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VANCOUVER, BC—According to new unpublished research about Residential Schools in Canada, some 3,000 students died while attending boarding schools run for First Nations children. “These are actual confirmed numbers,” Alex Maass, research manager with the Missing Children Project, told The Canadian Press. “All of them have primary documentation that indicates that there’s been a death, when it occurred, what the circumstances were.” Disease was the biggest killer of students at...
I have always been a happy-go-lucky person. I grew up in a loving home and had it pretty easy. So when I came to know Jesus as Savior on July 30, 1989, it wasn’t out of desperation or hopelessness. My fiancé, Dave, and I were at an Amway convention and the guest speakers gave their testimony. They invited people to pray and accept Jesus, noting that ‘tomorrow may not come’ and ‘now is the time’. I started crying. My heart was racing; I knew I had to go forward. I grabbed Dave...
PHOENIX, AZ—“Picture this!” It’s a fitting name for a fascinating visual tale as well as a new Heard Museum exhibit of weavings that tell stories, Picture This! Navajo Pictorial Textiles, which opened Saturday, February 16 and will be on display through September 2, 2013. The exhibit’s weavings tell stories that date to when dinosaurs were on Earth, even though the oldest of those to be displayed were created in the 19th century, according to Dr. Ann Marshall, the museum’s...
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL—A group of Indian activists in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is being threatened with eviction in order to make way for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The group consists of representatives of various tribes in Brazil. They have been living at the site of an abandoned Indian museum for years, the Associated Press reported. Police surrounded the site over the weekend. But they apparently did not have an eviction order and eventually left the scene. The government says it needs the site to build a new stadium for t...
As soon as the sun shines warm once more I put on my boots and run out the door! Dad yells “Hold on!” I stop and wait. Old Shep barks. Dad opens the gate. The earth is refreshed and springing ahead. God’s waking up everything, out of its bed. After the rain on a path through the forest, Hear the birds singing! A springtime chorus! The geese are returning, soaring high. I hear lambs, in their pen nearby. Spider web’s lace is holding rain drops That sparkle and glisten through...
For the many people that were disconnected from their culture, whether through boarding schools, adoption or a multitude of other reasons, a play is in development by professional Broadway actors with a full Native cast and input from the Blackfoot Tribe in Montana. The first reading of the show was done at “Native Voices at the Autry” in Los Angeles, a workshop where Indigenous people throughout the country participate in the development of Native theatre projects. Acc...
This past month some friends and I took on the project of renovating my bedroom bathroom. I knew what I wanted and when we went to the home hardware store, I picked out a new shower, toilet and bathroom sink expecting to walk out of there thinking the job would be done within a few hours. Little did I know that along with these type of renovations, are plumbing and electrical work that involves many pieces, fittings and of course trip after trip to the store to get things righ...
Del Laverdure, a member of the Crow Tribe, is joining the Indian law and policy practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Laverdure has spent the last three-and-a-half years in leadership roles at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He’ll be bringing his management and policy expertise to his new job, where he will serve as a strategic advisor and will help tribes with tax, infrastructure, natural resource and other issues. “Akin Gump has a strong and growing American Indian law...
Since the surgery on my spine, walking and balancing on uneven surfaces present more challenges for me than usual. This is important information for you to fully comprehend my recent terror in the shower. I adjusted the temperature before grabbing the tub handle. Easing my legs over the unusually high bathtub, I adjusted my stance to steady myself in the contours of the tub while maintaining the right spot in the water. I turned and spied a large black spider folding itself...
Red Cloud Mahpíya Lúta (1822-December 10, 1909) was a chief of the Oglala Lakota. He led as a chief from 1868 to 1909. One of the most capable Native American leaders the United States Army ever faced, he led a successful campaign in 1866-1868 known as Red Cloud’s War over control of the Powder River Country in northeastern Wyoming and southern Montana. Red Cloud was renowned as a warrior and highly respected as a leader. He is quoted as saying: “I am poor and naked, but I am...
Many of us are in the crowd that annually makes resolutions and keeps them for a day or two. What are these noble intentions about? Most of them deal with losing weight, getting more exercise, having a better diet, giving up tobacco in any form, quit drugs and gambling. Being grossly overweight is one of the big problems in our nation. It may bring on diabetes, heart problems, difficulty in breathing, ability to get around is hindered, high blood pressure becomes dangerous...
