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MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Native Americans in Philanthropy and Common Counsel Foundation announce the launch of Native Voices Rising (NVR), a research and regranting project designed to support organizing and advocacy in American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities. Native Voices Rising establishes a mechanism for donors to invest in organizations led by Native people through a funding vehicle whose decision makers are members of Native communities. NVR funding is i...
CORNELLA DEL TERRI, SPAIN—In early June, Indian Life received an urgent request from David Frank of L’Arcada Camp in Spain, for a Native American person or couple to work with kids at the camp, sharing with the campers about Native American culture and giving their testimony. After a couple attempts to find someone, at the last minute, RainSong’s Terry Wildman put Indian Life in contact with Sean Stands Good Soukkala in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As we go to press, we have recei...
It is said that a “Tattoo is an outward expression of what has been permanently tattooed on the mind.” Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” The number one all time tattoo—“Born Loser”. What is the enemy trying to permanently tattoo your mind with? Romans 12:2 states, “Do not be conformed to this world....” Our mind is bombarded daily with images of what the world thinks we should be. Our greatest battles are not what we may face physically or even spiritually, but the battles that wage between...
If you are a follower of Jesus and have been following recent news and trends in North America, you have probably found a number of issues and events that have caused concern. Here are just three that have come to my attention during the last few weeks. It’s been five years since Canada’s formal Apology to First Nations People. This was a very moving and historic event and one which brought many people to tears. Yet something happened and almost went unnoticed following the...
When I stepped from the classroom into the hallway, somehow, it seemed more crowded with kids even shorter and smaller than last year. Was it because I was feeling self-conscious about being a head taller than most of them? As two girls passed, I heard their giggles. “Did you see her? She’s so tall!” “She’s almost a giant,” the other girl snickered. I fought back embarrassed tears. Why did I grow so tall over the summer? In the lunch area, my friends from last year, Rita...
On the peninsula jutting out into Lake Winnipeg, near the end of Manitoba Highway 59, is where I call home. I was born in Victoria Beach, and called Traverse Bay, Manitoba my childhood home. My mom was treaty but my dad wasn’t so we couldn’t live on the reserve. All through grade school up to high school, that’s where I was. I’m Ojibwe and there were ten of us in my family. In fact, there were twelve but two of my siblings died when they were little. My dad finally got his tre...
CALGARY, AB—In Southern Alberta the recent flooding continues to wreak havoc. On June 24, 2013, it was announced that the Alberta Government approved funding of up to $1 billion to start rebuilding community dwellings destroyed by water damage and provide much needed support centers for residents who have been displaced from their homes. Meanwhile a leading scientist issued concerns that the landscape of Southern Alberta may well have been changed indefinitely. Over 1,300 F...
LAGUNA PUEBLO, NM—The Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico unveiled a $3.3 million high-speed Internet system. The tribe worked with Sacred Wind Communications to bring service to six villages on the reservation. Funds for the network came from the Department of Agriculture. “Sacred Wind is pleased and honored to be a part of Laguna’s telecommunications and information future,” CEO John Badal said in a press release. © 2013 Indianz.com...
LOS ANGELES, CA—The Lone-Paiute Shoshone Tribe of California is seeking protections for a recently discovered massacre site. Some 35 Paiutes were killed by U.S. soldiers and local ranchers on March 19, 1863. The site, which includes bullets and tribal artifacts, was unearthed in 2009 as part of work for an air pollution control project. “This ground, and the artifacts in it, is who we are,” Kathy Jefferson Bancroft, the tribe’s historic preservation officer, told The Los Angeles Times. The tribe wants to ensure the site is...
WASHINGTON, DC—Native Hawaiians have been told that they can't get federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. On March 19, Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn to a House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs that the regulations apply only to groups in the “contiguous 48 states and Alaska.” “We are not able to consider Native Hawaiians under our current regs,” Washburn told the House committee. “Our regs leave out Native Hawaiians.” Up until this time, Native Hawaiians have been treated the same way...
PAWHUSKA, OK—Osage Nation employees are getting paid to lose weight. A recent study conducted among citizens of the Native American community located in northeast Oklahoma showed that below average health conditions were being caused by overeating, smoking and depression. As a result, local employers have taken steps to implement health incentive programs which recognize and reward employees for healthy living choices. One of those programs is provided by incentaHEALTH, a private health care technology company h...
OTTAWA, ON—On the first anniversary of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, the Action Coalition on Human Trafficking Alberta, the Alliance Against Modern Slavery, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, International Justice Mission Canada, the Salvation Army and World Vision, together recognize the Government of Canada’s commitment to addressing the heinous crime of human trafficking and highlight the urgent need of its implementation. The Action Plan was launched on June 6, 2012, as a comprehensive blu...
