Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
He will cover thee with his pinions, And under his wings shalt thou take refuge: His truth is a shield and a buckler. Psalm 91:4 Devotion: The psalms are often songs of comfort. When we are attacked and tormented in our life, we can take comfort in the fact that God has promised to protect and shield us much like this drawing demonstrates, showing up to protect the man under its large wings. God is our refuge, He is faithful. We must learn to trust Him and His Word....
When I was growing up, I used to see my siblings doing chores, such as mowing the lawn in the summer or shovelling the sidewalks in winter. Like most small children, my turn came when I I matured and was able to physically do those chores. Then as a teenager, two of my chores were to wash the supper dishes Monday to Friday, vacuum the rugs at least once a week and mow the lawn once a week in the summer. When I was in this teenage phase, I usually dragged my heels when it came...
I am an extremely young grandpa. I'm still able to outrun and outjump the grandkids. It helps that they are five 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 a...
I felt a little weary and discouraged this morning. We just returned from a road trip where I discovered that travelling is harder on my joints than it used to be. We visited my brother who is now in hospice at home. We had a treasured visit for a few days, and I am grateful for that. We had not been to the United States for a couple of years, and people in malls and restaurants seemed wary and stressed. It is not surprising with the gun violence, the southern border crisis,...
Recently I was very encouraged by a single line of scripture that was expounded in a devotional calendar I read from every day. The verse was from Revelation 1:9: "I, John . . . was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ." This sounds pretty dismal! Can you imagine being exiled to die on a lonely island in complete isolation with no friends or family and only a big body of water surrounding you? This sounds unbearable, it...
Una was a beautiful Cherokee girl. Her name meant "Remember," and she did remember the smallest details of not only her own life, but the details of those who lived in the green valley that had been the home of the Cherokee since the beginning of time. Una remembered all the battles and births and deaths; she remembered the best and the worst of times. She remembered everything. Una was smaller than the other girls her age and she had beautiful hair that hung to her waist....
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics--celebrated in 2021 because of concerns for further spread of the COVID-19 Virus and Delta variant-can boast of the highest number of Indigenous participants than in any other Olympiad. From only three Indigenous athletes in the 2016 Rio Olympics, fifty such athletes headed to Japan to compete in the Tokyo 2020 games-the most ever selected in Olympic history. Sixteen participants hail from Australia alone, thirty-three from New Zealand, several are...
Lawrence, Kans.-This summer, the Lawrence, Kansas, school district and their Native American Student Services (NASS) hosted an Indigenous Family Cooking Class open to anyone in the school district. "The class was part of the district's Culture Academy, which we run all year, hosting classes for Indigenous students," explains Susanne Stoupakis of NASS. "This was the first time we have hosted the cooking event, but it was very successful and we plan to do it again." At this...
Ottawa, Ont.-Indigenous law in Ontario is getting a federal boost. The federal government is earmarking funds for projects that are expected to help revitalize Indigenous legal traditions. Justice Minister David Lametti says $918,000 will go to the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians and Lakehead University's law faculty over three years to support Indigenous law-making research and "lay the foundation" for an Indigenous legal institute in Thunder Bay, Ontario. "We're...
Fort Smith, NWT-A workshop hosted by the Northwest Territory Métis Nation and non-profit arts organization, Western Arctic Moving Pictures (WAMP) was the birthplace of a new board game to help students learn about the Cree language and way of life. Two young men from Fort Smith, Ryan Schaefer and Eyzaah Bouza, attended the workshop in 2018, when they were 18 years old. While there, they designed Trails and Overflow, a game that was like Snakes and Ladders with a traditional...
TUCSON-"Getting lost is the best part of trail running," Marlinda Bedonie said with a chuckle as we shielded our eyes from the morning sun, searching for our cars. We spoke on a recent morning while trekking through Tucson Mountain Park on a mostly flat, single-track loop trail. Dipping in and out of washes and brushing against the creosote along the trail, the Tohono O'odham and Navajo mother and I chatted-out of breath-as we shared our running journeys and spoke about our...
Marker events-especially the scary ones like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, 9-11 and Hurricane Ida-always leave some form of an emotional scar, even in those who weren't physically present for the trauma, according to clinical psychologist, media personality and humanitarian Judy Kuriansky. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Florida condo collapse and the terrifying fall of Afghanistan during the U.S. military withdrawal all can be...
