Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
ALBANY, N.Y.-This fall, the stadiums and playing fields will start to look different at many New York schools. Last April, the state Board of Regents adopted regulations prohibiting public schools from using names, mascots or logos inspired by Indigenous people. The mandate affects 60 public school districts A year before the mandate, at least 133 schools in 55 New York districts still had native-themed mascots, according to a report by the National Congress of American...
August is not yet over while I write this, but the light outside is changing. A few leaves are preparing for their fall showing by displaying a few reds and oranges here and there. It always seems too early for these changes to happen, but the changes do warn us that winter is coming and we need time to prepare, both mentally and physically. We have about six months of winter in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where I live. Snow begins falling and sticking in November and tells us...
Have you ever been stuck? Stuck on a school paper, or stuck in traffic, or maybe so emotionally involved with someone that you are stuck in terms of your feelings for them, even though these feelings may not be healthy for you? When we are stuck, it is very easy to do or say something drastic out of desperation. After our actions, we may end up facing consequences that are far more difficult than being stuck! I love the example of our Lord Jesus; He of course never had the...
I'm at the age where I think about the hereafter more than ever. I arrive at the fridge and wonder what I'm hereafter. Seriously, heaven is looking sweeter all the time, partly because so many family and friends are there sooner than we thought they'd be. But maybe you have questions about heaven or you believe it is a myth, the creation of delusional wishful thinkers. I'm well acquainted with myths. I grew up on them. Here are five of them, the first two my mother used on...
Mashpee Wampanoag of Massachusetts tribal member Sherry Pocknett was recently honored as one of over 20 other semifinalists from the six New England states. And Pocknett would go on to win the coveted James Beard award for Best Chef of the northeastern U.S.-the first Native American woman ever to win the honor. Nicknamed the "Academy Awards of the food world," the James Beard award is the highest honor in the U.S. food industry. It is also considered to be among the country's...
The odor makes my eyes water. The walls are covered with dried clumps of hair and soap scum. The ¼" of scum lies silently at the bottom of the broken sink. To label it filthy and unsanitary is an understatement. Ad Seg (the Hole) doesn't have inmate workers. There are no inmates assigned to keep the common areas of this ancient building clean. In a regular facility inmates are assigned to clean the hallways, tiers, benches and showers. If left neglected, the showers...
Life is so simple when you are a child. I remember when my three year old son thought his four year old brother knew everything in the world-after all, his brother was a year older and more experienced. "Adam and Eve were the first people," my four year old said. "And then Jesus was born, and then you and I were born." "Was anyone born between when Jesus was born and when we were born?" my three year old asked his brother. My four year old thought about it a second and then...
When you want to lose weight, what is the first food you give up? For many people it is carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, pasta, fruit and potatoes. Avoiding foods high in carbohydrates can feel like an easy answer to weight loss. People can drop pounds fast if they stop drinking sugary drinks or eating refined foods such as cookies, donuts and candy. For many people, these foods are comforting but also have a negative impact on their blood sugar and energy level....
WASHINGTON-Native American artists say they continue to struggle with the theft of their work, and tribal leaders are urging Congress to strengthen the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. IACA was passed in 1990 to prohibit any advertisement and all sales of counterfeit Indian arts and crafts. Choctaw Nation artist D.G. Smalling says the act must adapt to the new ways of buying and selling art through online sales. "We have just a very different kind of engagement with intellectual...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Keeleigh Sanders, 21, of Westville, was crowned Miss Cherokee 2023-2024 during the annual leadership competition held in Tahlequah on Saturday. The tribe also crowned a new Junior Miss Cherokee and Little Cherokee Ambassadors, all of whom will serve in their roles for the next year. As Miss Cherokee, Sanders will represent the Cherokee Nation as a goodwill ambassador to promote the government, history, language and culture of the tribe. She also received a...
Regina, Sask.-Wildfire affects us all. Differently. This is the central message from research about the social dimensions of climate hazards. Considerable research has calculated potential land area burned, counted the dollars spent in evacuation and recovery and proposed technical and infrastructural adaptation measures to cope with longer and more intense fire seasons. However, less attention has been paid to how different groups of people are affected and the intangible...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram started blocking Canadian news, including Indigenous groups, on their social media platforms on August 1. Meta has acknowledged the action as a response to the Online News Act (Bill C-18), which became law on June 22. The law was designed to "level the playing field" between global platforms and Canadian news outlets by requiring tech companies to pay Canadian publishers when sharing the publishers' news content...
TORONTO, Ont.-Zoom recently attempted to rewrite its Terms of Service with ambiguous language that would permit the extraction of user data for the purpose of training AI. However, after public pushback, Zoom began to rectify that clause the very next day, fully committing to a "no AI training" set of policies by Aug. 11. Even though Zoom pedalled back this time, their drive to gather data highlights the possibility of future hidden data extraction by them and other big tech...
