Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
Here comes another year, another cycle, a clean slate and a new chance to feel happy. In Abenaki, happy is alamizwidahomgwad. As an admitted “foodie,” each year I search and hope to find new taste sensations. Sometimes I find this at a friend’s house, or a restaurant, often by accident having read about a new way to fix something familiar. If it comes out successfully it becomes a new part of my culinary crazy quilt. As we approach “hunker down time” in the chill of winter, co...
Before we can ever truly deal with the hurts in our own lives, we have to be centered spiritually. We have to have a relationship with God. And that is not a thing we can achieve on our own. Jesus Christ said in John 14:6 in God’s book, the Bible, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Jesus is the Son of God and only by giving our life to Him, do we have access to God . . . and to the peace we all seek. Jon had taken that step to give His heart to Christ. That did not mean it wa...
Te Ata feels like a Hallmark production, if Hallmark were ever even slightly willing to be critical of the United States government and its Indian policies. It is a well-meaning tribute to Chickasaw storyteller Mary Francis Thompson, whose stage name was Te Ata. According to the film, that name means "Bearer of the Morning," and her grandmother gave it to her when she was a baby because she wailed so loudly at dawn. Thompson (Q'orianka Kilcher) grew up in Oklahoma in the early...
LAS VEGAS, Nev.-The Office of the President and Vice President (OPVP) congratulates Navajo tribal member Erich Rogers along with his heeler, Cory Petska, for becoming the 2017 World Champion Team Ropers at this year's National Finals Rodeo (NFR). "Erich Rogers' victory goes to show you that Navajos can compete at the world-class level and win," President Russell Begaye said. "As leaders, we are pleased to support all of our athletes and with each achievement, they are...
Since last fall, North America has been shocked by revelations of sexual sins of Hollywood bosses, comedians, and politicians. Recently, almost every day, women and a few men have come forward to accuse the rich, famous and powerful of their carnal wrongdoings. In responding to the accusations against her friend and co-host, Charlie Rose, Gayle King requested that men come forward in the fight against sexual harassment and sexual abuse, especially against girls and women. Well, I want to be one of those men who will come...
"Hey, there. How are you doing?” As my former co-worker walked up, I smiled, ready for a good chat. But after a while, the conversation went there. He started talking about the charismatic, but truly evil person we had both worked for. This boss was the first person I’d ever known who actually plotted to emotionally hurt people and try to destroy their jobs (telling me they deserved it). I had been naïve and trusting…and I had ended up burned badly with my professional confidence shaken and my trusting heart shatte...
Born to Mi'kmaq parents Mary Ellen Pictou and Francis Thomas Levi in a small Indian village in Nova Scotia, Canada, Anna Mae Pictou was the third of four children. Her father disappeared before she was born, leaving Mary Ellen and her children to live in poverty. Even so, Anna Mae attended school on the Mi'kmaq Reserve and did well in her studies. Mary Ellen married again (1949), this time to Mi'kmaq traditionalist Noel Sapier, a migrant farmer, as were many other Mi'kmaq....
"When I wake every morning, I am surprised I'm still alive. I don't do anything. I don't produce anything. I don't add anything to society. Each day I ask God why He let me live one more day." These were the words my father told me just two months before he died. When I was a child, every evening brought fearful anticipation of my father's drunken arrival home. Paydays were the worst. My family stacked tin cans inside of the front door to the house. We thought this crude...
SAN FRANCISCO-The 42nd Annual American Indian Film Festival was held November 4th at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco. Established in 1975, the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco is the oldest and most prominent media showcase in the world. Michael Smith, Founder/Director of the Film Institute and Festival describes this year's media as "a presentation to foster public truth and understanding of the social, economic, cultural and life ways of contemporary...
LUKACHUKAI, Ariz.-In December, Navajo tribal member Nicco Montaño defeated Roxanne Modafferi to become the first Navajo Ultimate Fighting Championship Flyweight Champion. Montaño, who grew up on a Navajo reservation, had considered going back to school and quitting the mixed martial arts sport earlier last year. But then the UFC opened a 125-pound division and assembled a cast of female flyweights for their TUF reality series. Montaño is one of the least experienced ch...
Tempe, Arizona-When Talia Fuentes fills out the race/ethnicity portion of the United States Census, she checks three boxes: Hispanic, Native American, and Caucasian. But up until 2000, Fuentes, and others like her, would have only been able to check one box. According to the U.S. Census, in the year 2000 about 6.8 million Americans marked two or more races, and by 2010, that number increased by a third, up to roughly 9 million. Fuentes, 32, grew up in Mesa, in a primarily...
MESA, Ariz.-Nominations are now open for the 2018 UNITY 25 Under 25 Native Youth Leadership Awards. The program is designed to celebrate the achievements of Native American and Alaskan Native youth ages 14 to 24 who embody UNITY's core mission and exude living a balanced life developing their spiritual, mental, physical and social well-being. Honorees will be recognized at a ceremony during the National UNITY Conference, July 5–9, 2018 in San Diego, California. In addition t...
