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One of the most significant periods of the church calendar, and least celebrated or noted, is the 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead. He walked and talked in places where His ministry had been; He was seen in His restored body by thousands; He healed many; He continued to preach, He continued to love. And then He ascended to Heaven, taken up into the sky, which also was witnessed by others. We really should think more about these 40 days, and the significance of the...
McALLEN, TX—The Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas is suing the federal government over the seizure of eagle feathers at a powwow. An agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raided a powwow in McAllen on March 11, 2006. According to a complaint filed in federal court, over 50 eagle feathers and eagle parts were taken from participants. Robert Soto, the tribe’s vice chairman, said the raid violated his religious rights. “If I got caught speeding, I deserve a speeding ticket, but...
I will always remember a beautiful Sunday morning when I drove across the rolling farmlands of Nebraska. For as far as my eye could see, the fields were aglow with blooming sunflowers, set against a vast blue sky. I remember smiling and feeling that I had entered a sanctuary. All were standing in unity, as though worshiping Creator. On my right, a display of bright faces, stretching upwards, focused on their life source—the sun. To my left, the opposite side. I was in their m...
FORT BELKNAP, MT—Montana tribes are running into opposition to their efforts to restore bison to their lands. The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribe and the Fort Belknap Indian Community agreed to take 61 bison from Yellowstone National Park last year. But farmers and ranchers, fearing the spread of a deadly disease to cattle and destruction of property, won a court decision that has kept the animals at Fort Peck. The Montana Supreme Court is hearing an appeal of the d...
Do you feel abandoned and alone? Are you running away from someone or something? Sherry Lynne knows what it’s like to be “on the run”. If this describes your life, you can stop running. There is someone who wants to be your friend and who will never abandon you. Creator knows all about you and wants to have a personal relationship with you through Jesus. Now is your time to stop running. Here’s how to ask him into your life: •Tell God that you want to accept His way to know true peace and joy. •Tell Him that you know that w...
As I lay bruised and bleeding on the side of Interstate Highway 10, watching the taillights of the semi fading into the distance, I thought, so this is how God answers prayer. Less than forty hours earlier, huddled under an overpass of I-95, shivering in the cold spring rain, I’d prayed these words, “God, I don’t know where I’m going but I trust You’re going to take care of me.” It was the first time I’d prayed in over five years but I was feeling desperate, a minor illegally...
RAPID CITY, SD—Back in the days of the Viet Nam War, a kid who got into trouble could choose to go into the military or go to jail. Today that choice is no longer an option. According to US Army National Guard Sergeant First Class Richard Kirkpatrick, “Today we want the better people. We want the people who are there because they want to be.” Some of the youngest recruits join as a way to pay for college while learning a skill, and yet others are just looking to live a better...
I spend the majority of my time pushing a cart which holds a laptop and a projector. Time is of the essence as I roll from class to class having meetings and seeking to be on schedule. A couple of weeks ago I was pretty miffed at the wheel on my cart, it definitely wasn’t cooperating! When I wanted to push ahead, it would not budge and if I did get it to budge it would swerve to the left or to the right. I needed to be careful since I was carrying expensive equipment but at t...
WASHINGTON, DC—Idaho’s Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican, asked a critical question. It’s one rarely asked, let alone, answered. The question: Does more government money work? Specifically, Simpson, the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, was asking if recent increased funding for the Indian Health Service has made a difference. Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, director of the IHS, went through the numbers at an overs...
MUSKRAT FALLS, LABRADOR—A group tasked to train aboriginal workers for jobs at Muskrat Falls thinks not enough of their grads are being hired. Nalcor Energy’s latest statistics show that aboriginals from Labrador account for eight per cent of workers at the construction site. Keith Jacque is the executive director of the Labrador Aboriginal Training Partnership. He said while hundreds of aboriginals are ready to work, only a small percentage have been hired. “I don’t know if...
Many people know the story of Chief Standing Bear. Books have been written and movies made about his story and that of the Ponca Tribe. I am not writing this story to open up old wounds or stir up resentment towards nationalities or governments. I am writing it because Standing Bear’s story inspires me to walk with God—no matter what. The U.S. government had taken his land in South Dakota (now northern Nebraska) and forced his people to travel to Oklahoma. Many died from mal...
SPOKANE, WA—The Kalispel Tribe of Washington hosted a three-day Salish language conference, an event that keeps getting bigger every year. JR Bluff, the tribe’s assistant director of culture, started language preservation efforts a few years ago when only a few elders were still fluent in Salish. Now the language is being taught in local schools. “Celebrating Salish is what we’re all about,” Bluff told The Spokesman Review as more than 400 people gathered for the conferenc...
