Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
PHOENIX-Colorectal cancer has received a great deal of attention since actor Chadwick Boseman lost his four-year battle to the disease in August. It's the second-leading cause of cancer death among Native Americans, prompting calls for increased screenings to improve detection and treatment of colorectal disease. Donald Haverkamp, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said many factors play a role in the number of cases among Native...
As winter approaches, volunteers with Chizh for Cheii are preparing to deliver firewood to elders on the Navajo Nation reservation, where nearly 90% of homes rely on wood for heat. The nonprofit organization, whose name means "firewood for Grandpa" in English, launched nine years ago. The volunteers work because they "don't want people to pass on because they were neglected," founder Loren Anthony said. Young people and families traditionally help their elders collect and...
WASHINGTON-For decades, coal from the Navajo Nation helped deliver water and helped power homes and businesses throughout Arizona and the Southwest. Now, some of that coal is being used to heat Navajo homes as well. For the fifth straight year, the Community Heating Resource Program (CHRP) is helping Navajo residents stay warm through fall and winter months by distributing coal for free from the Navajo Mine-one ton at a time. The program kicked off this year on Oct. 28 and...
EDMONTON, Alb.-An Indigenous design is a new featured look in an IKEA in Canada as an Alberta-based artist has helped IKEA design its first-ever Indigenous showroom. IKEA is a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other goods and occasionally home services. It has about 450 large warehouse stores in 52 countries. The stores include several floors and feature different showcases featuring...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Before leaving office, President Donald J. Trump signed historic bills that will help Native Americans for years to come. The Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act included an omnibus appropriations package totaling $2.3 trillion. The omnibus bill includes $1.4 trillion for federal spending and $900 billion for COVID-19 relief, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, along with the water rights settlement. The final...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is proud to announce, with support from Google.org, the Small Business Stabilization Grant program-a $1 million investment in Indian Country. This new funding is an expansion of a $250k NCAI small business support program, also funded by Google.org. NCAI is issuing business stabilization grants in the amount of $5,000 each to a total of 170 Native-owned small businesses that have been severely impacted by the...
NORTH BAY, Ont.-Fifty-four people from Lake Nipissing say they are guilty of doing what they've been accused of: fishing. However, their lawyer says, that doesn't make a difference. The defendants are charged with violating Ontario's hunting and fishing laws, as well as commercial fishing laws of Nipissing First Nation. But their lawyer, Michael Swinwood, is countering that those charging them have no authority to do so. He said the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 was signed by...
WATERLOO, Ont.-The University of Waterloo has announced a new fellowship designed to support the university's The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) program. The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD Project will provide financial support of $30,000 per year for 4 years for University of Waterloo recipients. This funding support will allow recipients to pursue advanced degrees and undertake both traditional and/or non-traditional areas of...
SASKATOON-With the new year, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has begun a six-week pilot for a unique Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence program at the university library. The storyteller will be involved in creating and participating in opportunities designed to promote intercultural understanding and story-sharing between and among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. "It's so important that we never lose sight that we are on Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of t...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) recently announced a partnership with Lumina Foundation to support the expansion of tribally-designed and driven K-12 curriculum in public schools, as well as funding to support opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) college students who choose to pursue research careers. Through a $200,000 grant from Lumina Foundation, NCAI's Tribal Governance and Special Projects department will launch...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Step aside, Instagram, TikTok has taken the floor as teenagers' second favorite social media app to the tune of 29 percent of teens choosing it as their favorite compared to 34 percent who chose Snapchat as their top pick. Instagram rates third in favorites with 25 percent. And TikTok continues to gain market share among young North American users, which is a key demographic for social apps and advertisers. TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-In mid January, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez signed Resolution CD-97-20, approving $2.5 million from the Navajo Nation's Unreserved, Undesignated Fund Balance for the Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship and Financial Aid to provide scholarship funds for Navajo students through the Higher Education Program. In mid December, the Navajo Area Bureau of Indian Affairs informed the Navajo Nation that no funding was available funding for the Higher...
