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WINNIPEG-The directors and editorial team at Indian Life Ministries are pleased to announce the impending return of the popular column, "The Council Speaks," beginning with the January/February 2019 issue of Indian Life newspaper. This column answers questions you have or maybe you're afraid to ask. For example, what about Native spirituality and Christianity? Is it OK to wear Native regalia? Is Creator and the Christian God the same? A panel of Native believers and elders...
When a person commits suicide, every person in the immediate and extended family is touched to some extent. This was a good family, not without problems, but overall a good family with a mom, dad and two children-a boy and then a girl. Life was usual. Then the call came of his death. The dad had taken his life. The emotions that ran through us were close to indescribable, as we had never felt such pain. Nothing could possibly prepare the family for this unfathomable nightmare...
"Stand on the red-painted feet," the officer ordered. "Don't smile. This is not Sears Portrait Studio." With my feet now on the red feet, I stood in front of a massive glass wall looking at a funny camera peeking through its side. It was still early. An already-stressed-out officer came to my cell door. "Torres, get your jumpsuit on. We are going to take you to get your picture taken." I quickly put on my shirt, socks, jumpsuit, and shoes. With a quick splash of water, I ran...
Finally! It looked like we were really going on vacation. My husband had finished his doctor appointments and felt fine for our first vacation since his cancer diagnosis. My son and I had taken time off work. My daughter had arranged to register for high school when she returned. So we gathered our clothes to leave the next morning. Then I got the message from Janie’s sister. Janie and I became friends during our Bible college days right after high school. Through the following decades, sometimes we saw each other more, a...
Lately I have been asking people, "What is the most memorable picnic you have ever had?" Most people remember where and when right away and what they ate. Others just sputter, "Don't know." I don't remember all of them I've enjoyed, but I usually remember whom I was with and what we had to eat. The first memory was with a boy who had red hair. We went to a local park overlooking the water, and we ate leaning on the handlebars of our bikes-we enjoyed peanut butter and jelly...
There's a decent movie buried under the mess that is Paul, Apostle of Christ. There might even be two decent movies here. The trouble is, first-time director Andrew Hyatt and the filmmakers at Affirm Films can't decide which of these movies to make, and trying to cram all of them and then some extra stuff into less than two hours just doesn't work. There are hints of an interesting character study of the author of more than half of the New Testament. Luke (Jim Caviezel, who...
Three men I deeply admire-the late Dr. Duane King, Dr. Neil Morton and Dr. Bob Blackburn -collaborated to write an engaging new history book called, Cherokee Nation: A History of Survival, Self Determination and Identity. It is the first book of its kind to have the full support of the Cherokee Nation and the first historic narrative of the tribe that we have self-published. Cherokees persevere because our values and traditions are deeply rooted in us. They have enabled us to...
PHOENIX-As Samantha Quigley tears down another rebound, she sees more than a basketball. In her hands is something beyond an object that she can dribble around defenders and put through a hoop with ease. It's a ticket to a better life. "Basketball is, like, the only key to go a long way if you're a native," said Quigley, the starting forward for the Navajo Nation Elite. "Basketball taught me a lot and it can help me get off the reservation." She's one of the hundreds of...
I was speaking at a summer camp for aboriginal teens. The rule with teens is that if you get one of them by himself or herself he or she has many, many functioning brain cells. Put two teens together and the number of functioning brain cells is immediately halved. But these were great kids with great potential. Life is challenging for them, though. Drug and alcohol abuse is common. A father in their lives is not. Many have considered suicide. One told me, "Things are dark...
Arnold: We come here every fall around this time-end of September, beginning of October-to harvest fish and moose meat, most of which we bring back to Garden Hill to share. We also come here to reflect on God's creation, and it is also a time of prayer. We came to know Jesus Christ about 35 years ago. Before that we were living a life of sin. Things were not working out right for our family, and for our marriage, but God intervened. We didn't have anything to do with the...
PHOENIX-Thirty miles south of Phoenix, Arizona, green fields of alfalfa and pima cotton stretch toward the sun producing triple-digit heat. Hundreds of yellow butterflies dance above the purple flowers that dapple the tops of the young alfalfa stalks-to expert eyes, the flowers signal that the plants are heat-stressed and should be harvested soon. Gila River Farms near Sacaton-which is named after the Pima people who inhabited the Gila and Salt River valleys-has been growing...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-President Russell Begaye, current Navajo Nation president will not be on the November 6 ballot for the next Navajo Nation presidential election. According to Navajo tribal election officials, more than 93,000 citizens registered to vote in the August 28 primary election. Of the 18 candidates vying for the presidential position, current Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez secured the most votes at 14,105, with former Navajo Nation president Joe...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-The Office of the President and Vice President (OPVP) on Friday welcomed 21 inductees into the Navajo Nation Hall of Fame. The inductees, nominated from among the youth and elder populations across the Navajo Nation, were recognized during a ceremony at the Navajo Nation Museum. The ceremony marked the second round of inductees since the Navajo Nation Women's Commission launched the program last year. "Congratulations to all who were selected for the Hall...