June 6-8 The North American Institute of Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS) hosts their 10th annual symposium at Tyndale Theological Seminary, Toronto. Theme: Shaping Faith: How Language Informs the Journey. Contact: office@naiits.com June 29-July 4 On Eagles’ Wings’ Warrior Leadership Summit followed by the Summer of Hope. For info and to register, please call 1-888-682-5483. July 25-28 Mni Wiconi Wacipi Living Waters Family Camp & Traditional Powwow, Turner, Oregon. For info contact: office@wiconi.com or call: 360...
One of the twentieth century’s most influential Native Americans in politics, Comanche social activist LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris was born February 15, 1931 in Temple, Oklahoma on a Comanche allotment to William Crawford who was of European descent, and Lilly Tabbytite. Her parents separated shortly after her birth and LaDonna was reared in Indian Country during the Great Depression by maternal grandparents John and Wick-kie Tabbytite on a farm near tiny Walters, O...
TUCSON, AZ—Despite decades of research on the many health challenges facing Native Americans, no book has taken a comprehensive look at the health of Native American women—until now. “Health and Social Issues of Native American Women” is co-authored by UA Department of Family and Community Medicine researchers Drs. Jennie Joe and Francine Gachupin, both Native American, as are 15 of the other 16 researchers whose articles are included in the book Researchers Jennie R. Joe, Ph...
There is so much heartache around us and sometimes it feels like there is no end. But according to the words of Proverbs healing is available. “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken”(Proverbs 15:13). “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). When we look at the heartache either in the lives of the people around us or in our own lives, we can feel the words of Proverbs. It’s li...
GUIDING LIGHT I’m serving life in prison. Although I do have family left, as well as some hope in the courts (blessings not taken for granted), it still gets to be an emotional uncertainty as far as the future goes. At times, I walk a dark and lonely path. I find strength and peace in the presence of God. Also, I truly enjoy reading the Indian Life news. I can relate to many of the stories. Though I’m white, and from many miles away, the personal stories hit close to home. The uplifting words from your correspondent Ril...
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...
Ever wondered if you could listen to the Bible in your Native language? The answer is “yes”. Faith Comes By Hearing has made Native language Scriptures available on MP3 CDs with music and sound effects. According to Henry Hostetler from Northwestern Ontario, Ojibwe is one of the languages available and it is available through him and his co-worker Jim Keesic. “We want to make sure the people who receive them will be able to play them,” says Hostetler. “These are MP3 CDs and t...
Arguably the most powerful and perhaps famous of all Native American chiefs, Sitting Bull was born in 1831 in what is now called South Dakota. A Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies. The son of an esteemed Sioux warrior named Returns-Again, Sitting Bull looked up to his father and desired to follow in his footsteps, but didn’t show a particular talent for warfare. As a result he w...
“There were times when the treatment center felt a bit like residential school,” said my friend and sister in Christ. “You have to go away from your family and community, follow a strict structure, make your bed in the morning, and eat breakfast at a specific time…” We went on to talk about the pros and cons of the ways that many treatment centers function. We understood the need to take people out of toxic environments to help them look at their lives and choices in a supp...
PHOENIX, AZ (ANS)—A mighty warrior to his Native American people, H. Thomas “Sonny” Claus, 83, passed into the presence of the Lord surrounded by his family, on Friday, March 8, 2013, at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. He was described by his close friend, Dr. Dale Kietzman, who helped him found his ministry, CHIEF (Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship), as “a truly great man whose leadership among Native American believers will be sorely missed.” Also known to hi...
GRAND RONDE, OR—This year marks the 30th anniversary of the law that restored the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in Oregon to federal government. The tribe was terminated in 1954. Council member Cheryle Kennedy, 65, keeps a copy of the Federal Register notice that documented the loss of federal status. “Your identity taken? That needed to be healed for the Grand Ronde people who went through that,” Kennedy told The Polk County Itemizer-Observer. Restoration efforts began...
Six youths and a guide left Whapmagoostui in January to snowshoe and walk to Ottawa in support of the Idle No More movement. They called the trek “The Journey of Nishiyuu,” which means “The Journey of the People” in Cree. They arrived on Parliament Hill on March 24. The group numbered nearly 400 in the trek’s final hours, according to volunteers and Gatineau police, after other children and youth from Cree and Algonquin communities joined them along the way. Thousands...
OTTAWA, ON—The Correctional Service of Canada was “very dismissive” in its response to a report sounding the alarm to the dramatic increase of Aboriginal Peoples in federal prison, tabled in Parliament this week, Canada’s prison watchdog says. In an interview that aired on CBC Radio’s The House, Howard Sapers, the correctional investigator for Canada, told host Evan Solomon he was “hopeful” he would receive a “fulsome response” that would deal directly with the recommendations...