Shakopee, Minn.-The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has broken ground on Hoċokata Ti, a multi-purpose building that will serve as a community gathering space, cultural activity site, and public exhibit chronicling the history of the tribe. The SMSC intends to interpret and encourage traditional Mdewakanton Dakota cultural heritage, language and history through exhibitions, preservation and education at Hoċokata Ti, which means "the lodge at the center of the c...
OTTAWA, Ont.-In November, Inuit from Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka came together in Ottawa to discuss cultural sustainability, food security and conservation through use. The Summit resulted in a commitment to collaboratively and inclusively promote, sustain and strengthen Inuit cultural rights to food sovereignty. The Summit further called for a unified pan Arctic voice on Inuit rights to the sustainable use of the Arctic's living resources and a move toward...
ADA, Okla.-The Chickasaw Nation has created a mobile application that offers mothers, fathers and other caretakers a new resource in the palm of their hands. The MOMents app, now available to the public at no charge through the Apple App Store and Google Play, provides tips and advice through every step of a child's development. Topics include eating, breastfeeding, sleeping and playtime, among others. Also included in the app are links to helpful resources and information...
PULLMAN, Wash.-Washington State University has received two state grants from the state's Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to help indigenous educators become state-certified teachers. The PESB is responsible to oversee the state's teacher preparation, certification and continuing education through traditional methods as well as alternative routes. The first award, for $210,000, is a project called Ti'tooq'an Cuukweneewit AlterNATIVE Route. The project focuses on I...
KANSAS CITY-November marked 120 years that The Indian Leader has been published. This, the world's oldest Native American student newspaper, is published by Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. To celebrate the event, the university held a reception which included a mayoral proclamation, Dr. Venida Chenault, President of Haskell Indian Nations University, discussing the importance of maintaining a Native American presence in journalism, a history of the...
Thunder Bay, Ont.-Ontario is working with Indigenous partners to deliver 14 projects that will help people break the cycle of poverty, increase access to safe and nutritious food, find good jobs and end homelessness, while meeting the unique challenges and needs of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. "We know that Indigenous individuals and families face far greater rates of poverty than their non-Indigenous neighbors," says Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing and Minister...
WINNIPEG, MB—Manitoba has promised to donate $10 million for the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG). This contribution will make an incredible social, economic, and cultural return for Manitobans, now and in the future, stated the gallery in a press release on December 19, 2017. All three levels of government—city, province, and federal government—are getting behind the Inuit initiative and “underscoring the value of this major project not only for Manitoba but also Canada as a whole. According to the gallery...
A very unusual art exhibition on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, "Insurgence/Resurgence" brings together the unique talents of 29 Indigenous artists whose work ranges from emerging to established, some of whom push the boundaries in their presentations. Curated by Jaimie Isaac and Julie Nagam, the pieces speak to political insurgency and the radical shift in understanding Canada's history and art culture. Working with many different media, these young Indigenous artists...
ADA, Okla.-This fall, the feature film Te Ata, produced by the Chickasaw Nation, was released to theaters and subsequently to DVD in November to coincide with Native American Heritage Month. In 2014, the Chickasaw Nation embarked upon telling the story of Mary Francis Thompson, born in 1895 in Emet, Indian Territory. She acted on Broadway, toured Europe, entertained Britain's King George and Queen Elizabeth and other European dignitaries. She was a favorite of President...
Chicago-The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented the Trustees Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites to the Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Nation was recognized for their careful stewardship of several properties vital to their history and culture, as well as for their contributions to preserve state-owned resources within the Nation. For example, the 1844 building that housed their National Supreme Court, the 1875 National Prison and...
Ottawa, Ont.-As part of the journey towards reconciliation, the Government of Canada has taken an important step to renew the relationship with Indigenous people, based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, by announcing a profound shift in the way the government delivers services and advances self-determination and self-government of Indigenous peoples. Accordingly, the Government of Canada has created the Department of Indigenous Services...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is moving to rein in a low-cost telephone service for low-income customers that critics say will hit Indian Country hard if fully implemented. But FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai and other supporters say the reforms would close the digital divide between urban and rural Americans by ending "ongoing waste, fraud and abuse" in the program that serves more than 12 million people nationwide. The Lifeline program, established under the...
WINNIPEG, Man.-What Canadian city has the largest Indigenous population? According to a recent report from Statistics Canada, Winnipeg has the largest number with 92,810 people who identify themselves as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. Edmonton has 76,205, Vancouver, 61,460 and Toronto, Canada's largest city, has 46,315. According to the CBC News, Thunder Bay, Ontario has the highest proportion with 12.7 percent of its overall population. Winnipeg is second with 12.2, and...
