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When I take a look at my life and everything I've gone through-all the good and the bad-I see various reasons why I went through bad times. The reasons were usually a result of at least one of four things: 1-Temptation and sin; 2-The pressures of the world and bad influence of friends; 3-The attacks of Satan and his demons; 4-Things beyond my control that I didn't ask to happen, want to happen or invite to happen, but nonetheless happened. 1-Temptation and Sin: During my late...
I watched the jet streaming across the sky and wondered at how many people were inside; I wondered where they were going and if they were nervous about speeding along at such heights. How can that plane fly through the same air that we breathe into our lungs? It seems too airy to carry anything. How does that cruise ship carrying 3,000 people, their vacation stuff and enough food to feed them all, float along on water that I can dip my hand into? I would never have believed...
He set His face as a flint, while I flipped. A little while ago I got caught in a blizzard while travelling on the highway with my RV. The snow was blinding! I couldn't see anything-not the hydro polls to my left or right or even a few feet in front of me. The wind was coming straight at me and the snow was blowing in ferocious lines along the side of me on the highway. I had been driving in these hazardous conditions for about an hour. I knew I would be going down a steep...
I am an extremely young grandpa, still able to outrun and outjump thirteen grandkids. It helps that they are seven and under. When they're worn out from trying to catch me, they say, "Read to me." Sweeter words were seldom spoken. My second grandchild, Eowyn, snuggles up on my lap and listens, wide-eyed as three little oinkers set out to seek their fortune. She loves pigs. Loves it when the first little porker buys a load of straw. Loves it when the sweet little swine builds...
It was pitch dark. The heat radiating from the walls of the cell wouldn't leave me alone. Sweat dripped off my hairy body. The night moved slowly-as slowly as the walls cooled. Being in the Administrative Segregation Unit (The Hole), life moves at a snail's pace. There is little to do physically and even less when it's burning hot. Time seems to slow to a stop. A 24-hour day feels like a week; a week is a month and a month is eternity. During the day the noise from steel...
While others trusted her as a confidant, innovator, mentor, and friend, to her family, Laura Waterman-married to Lloyd Wittstock for a time-was called "a great mother" by her five children (from a second marriage to Florencio Olivera Simas, deceased). Her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren remember her as "the world's greatest." But as for tributes, there are many more than shared here. Born to Isaac "Jack" Waterman and Clarinda (Cleo Jackson) Waterman on the...
Chickasaw Nation-On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the Muscogee reservation remains part of Indian Country for purposes of criminal jurisdiction. In March, 2021, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals applied that ruling to the Chickasaw Nation. As a result of these rulings, the Chickasaw Nation and federal governments have jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans throughout the whole Chickasaw Nation, and Oklahoma has...
There is an old saying: "It's better to wear moccasins than to try to carpet the world." In other words, take care of yourself and your own life before you try to change the world. When my friends are unhappy, I want to fly in like superman and "fix" things and make them happy. Sadly, in my efforts to "help," I sometimes made things worse by interfering. I didn't realize this until a friend of mine decided I would be much better off living close to her. She contacted realtors,...
WASHINGTON-Native American Tribes are hopeful an update to a century-old law will spur tribal economies and create a uniform approach to contracting procedures involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. The Buy Indian Act, created in 1910 to set aside government procurement contracts for Native-owned businesses, affects only the BIA and IHS. Still, in 2015 the Government Accountability Office reported only 12 percent to 15 percent of IHS contracts...
Durant, Okla.-The Second Annual Trail of Tears Virtual Journey kicks off March 21, 2022. This year, the route will take the participants over 512 miles from Mississippi to Oklahoma. The points of interest along the way will be different from last year, with several videos highlighting aspects of the ancestral journey and Choctaw heritage. Participants will have until June 19, 2022 to complete the challenge. The Trail of Tears Virtual Journey started in 2021 when the Choctaw...
Window Rock, Ariz.-Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, First Lady Phefelia Nez, and Second Lady Dottie Lizer recently signed a proclamation recognizing March 2022 as "Read Across Navajo Nation Month," in coordination with "Read Across America" to celebrate the joys of reading and to promote literacy to enhance the lives of Navajo students and families. The signing ceremony was held at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Ariz., with Miss Navajo Nation Niagara Rockbridge...
Fort Worth, Texas-Caroline Rowland is proud of her Choctaw heritage and knows the history of her tribe. She's also a criminal justice major and history and writing double minor at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas. During a recent U.S. history class, when the Trail of Tears was only briefly discussed, she was confused and even a little upset. Rowland says she was trying not to get angry, and that's when she realized that maybe it was a resource issue....