TUCSON, Ariz.-A mentoring program is using talking circles, adventure outings and overnight camping trips to help young men develop positive and healthy relationships. The Boys to Men Mentoring Network, founded 27 years ago in La Mesa, California, has grown to cities in 11 states, including three in Arizona, and internationally. Its mission is to strengthen communities by nurturing intentional spaces for boys and men to practice honest and mindful relationships. The goal is...
Q: Recently I was hurt by a person in a position of leadership and authority. Although this person has apologized to me, he has not had to face any other consequences for his behavior. I'm finding it difficult to accept his apology and just forgive him. I still hurt, and it doesn't seem fair for this person not to be punished in some way for his actions. I'm a Christian, and I know that the Bible says I am to forgive and forget. How do I forgive when I feel that justice has...
John 11:35: "Jesus wept!" The shortest verse in the Bible, yet profoundly moving in lowliness of heart. He knew the circumstances surrounding the death of Lazarus, yet He wept. He wept with love in His heart, which let all humankind know that He truly cares. Growing up as a child, I was taught not to cry, not to feel, and pretty much not to share or show any emotion that ridiculed my family or me. I had learned and taught myself to suppress my tears and show no emotion when li...
From July 17 to 21, Todd and Krystal, the ILM director team, had planned to travel some distance to help facilitate a Vacation Bible School. Two weeks before the event both Todd and Krystal started to feel unsettled about attending. This feeling didn't make sense, though. Details were solidified. The event had been advertised locally. A team of volunteers had booked the time to attend. And most importantly, the children knew they were coming. So why, two weeks prior to the...
If you're attending these events, come by and meet us! If you would like ILM to participate in your event, contact Krystal at admin@IndianLife.org STEER Conference-Oct. 6–7, Bismarck, ND ILM Banquet-Oct. 21, Winnipeg, MB Seattle Missionfest-Nov. 3–4, Seattle, WA Indigenous Couples' Getaway-Nov. 17–19, Rock Nest Ranch, Houston, BC...
If he stumbles, he's not down for long; God has a grip on his hand. Psalm 37:24 (THE MESSAGE) Playing Hockey on our reservation was a memorable experience! As a teenager, I got some really good lessons from that life frame. Lessons like "Don't get the ref mad or you'll pay for it!" and "There's no 'I' in 'TEAM'" and "Play hard or you'll ride the pine," and the most memorable one: "Get up, it's a long ways from your heart!" That was Chief Allan's line! He was there at almost...
CALGARY, Alb.-By some measurements, the quality of life for Canadian children-especially Indigenous children-has diminished, according to the sixth annual "Raising Canada" report revealed. The report, written by Children First Canada and university researchers from Calgary, McGill, and Toronto showed that Indigenous children are more susceptible to many of the issues researchers identified. "They're more likely to become injured, become ill, or even die from preventable...
WASHINGTON-Three Oklahoma tribal nations will receive more than 40% of the initial $73 million in funding from a federal small business initiative that for the first time is being targeted directly to tribes. The Osage, Chickasaw and Citizen Potawatomi nations will get almost $30 million in small business funding from the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the Biden administration announced last week. The program, part of the pandemic-era American Rescue Plan, aims to...
COLVILLE LAKE, NWT-What do you do when you need to use gardens to grow food, but little soil is available? That can be a huge problem when you live on the Canadian Shield-the largest mass of exposed rock on the Earth. One Indigenous community 80 km above the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories, knows the problem too well. Their traditional lifestyle of fishing, hunting and trapping is flourishing, but every healthy lifestyle needs greens and other nutritions that come...
Some people think of fall days as lazy and sleepy since the air gets cooler and the sun doesn't shine as much. But our days couldn't be busier right now at Indian Life Ministries. We are so excited to let you know about a couple of updates on our 365-day devotional. The devotional will be called: Council Fire! Stories shared around the fire are such a vital, entrenched part of our Indigenous culture. Stories are passed down around the fire for teaching, for enlightenment, for...
FORT MCMURRAY, AB- A First Nations group in northern Alberta has declared a state of emergency and launched a task force to tackle an escalating mental health and addictions crisis that they say has caused the deaths of dozens of community members. The Athabasca Tribal Council, which represents five First Nations in northern Alberta, says 60 community members have died this year from overdose, suicides, and self-harm. The council is calling on all levels of government for...
LANGDON, Alb.-Data is still being processed, but even before June, the summer 2023 wildfire season in Canada started breaking records-and especially affecting Indigenous communities. Wildfires are nothing new to Canadians. The statistics of a normal year are especially heart-breaking among Indigenous people. The Assembly of First Nations recently cited a report revealing that Ontario First Nations children aged 0 to 9 years are 86 times greater than non-First Nations children...
