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It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Time is marching on. But with it, also comes increased violence and less compassion and care for one another. The past year 2014 was especially brutal and painful for millions of people around the world. Just think of these events or circumstances: • The mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines jetliner with 227 on board. It could have been an act of violence. Conspiracy theories abound. Another Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down by Russian-supported fig...
Even before the first snow falls, Christmas begins to make its appearance in our shopping malls, on our streets, and even in our homes. For those who live in cities and towns where winter weather is present for five months or more, beginning in October, images and lights of Santa, angels, and the birth of the Christ Child begin to appear in homes in early October after Canadian Thanksgiving. Christmas in our dominant society is not always a happy, peaceful time. It has become more about getting presents for our family and...
WINNIPEG, MB-Métis lawyer Brian Bowman was sworn in as Winnipeg's new mayor on November 4, 2014. The former privacy lawyer's first speech as mayor was an emotional one. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Bowman appeared "uncharacteristically nervous and choked up when speaking about his Métis heritage and honoring city hall's location in Treaty One territory." The new mayor was not the only Aboriginal candidate who ran for the mayor's office. Saskatchewan-born and raised i...
Thirty-five years—about half a person’s life. It’s hard to believe how time seems to slip by and all we have experienced in that amount of time. With this issue, Indian Life Ministries is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this fall. However, it is actually the 46th Anniversary of the birth of Indian Life newspaper. Our history began as a challenge and a dream. A South Dakota dairy farmer was challenged by a conference speaker in British Columbia to start a publication for the thousands of Native Americans living in and aroun...
Everything in our world is changing, including the most popular month for weddings. For centuries, June was considered the “wedding month” because June is named after the Roman goddess Juno and getting married in June meant special blessings. But that has changed. In the United States, August is now the most popular month followed by June, July, and then December. My family is excited about my son’s wedding on August 8 and happy for my niece’s wedding on July 11. But listening to the news, watching TV shows or certain...
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established by the Canadian government has completed its mandate with the last of seven national gatherings in Edmonton, Alberta. Now the commission has the task of organizing over 8,000 interviews and writing their report which will reveal through testimony, research, and relevant documents, the history of Canada’s Residential Schools. The commission has reached a historic milestone and Canadians ought to eagerly await the results of their work. Over the last couple of years, a...
Most everyone who lives within winter's grasp will agree. This has been a long, cold winter. For those who live where snow lies on the ground for more than four months, it's been a lonely winter. In the upper Midwest and north of the 48th parallel, neighbors aren't seen for weeks at a time. Few want to venture out into the -30 or lower temperatures unless it is absolutely necessary. Winter for many often means feeling alone and isolated. Do you feel abandoned? Perhaps if not now, there may have been times in your life when...
"The woman in front of me was in no shape to be on television. Her face was lifeless-her eyes red, swollen, vacant. She met my gaze as if begging to be told what to do, but I had no idea how to help her and felt every bit as lost as she looked." So begins the spiritual memoir of Nez Perce Indian Hattie Kauffman known to millions for her work as a network news correspondent for CBS News and ABC's Good Morning America. The surprise for readers is that the woman she is...
Each year at this time, we hear messages about hope, love, and peace. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, there are faint signs of brotherhood and “peace on earth.” This year, if there’s anything that’s pretty obvious, it’s the fact that love, peace, and hope, are in very short supply. Just take a look at the world around us. In the U.S., there has been so much bickering and discord that the federal government was forced to shut down because Congress and the White House could not come to a resolution on the budg...
Summer time is a time for adventure. Vacations, trips, visiting family, and reading. Some of our best times of reading are when we are on holidays. I discovered this to be true when my family and I spent a few days in the Cypress Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan in August. The Cypress Hills are sacred to North America’s Indigenous Peoples. Sacred because it was on this ground that innocent blood was shed in what has become known as the “Cypress Hills Massacre.” So what better way to spend several hours than to read some Nat...
If you are a follower of Jesus and have been following recent news and trends in North America, you have probably found a number of issues and events that have caused concern. Here are just three that have come to my attention during the last few weeks. It’s been five years since Canada’s formal Apology to First Nations People. This was a very moving and historic event and one which brought many people to tears. Yet something happened and almost went unnoticed following the...