WASHINGTON, DC-Today, nine leading national civil rights and racial justice organizations formally announced their joint opposition to the Washington National Football League (NFL) team locating its new stadium in the District of Columbia unless the team agrees to drop the "R-word" racial slur as its mascot. The coalition, which previously denounced the team's continued use of this offensive mascot, felt compelled to speak out now given the team is actively exploring...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-More than 10 years after it was first approved, a federal loan program for tribal energy development projects will accept its first applications in September. The Department of Energy in July said it was accepting applications for projects under the $2 billion Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program, which will provide "partial loan guarantees to leverage private sector lending" for a range of energy projects by tribes. "It's a good start," said Pilar Thomas, a...
VICTORIA, B.C.—A new law program at the University of Victoria is the world’s first to combine the intensive study of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous law, enabling people to work fluently across the two realms. Students will graduate with two professional degrees, one in Canadian Common Law (Juris Doctor or JD) and one in Indigenous Legal Orders (Juris Indigenarum Doctor or JID). Their education will benefit areas such as environmental protection, Indigenous governance, economic development, housing, child protection and...
LONGMONT, Colo.- First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting recently released groundbreaking research about attitudes toward and perceptions of Native Americans as part of a jointly-managed effort called "Reclaiming Native Truth: A Project to Dispel America's Myths and Misconceptions." "Some incredible findings were unearthed through this research-many of which had long been experienced and assumed but not proven," said Michael E. Roberts (Tlingit),...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation, working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the first tribal nation to designate an area of land to protect an endangered species of beetle. Principal Chief Bill John Baker signed an executive order designating a portion of the tribe's 800-acre park on Sallisaw Creek in Sequoyah County as an American Burying Beetle Conservation and Mitigation Area for the next 10 years. "Cherokees have long understood that we must protect our...
PETERBOROUGH, Ont.-Ours is really an incredible story but there is so much more to that is yet to be written," said Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) President Margaret Froh at the MNO Annual General Assembly in Peterborough. President Froh made her remarks during her State of the Nation Address where she reflected on progress towards self-government made both recently and over the MNO's 25-year history. Over 400 MNO citizens, guests and partner representatives from across...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, today recognized the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) as one of seven finalists in this year's Innovations in American Government Awards competition. ANSEP will compete for a $50,000 grand prize this fall in Cambridge. ANSEP was selected by the Innovations Award evaluators based on its novelty, effectiveness,...
TORONTO, Ont.-A large delegation from the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) participated in an Indigenous languages engagement session in Toronto this summer. The information gathered during the session will inform the National First Nations, Inuit and Métis Languages legislation that will reflect the geographical, political, legislative and cultural context that impacts language preservation, promotion and revitalization. The session was one of 30 hosted by the department of C...
WINNIPEG-Starting in August, 174 billboards across Canada took on a new look, highlighting the work of 50 Indigenous women. The Resilience project runs from coast to coast. Images by 50 First Nations, Inuit and Métis women will serve as a highly visible celebration of Indigenous women and make the Indigenous culture more visible. A goal of the project is to give the non-native public, which still lives in much ignorance about the first inhabitants of Canada, a positive...
SASKATOON, Sask.- Governing Member Presidents from the Métis National Council, including the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), signed the Canada-Métis Nation Housing Sub-Accord with the federal government at the General Assembly of the Métis National Council. MNO President Margaret Froh and Dr. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, were among those who signed the Housing Sub-Accord in Saskatoon, Sask. This is the second Sub-Accord under the Canada-Métis Nati...
Vancouver-The 2018 Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly was held on July 24 to July 26 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. A highlight on the agenda was the election of a National Chief. A total of 522 chiefs attended the Assembly, along with their proxies, to vote for a National Chief. It took a second ballot to declare incumbent, Perry Bellegarde as winner of this year's election. Five candidates ran for national chief, including Kathryn Whitecloud, Russ Diabo,...
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 PHOENIX-After 10 years, 30 nominees and decades of discovery, the first National Native American Hall of Fame will induct 12 honorees in October. Many of the inductees, such as Olympic star Jim Thorpe, astronaut John Herrington and Maria Tallchief, the first Native American to be a prima ballerina, are well known and have been lauded with awards and honors. But though they received well-deserved praise, James Parker Shield thought something was still...