This article by KB Schaller is first in a series that will focus on the achievements of Native American Women. When most Americans think of visiting a physician for an ailment, most likely a Native American woman does not come to mind—and even less likely in prior centuries. But Susan LaFleche-Picotte opened the door to the breaking of that mindset in 1889 when she became the first Native American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. Susan was born in 1865 o...
WASHINGTON, DC—A bill that will allow tribes to request disaster declarations directly from the federal government is headed to President Barack Obama for his signature. Under the Stafford Act, only states can request declarations. The new bill, H.R.152, amends the law to recognize tribal sovereignty. “For more than a decade Indian tribes have sought a direct line to the Federal government in order to expedite aid during an emergency or major disaster,” said Rep. Nick Rahal...
RAPID CITY, SD—Bryan Brewer, the new leader of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, returned to work January 16 after suffering injuries in a one-vehicle accident. Brewer sustained several significant injuries including a broken pelvis and several broken ribs in the December 29, 2012, accident. He spent two weeks recovering in a hospital. Brewer was elected last November. He was sworn into office on December 7....
WASHINGTON, DC—Tribal and Native groups from across the country marched with the U.S. president for his second inaugural parade on January 21, 2013. This year’s participants include the Navajo Nation Band, a 55-member delegation representing North Dakota’s tribes, the Native American Women Warriors from Colorado, the Wind River Dancers from Wyoming, the Utuqqagmiut Dancers from Alaska and the Kamehameha Schools Warrior Marching Band from Hawaii. “The talented groups chosen to participate in the Inaugural Parade reflect...
One of the most difficult things for me to do has been to practice forgiveness. My feelings are easily hurt, and I seem to suffer for days when I'm feeling offended. For years I lived in a gloomy fog of depression, stress, and stomachaches. I had no appetite. I carried the spirits of anger and hate around like we were good friends. And, sometimes, I thought about ways I could repay the wrong I had suffered. But I've found a better way to cope with hurts. I experienced God's...
WASHINGTON, DC—Robert Odawi Porter has joined SNR Denton’s Washington, DC, office as a senior counsel in the Native American Law and Policy practice and the Public Policy and Regulation practice. He joins the firm following the completion of his term as the 67th President of the Seneca Nation of Indians. A citizen (Heron Clan) of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Porter has held various positions with the Nation throughout his career, including as its chief legal counsel in the...
ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA—India’s Supreme Court reportedly reversed its previous ‘interim order’ to ban ‘human safaris’ in the Andaman on March 5, 2013, dealing a major blow to the campaign against the controversial tours. Before the interim order, hundreds of tourists traveled along the illegal Andaman Trunk Road every day in the hope of seeing the isolated Jarawa tribe. Tourists used to throw biscuits or force Jarawa women to dance for food. The January order had reduced the...
You never know what a letter can do or mean until you have been where I’ve been and seen what I have seen. As I am confined in a world which lives behind these walls, in which no one can see except for the guards. Often when I sleep, I am awakened, alarmed with fear that those I love have come to harm. “Just Dreams,” I have to admit to myself as I come back to my senses and look out the barred window of my cell; at the chain-link fences. I must awaken and go on with my day i...
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...
President Barack Obama honored civilians with the second-highest civilian honor—the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal—on Friday, February 15 and the list of 13 includes Indian country’s own Billy Mills. “It is my distinguished honor to award these individuals the 2012 Citizens Medal for their commitment to public service,” Obama said in a White House press release. “Their selflessness and courage inspire us all to look for opportunities to better serve our communities and our country.” Mills, along with the 12 other honoree...
FRANKLIN, LA—The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana identified Rick Riggenbach as the police officer who was killed in the line of duty. Riggenbach, 52, was shot while responding to an incident just off the reservation. He leaves behind a wife and four children. “Sergeant Riggenbach is a true hero and his actions saved the lives of many other people,” Police Chief Blaise Smith said at a press conference on January 28, The Zachary Plainsman-News reported. “Our department and our...
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...
RAPID CITY, SD—The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn announced on Jan 10, a partnership between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Spirit Lake Tribe of North Dakota. The partnership will aim to better protect Native American Children placed in foster homes there. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 requires that all adults in a home where foster children are to be placed must be fingerprinted as an integral part of the background i...
HELENA, MT—Native women advocates in the United States are praising lawmakers for passage of an inclusive, bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that would afford protection to all women and victims of domestic violence. The bipartisan bill, S. 47, passed by the Senate in February 2013 and now by the House, 286 to 138, includes critical provisions to restore and strengthen tribal authority to protect Native women from violence in Indian Country. The h...