SALT LAKE CITY, UT—The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation reburied the remains of two teenagers who were killed during the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The tribe repatriated the remains of the teens, a boy and a girl, under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. They had been held by The Smithsonian Institution since the massacre. “It is to honor the old Indian custom and train of thought of returning them to their resting grounds,” Vice Chairman Darre...
BOISE, ID—The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes will emphasize culture and language at their new charter school in Idaho. The Chief Tahgee Elementary Academy will open in the fall. It’s named in honor of Chief Tahgee, a Bannock leader who secured land, hunting and grazing rights for his people. The tribe hopes to continue that legacy at the new school. “I think that the tribe is reclaiming their birthright, reclaiming their culture and heritage in a modern setting,” Pete Lipovac...
Tecumseh (/tɛˈkʌmsə/) has become one of the most iconic folk heroes in American and Canadian history, especially with First Nations peoples. Born in March 1768 he became a leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy (known as Tecumseh's Confederacy) which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812. Tecumseh grew up in what is today Ohio during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War, where he was constantly exposed to war...
MENTASTA, AK—The tiny village of Mentasta, Alaska, population 100, was bursting at the seams on June 8, 2013, as family and friends gathered to say goodbye to a beloved Ahtna Athabascan elder. Katie John died May 31 at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage at the age of 97. “Though Katie was our Elder, she was known and respected throughout Alaska and the world,” said Michelle Anderson, President of Ahtna, Incorporated. “We know we are not alone in our sadness and app...
NIAGARA FALLS, NY—In a sold out show, the Native American Music Association awarded Dr. Dawn Karima Pettigrew the NAMMY for “Best Gospel/Inspirational Recording” at their 14th annual Awards gala at the Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls, New York. The Desire of Nations by Honey Dawn Karima and Cloudwalker won Best Gospel/Inspirational Recording. On Friday, May 10 2013, the Native American Music Awards honored musicians from all across North America through a flawl...
MANKATO, MN—The challenge is on to match names and photos with each one of the Dakota 38, plus the two who were hanged later. When Larry Redwing, enrolled Santee, was a little boy, he lay with his head in his grandmother’s lap. While she ran her fingers through his hair, she told Larry about her own grandmother, who was made to watch the hanging of her husband while the townspeople cheered and yelled. The starving Santee had finally revolted against their oppressors and att...
EDMONTON, AB—The public school board election race is just warming up in Edmonton, but already it has become an historic one. Teacher Karen Pheasant kicked off her campaign on June 3 as the first aboriginal woman to run for the board. “It’s a time for change,” she said at a Westmount restaurant. “It’s a time for community participation.” Pheasant is about to embark on her PhD at the University of Alberta. “I do take a different perspective at education,” she said. “What we nee...
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians is encouraging local businesses in Michigan to use the Odawa language. Out to Lunch, an eatery in Harbor Springs, is the first to adopt the language. A few words appear on the signs at the restaurant. “This being the first business in town, on my part, I think this is the beginning of something that should be recognized—being in the reservation boundaries,” Chairman Dexter McNamara told The Petoskey News-Review. McNamara said the tribe plans to ask the city to use the langu...
KESHENA, WI—U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan delivered the commencement address at the College of the Menominee in Wisconsin on June 1, 2013. The tribal college had 96 students in its graduating class. They represent eight Wisconsin tribes and other communities in the state, the college said on its Website. Duncan is the second Obama administration official to speak to a tribal college this year. Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, gave the c...
WINNIPEG, MB—A former member of Canada’s Parliament and the Province of Manitoba’s legislature died in Ottawa on May 17, 2013 after suffering cardiac failure due to complications from diabetes. He was 64. Elijah Harper gained national attention in 1990 when he took a stand against the Meech Lake accord, which was basically blocking a constitutional amendment which would have given Quebec “distinct society” status by gaining Quebec’s acceptance of the Constitution Act of 1982...
ANCHORAGE, AK—Journalist Mark Trahant will serve as the 20th Atwood Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The position brings nationally known journalists to teach courses and speak to students, journalists and the public in Alaska. Trahant is an editor, reporter, columnist, television correspondent and the author of several books. A member of Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and former president of the Native American Journalists Association, he has bee...
SIOUX FALLS, SD—For 13 years, Mission Wounded Knee (MWK) has made trips to South Dakota and this year is no exception. This year’s theme “War Dance—Dancing on Injustice” is a good way to describe what the MWK team desires to do. The tour begins with three Broken Walls concerts in three prisons the last week of August. “We are excited about re-visiting the facilities and sharing Jesus with the inmates and staff,” stated Bruce Bartelli, director of MWK. The team then returns...
TORONTO, ON—About 150 people gathered between June 6-8, 2013 at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario for the 10th Annual Symposium on Indigenous Mission and Theology, hosted by NAIITS (North American Indigenous Institute for Theological Studies). This year’s topic was “Shaping Faith: How Language Informs the Journey” and featured a mix of academics presenting papers on issues of orality, literacy, translation and culture, as well as practit...