TULSA, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation Film Office and Oklahoma Film & Television Academy are partnering to help educate Native American students to be set-ready as industry continues to grow in Oklahoma. The tribe's film office recently sponsored and hosted OFTA's Set Ready course at Cherokee Nation's COVID Response Virtual Soundstage. Through CNFO scholarships, Native American students attended the course at no charge. "Oklahoma's television and film industry continues to grow at...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Tribal advocates told a Senate panel in January that the federal government's effort to fund expanded broadband infrastructure in Indian Country overlooked a fundamental issue. Many tribes did not have the broadband access needed to apply for the funding that would let them improve broadband access. Information about the first round of grants was available only online, and tribes were encouraged to apply online in a 90-day window during the pandemic. The...
Victoria, B.C.-A new statement from the government of British Columbia announces that by 2027, all of the province will have access to broadband. The federal and British Columbia governments are spending $830 million to provide access to high-speed internet across the province. B.C. is promising that every home and community will have the service by 2027, a promise announced in last month's budget. In a joint statement, Minister of Citizens' Services Lisa Beare and Minister...
PHOENIX-Telehealth has been a widely used resource during the pandemic, but as providers and policymakers consider its future, some continue to weigh the pros and cons of treating certain conditions from a distance-particularly mental illness and substance use. "Patients have tended to be OK with teletherapy, but a lot of therapists feel something is lost relative to in-person therapy," said Dr. John Markowitz, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University and a...
Q: Right now it seems like every time we turn around someone has died or is seriously ill. As Christians, we know heaven is a reality for believers who've gone before. But how do we deal with the very human emotions of loss and keep our grief healthy? How do we keep from dropping into depression? People tell us to look to God and trust Jesus, but what does that look like in our lives? A: At the onset, I must state that I am not a therapist and my response to this question is b...
God can give you all you need. He will give you more than enough. You will have everything you need for yourself. And you will have enough left over to give when there is a need. 2 Corinthians 9:8, NLV "The test is positive. I'm pregnant." Not knowing how to feel-elated or devastated-I knew challenges would be ahead. Though I'd become a Christian and gotten baptized during my pre-teen and teenage years, I'd been living a life devoid of God, leading a wild and reckless...
Indian Life Ministries is excited to announce that in the upcoming few months, we get to be a part of two events! Native Youth Conference Over the May long-weekend (May 19–22), at Camp Nakamun Alberta, NYC (Native Youth Conference) is back! With special musical guests, exciting speakers and unique activities, we are thrilled to get to help plan and roll-out events like this that will help us feel young again. Even if at least only for the weekend. If you are a youth (aged 1...
Over 40 years ago, a dream came to fruition. George McPeek, Ray Gowan and Chuck Olson came together with the sole purpose of restoring hope, healing and honor within the indigenous community of North America, through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Intertribal Christian Communications was formed! Under the umbrella of Intertribal Christian Communications sits Indian Life newspaper. The newspaper, this newspaper, is a combination of positive indigenous news, encouraging...
I love old guitars. What can I say? I just love old guitars! A bunch of years back, we were singing in a really remote, fly-in community and I couldn't believe what I saw hanging on a friend's back wall. It was a 1956 Gibson ES125-a collector's classic that was a few years older than me! I'd never played one before, and I was just wowed by this half-century-old guitar!! I was even more speechless when my friend gifted it to me! Two weeks later, I was getting the Old Gibson...
Phoenix, Ariz.-Arizonans are facing water shortages as the Colorado River declines, but Teddy Lopez and many other residents of the Navajo Nation have lived without easy access to clean water for decades. Lopez, 66, has learned that nothing is guaranteed-with water or in life. "I just take it one day at a time and try to work what I can, [and do] what I can do," said Lopez, who in August received news no one wants to hear. "I have cancer, so I just take care of my family, I...
Victoria, B.C.-Health professionals in Canada are joining forces to help people realize that alcohol is one of top causes of preventable cancer. They say that few Canadians know the truth: Any amount of alcohol can cause cancer. "Even drinking one drink a day increases your risk of some cancers-including, if you're a woman, breast cancer-but also cancers of the digestive system, the mouth, stomach," Tim Stockwell, a senior scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance...
Victoria, B.C.-The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC), is implementing a new graduation requirement for students in British Columbia's K–12 education system. Expected to take effect in the 2023-24 school year, this requirement will ensure all secondary students complete Indigenous-focused coursework. The program may also broaden to other Canadian provinces. While more than 90 percent of B.C. students graduate w...
EDMONTON, Alb.—Even though prices are skyrocketing on the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, Indigenous groups are still lining up, hoping to purchase the pipeline. The 1,150-km Trans Mountain pipeline carries 300,000 barrels of oil per day, and is Canada's only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast. The expansion will raise daily output to around 890,000 barels, which will expand Canada's crude oil production and expand t...