On the peninsula jutting out into Lake Winnipeg, near the end of Manitoba Highway 59, is where I call home. I was born in Victoria Beach, and called Traverse Bay, Manitoba my childhood home. My mom was treaty but my dad wasn’t so we couldn’t live on the reserve. All through grade school up to high school, that’s where I was. I’m Ojibwe and there were ten of us in my family. In fact, there were twelve but two of my siblings died when they were little. My dad finally got his tre...
SIOUX FALLS, SD—For 13 years, Mission Wounded Knee (MWK) has made trips to South Dakota and this year is no exception. This year’s theme “War Dance—Dancing on Injustice” is a good way to describe what the MWK team desires to do. The tour begins with three Broken Walls concerts in three prisons the last week of August. “We are excited about re-visiting the facilities and sharing Jesus with the inmates and staff,” stated Bruce Bartelli, director of MWK. The team then returns...
It seems like North America has been on a roller coaster of emotions. The past six weeks have been incredible. During April and part of May there have been some profoundly traumatic events that have happened, particularly in the United States but also in Canada. Some were extremely sad and frightening, while others were miraculous and amazing. First there were the Boston Marathon bombings and then the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. These were followed by the arrest of suspected terrorists planning to bomb a commuter...
At one or more times in our lives, we will all receive news that we did not expect nor want. But nonetheless we must accept, like it or not. Such a time occurred when I received a phone call from Wiconi International informing me that Richard Twiss had suffered a major heart attack. Richard was in Washington to attend the annual National Prayer Breakfast. The following day he was to meet with cabinet members at the White House. That was not to be. Three days later, we...
VANCOUVER, WA—Dr. Richard Leo Twiss, Lakota, co-founder and President of Wiconi International (www.wiconi.com), succumbed to a major heart attack while in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Prayer Breakfast. In the late morning hours of Saturday, February 9, 2013, Richard stepped from this life into the presence of his Creator and Savior whom he loved. In the final hours of Richard’s journey on this side, he was surrounded by his wife Katherine, four sons, Andrew, Phi...
Due to an error in our mailing process, all the copies of our November-December 2012 issue addressed to Canadian subscribers sat in Canada Post’s processing plant for almost a month. We were unaware of this until we began getting calls from subscribers asking “Where’s my Indian Life?” We checked and were able to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, many did not receive their copy until after Christmas. We are very sorry for this and we’ll work to see that it doesn’t happen again. Thanks for your patience. If you still are w...
Ever thought of what it would have been like to wake up on January 1, 2013 (or any year) and find that everything was different? Not only was it a new year but everything was brand new. Watching the thousands gather on December 31 in New York City’s Times Square, at Niagara Falls, Canada, and thousands of other gathering places around the globe, you’d think that people were expecting exactly such a change to happen. And while it is another year, life hasn’t really changed for most of us. So if nothing really changes come...
The holidays that make this time of year so special are fast approaching. Our friend, Lipan Apache Hoop dancer and pastor Robert Soto, has made a tradition of counting down the days to Christmas throughout the year, starting the day after Christmas. For many, Christmas is celebrated with gladness and joy. For some, however, this can be a very sad and lonely time and one that people dread. Some find it difficult because they are alone, in prison or they have recently lost someone dear. Others are in their own prisons of...
We are at a crossroads! It is crisis time in America. In less than two months, Americans will be going to the polls to vote for the next President of the United States. They will also be choosing members of Congress, state governors, judges, council members, school superintendents—basically all those in authority. This is perhaps the most uncertain election Americans have ever faced—certainly in my lifetime. Not only uncertain about the election results but also the dir...
Do you really trust God? How so? Can you tell someone what it means to trust Creator? Watching the fires ravage the hills surrounding Colorado Springs (a place I stood just a seven weeks prior), I wonder how many of these individuals who were evacuated--many losing their homes to the flames-- had been trusting God to protect them and their property. Or the folks in Florida who experienced flooding from Tropical Storm Debbie or those who suffered property damage and loss of power during the terrible heat wave across the Easter...