PHOENIX-The sight can be jarring: As a runner's graceful stride brings her closer, her face comes into focus. A rich, red handprint covers her mouth. We will not be silenced. The painted hand has become a powerful symbol for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Movement, known as MMIW, a cause boosted by the increasing number of athletes embracing it. "I didn't really think the paint would impact me as much," said Rosalie Fish, a member of the Cowlitz Tribe of southwest W...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The 2020 National Native American Language Summit, hosted by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and U.S. Department of Education (ED) drew record attendance and introduced new Language Legacy Awards in November. Registration for the virtual summit exceeded 500 people, the greatest number of attendees in its seven-year history. The National Native Language Summit hosted 15 live workshops over three days focused...
PAULS VALLEY, Okla.-The Chickasaw word "AYA" means "to go" or "to journey." AYA is an interactive mobile walking app designed to keep participants moving by combining physical activity with Chickasaw history and culture. Using step-tracking technology, the interactive mobile walking app rewards users as they move throughout their day. The app tells a historical story through voice-acted walking partners, consisting of fictional Chickasaw characters living at important periods...
TALEQUAH, Okla.-That's a wrap for four Native writers tasked with creating a groundbreaking TV series focused on Native themes and characters. It's all part of the 2nd Annual Native American Writers Room, sponsored by the Cherokee Nation Film Office, a program which brings together four writers in an experimental writers room to address the lack of genuine Native American representation in television writers' rooms and in overall media. The result is "Talihina," a one-hour...
My childhood was dark. First memories are pretty negative. I'm the firstborn of nine children. What I remember of my childhood was fighting, drunkenness and pain. I have a lot of painful memories from when I was a kid. I do remember the beautiful parts of living on the reservation-how I caught fish and ran with my dog. How I started playing the guitar. But it wasn't until later in life that I came to know Christ and He helped me to live with the terrifying nightmares that...
One of the constants and givens of living life is change. Most of us don't like dealing with change, but there are always a few who will absolutely thrive on it! I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. Indian Life Ministries has come through a lot of changes over the years to survive and continue as the newspaper entity that it is. We have had to do some fairly significant morphing to keep going. Many of our readers wouldn't see those changes. You just continue to appreciate a...
Q: The world is in a time of transition. Not one person is unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I had plans before we got locked down and now I don't know what my life will look like. What should I do when things don't go as planned? A: Yes, I agree that the virus has altered many of our plans for the future. You are not alone during this time. My short term plans or goals have been affected as well. Our plans should never be cemented in stone. Sooner or later, we will meet...
Yvette Herrell from New Mexico's 2nd district has been sworn in as the first Native American woman to serve in the House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party, Herrell served four terms as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. A member of the Cherokee Nation, before entering politics, Herrell had trained for legal administrative work and was a real estate broker. While she's the first Native republican congresswoman, Herrell is the second...
ASSINGBOINE FIRST NATION, Sask.-More than a century ago the Mosquito Grizzly Bears Head Leanman First Nation in Saskatchewan lost land. And after a 24-year trial the government of Canada has made an offer. The federal government is now offering the community, located 156 kms northwest of Saskatoon, $127 million for the 5,800 hectares of land they confiscated in 1905. The case has been in the courts since 1996, with the government's last denial of compensation in 2014. Finally...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Navajo leader Dr. Jill Jim has been added to the panel of health and policy experts that are being called on to help the new US presidential administration strategize on COVID-19 responses. Jim, who has served as executive director of the Navajo Department of Health since 2019, has seen the problem up close as the tribe has seen some of the highest COVID-19 caseloads in the country. "I look forward to working with fellow members of the advisory board to help p...
WINNIPEG, Man.-On the first day of his U.S. presidency, Joe Biden used an executive order to cancel the permit former president Donald Trump had approved to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have connected Alberta's bitumen to Nebraska and then to the gulf states further south. The Keystone XL pipeline is an international project years in the making. Without support from the U.S. government, it's effectively halted. The pipeline is meant to expand critical oil...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In October 2018 the Cleveland, Ohio, baseball team retired the caricature logo known as Chief Wahoo, and now, two years later the team has retired their name as the Cleveland "Indians." The Chief Wahoo logo had been in use since 1947 and the Indians name had been in use since 1915. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The announcement came on the heels of teams reporting that they...
WINNIPEG, Man.-As the number of active COVID-19 cases in First Nations continues to rise, Indigenous Services Canada is investing $1.2 billion in additional support to address ongoing public health responses in Indigenous communities. As of mid January, 5,442 active cases were reported in First Nations. "First Nations, Inuit, and Métis have worked diligently to prevent, respond and control the spread of the virus in their communities. We acknowledge their strength and resilien...