KLAMATH, Calif.-A drought, a virus and a landslide-these concurrent crises have worsened the food insecurity of Northern California's Yurok Tribe and spurred some members to explore their own solutions. Their reservation, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the redwoods of the Klamath Mountains, was declared a rural food desert by the USDA in 2017. The situation worsened when the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with severe drought and a crumbling highway, slammed the reservation...
Q: Our Indigenous church has a problem between those with low incomes and those who have a good paying jobs. Most of our leaders are the ones with good incomes, but the low-income people don't want their leadership. They tell the ones with good jobs they aren't Indians anymore. How should we deal with this? I don't want our church to break up. A: I am glad we have a book to rely on for answers. Many problems like this one would not have to be if the Bible was taken to be the...
Christianity is not a religion but it is a personal relationship with Christ. When a person becomes a Christian, he or she will tell you that he or she has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior. At the moment of conversion, when a person calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ that person is instantaneously saved from the wrath of God. A person has to be saved before he or she can have a personal relationship with God. Adam and Eve the first human beings on earth were...
My life and family were upside down. My parents loved each other but alcohol drove them apart. Drink turned my dad into a monster, hitting and speaking terribly to my mom. My father became so abusive, one night he almost killed her by throwing her down a flight of stairs. Mom sought help but finally left him, separating when I was seven. Alcohol finally destroyed their marriage. I was thirteen and going through a lot of stress; my emotions were turned upside down. I had...
The late Ed Wood, a former Indian Life Board Member, was one who believed in realizing potential. I'll tell the story as it was told to me, some details may be a little murky but most of it's intact and unstretched! Yup . . . read on! Ed had a teenage daughter who had just graduated from high school and wanted to go to college in Phoenix, Arizona-a long ways from their Winnipeg home. Ed believed in encouraging people to stretch their wings to reach their potential, so he gave...
Change seems to be constant in life doesn't it? Change is good, but with it brings the need to say goodbye, and hello. It is time for our accountant, Sam Holukoff, to say goodbye to serving with Indian Life Ministries. Jo-Anne Anderson, our previous director, worked with Sam for years and says: I don't recall what year Sam Holukoff joined Indian Life as the new accountant, but I do remember how excited and thankful we were to have someone so qualified to step into this...
PHOENIX-Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona recently signed SB 1802 into law, recognizing August 14th as National Navajo Code Talkers Day and a state holiday. During World War II, the Navajo Code Talkers answered the call to defend the United States of America using the impenetrable code based on the Navajo language that is widely acknowledged as a deciding factor in the war effort. On July 28, 1982, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan designated August 14th as National Navajo...
Dear Friends, A few weeks ago, my wife Krystal and I took a short camping trip to the small town of Nordegg, Alberta. Our two children have been serving at Camp Chestermere as Camp Counsellors for the summer, and as such during the week, it has just been Krystal and I. To answer your question, yes, we have been enjoying our time alone together. The weather was beautiful, and we had never really gone away by ourselves since we became a family of four. I thought it would be...
WASHINGTON-For the first time in history, an Indigenous woman is overseeing U.S. agriculture law. Janie Simms Hipp, a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation, was confirmed July 30 by the Senate as general counsel for the Agriculture Department. She joins a list of successful Indigenous appointees. Pending nominations include Charles F. Sams III, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who was nominated in August to oversee the National Park Service,...
LOUISVILLE-COVID-19 has ravaged the Navajo Nation, killing Native Americans at a faster rate than any other community in the country. According to a report published earlier this year, Native Americans have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic-especially on reservations, where access to basic resources, including food and water, can be limited. But by July 2021, according to a PBS report, nearly 46 percent of American Indians and Native Alaskans have...
PHOENIX-When the Phoenix Indian School was established in 1891, the top federal administrator considered it a budgetary win to send Native American children to boarding schools to enforce assimilation into white society. "It's cheaper to educate Indians than to kill them," Indian Commissioner Thomas Morgan said at the opening of the school. The true cost of Indigenous boarding schools in the United States and Canada, and the abuses Native Americans endured in them, continues...
VICTORIA, B.C.-As another year of long-burning, uncontrolled wildfires decimates portions of the U.S. and Canada-even threatening the world's oldest trees, located in California-one expert says North American authorities need to take some guidance and advise from Native Americans. "We're not burning anywhere near as much as we should," fire ecologist and noted burn boss Bob Gray, from Chilliwack, B.C., told The Canadian Press. Gray consults for local, provincial, state and...
OTTAWA—On September 30, 2021 Canadians recognized the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honors the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process. Parliament passed bills to create this federal statutory holiday through legislative amendments. On June 3, 2021, Bill C...
