weirdo "ceremonies' where they do TV indian things, and earn names like "Timid Moose" or something.
Now I understand, to a degree, the point of things like this - but as someone who has seen it from the inside, and the outside, I think its bullshit.

First of all the names - If people need to find strength within themselves to become stronger, better people, then the idea that making them earn a new name like Bold Eagle will accomplish this is insane. People who have these kinds of problems continually, regularly, look outside themselves for strength from things that do not actually provide it, surrogates to support and carry them. A name, other than your own name, is nothing but that kind of surrogate. It creates just another kind of dependency for these kids, and helps nothing.
Six months after they leave the camp, unless they obsessively hang onto and use that name (which gets into other psychological problems suddenly exarcerbated by this crippling "naming"), the name will cease to have meaning for them and suddenly their strength will be gone, and they will turn back to Drugs, Lying, Stealing, Acting Out as sources for strength and support they cannot find internally.
This is not a solution. It is a travesty. It is crippling. I know, I've been there. And it is a mistake to use this as a therapy method, absolutely.
I'd love to see a wilderness survival themed school/camp for kids with these problems that taught them that *insert their name here* was strong, and capable and better, etc. while providing them with outlets for emotion, and some truly valuable knowledge not just of wildnerness survival but of other things - without this crippling, bullshit, quasi-native american new-agey sounding faux naming, ritual, crap that is nothing, nothing, but another way of creating dependency on outside forces.