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WASHINGTON, DC-At President Barack Obama's final White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, he announced that his administration will pay 17 Native American tribes a total of $492.8 million to settle long-standing disputes over mismanagement of tribal lands by the Department of the Interior. The settlement comes amid ongoing protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline. Federal authorities manage almost 100,000 leases on nearly 56 million acres of trust lands on behalf...
White Earth Reservation member Nicole Matthews (Anishinabe) received her Bachelor of Science degree in applied psychology, in human relations and multicultural education from St. Cloud State University. Since 2002, Matthews has served as executive director of the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC), a statewide non-profit alliance for American Indian sexual assault advocates. The organization provides oversight and administration to the statewide sexual...
If you are a survivor of child abuse, don’t be surprised if you feel overwhelmed with the enormity of it. Take comfort. There is hope and I encourage you to ask for help for yourself! If you do not take care of your anxiety, fear, shame, guilt or anger, you will become very tired. You may be depressed due to having made poor choices birthed out of the pain of your past. This situation leads to deeper depression, which can lead to thoughts of suicide. Perhaps you are tempted with thoughts of taking your life or know someone wh...
Have you ever thought about your will? I am not talking about the document which states your wishes concerning your estate after you leave this world. What I mean is the will to make daily choices based on your desires and intellect. What do you “will” as a way of life? What do you love? The answer to these questions determines the quality of your life at this moment. If your answers to these questions don’t line up with God’s Word, Scriptures tell us we are living far bel...
It seems impossible anyone could forget Christmas when every store is filled with decorations and TV programs are showing Christmas stories and Christmas music is playing on the radio. Houses are decorated, churches are decorated and the mall is filled with people buying gifts. But last year I forgot Christmas. It was snowing. There wasn’t a car driving down the street and no one was on the sidewalk. It was as if I was the only person in the city. I turned the corner of a b...
I was in second grade when Miss Barzley came to town. Like little lambs, we were lined up single file in the hallway and shot one by one. I stood near the back of the line. Those who had gone on ahead filed by saying “OWWWW!” and clutching their arms. Miss Barzley was an imposing figure, even without that long needle in her hand. She would have done well as a Sumo wrestler, but had gone into nursing instead. Her glasses were so thick she reminded me of a huge insect. “Ro...
Miriam wearily brushed the hair away from her face as she scrubbed the last of the pots in the hot, humid kitchen. It had not been her idea to become a scullery maid in the house of the arrogant family for whom she worked. They paid her little notice. Her only value to them was in keeping their kitchen clean, the vegetable garden weeded, and the chamber pots emptied. She longed to stroll along the path in her father’s flower garden and sit beside the melodic fountain in the co...
Greetings Nidobak! I hope life is going well for you. Harvest should be in, the kids happily back to school and everyone who likes to cook is in their kitchen. I like to stay outside as much as possible when the weather cooperates. It has lately and we’ve had lots of sun. Time to go through all the recipes, old and new. The first ‘old’ one I have for you is from a tribal reunion I attended a few years ago in a park on Lake Champlain in northern New England. I’m not a big fan...
The wonderful world that Creator gave us has become an ugly place. Some people no longer consider humans to be God’s creatures to be treated with love and respect. Instead, evil people are harming others—even little children—and abusing them in every way. As you can tell by reading the stories on pages 8-11, our world has become a wicked place. Were you harmed as a child in such ways? If so, you may feel shame, abandoned and disrespected. People may have left you but God never has. He loves you and likes you more than you w...
Drunktown's Finest Deepwater Horizon "Drunktown's Finest" is set in the fictional town of Dry Lake, New Mexico, which is pretty clearly a stand-in for Gallup, New Mexico. If you're familiar with Gallup, there'll be plenty of local landmarks you'll recognize. I saw a motel I stayed in once. Gallup/Dry Lake is right on the edge of the Navajo reservation and the movie is about three different Navajos who go back and forth between dominant culture in the city and Navajo culture...
First Nations Christian Writers- Volume 1 Anthology Edited by Dorene Meyer ISBN: 978-1-927410-31-8 Goldrock Press Paper 82 pages $9.95 Sixteen writers from large cities, isolated northern communities, high school and university campuses contributed essays that are eye-opening and heart-breaking but also full of hope. Joshua Heath, 14, writes of the horrific effects of being a ward of the foster care system and how it has shaped his life (see his story on page 9). Brenda...
Editor's Note: People who have suffered the trauma of childhood sexual abuse very often feel shame throughout their lives. Author Dietrich Desmarais writes about shame and how a person can turn it around for good. Shame can be a helpful emotion. There is a distinction between toxic and helpful developmental feelings of shame that are necessary for maturity. Bad shame comes from false beliefs that drive us to hide, feel shameful and worthless. This shame causes us to retreat...
I sit on my bunk, lights off, tears flowing uncontrollably. My mind races back and forth, making it next to impossible to focus on a single thought. Loneliness smothers me from neck to toes, my head just above it. I’ve been like this for a few weeks. It’s become normal for me this time of year. I’m exhausted. Tired. Sore. The last two months of the year weigh heavily on me. The heaviness becomes cold as steel. My emotions cramp. My faith has shortness of breath. Year after...
After almost two years of non-stop political talk and TV, radio and newspaper advertising filling the media, it is finally over. The voters have spoken and the American people have a new president and vice president-elect. And along with this new leader, thousands of government leaders and representatives were elected or reelected across the United States. One characteristic of this particular election was that the extremists on both sides of whatever issue, seemed to control the agenda and steer the conversation in their...
NEW ORLEANS, LA—Two prominent veteran journalists headlined the Native American Journalists Association annual convention in New Orleans. Charlie Rose, co-host of “CBS This Morning” and PBS’s “Charlie Rose” and Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post. Baron served as editor of The Miami Herald and held top editing positions at the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. He joined the Boston Globe in 2001. Baron was at the editorial helm when the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight” investigative team published hundreds o...
It is hard to know what to tell other people about my life. I have pictures in my head about my young life-my mother pushing me along in a stroller or shopping cart as we search for empty cans and bottles in the garbage bins in Regina. I don't like to think about what I realized later: she was an alcoholic, but she also was sick with AIDS. She wasn't a bad mother though. My mom, Noella, loved me deeply. She made sure I was fed and dressed properly. I don't know why, but she...
I was born on a reservation in Arizona and I'm now in my mid-fifties. I'm pretty much a loner and stick to myself and that's the way I've been for most of my life. One day while walking home from school when I was in second grade, I noticed a man standing at the side of the road with a burlap bag. As I was passing him, he asked me if I could help him take some trash from the back of his truck down to the basement of the Roman Catholic Church on our reservation. After we got th...
KELOWNA, BC-Daphne Odjig, an internationally acclaimed painter and printmaker, passed at the age of 97. She was a member of the prestigious group of artists known as the "Indian Group of Seven". Odjig was born on Septelber 11, 1919, in the Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario. She studied art in Ottawa as well as in Sweden. She was known for fusing various cultures that influenced her life in her artwork. She often mixed Indigenous symbols and...
ADA, OK-Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby crowned three young ladies Chickasaw Royalty during the 2016-2017 Chickasaw Nation Princess Pageant. The annual pageant was conducted at the Ada High School Cougar Activity Center on September 26. Julie Underwood, 21, was crowned Chickasaw Princess; Keilyn "Keke" Factor, 13, was crowned Chickasaw Junior Princess, and Lakala Orphan, 11, claimed the Little Miss Chickasaw title. Each winner resides in Ada, Oklahoma and was congratulate...
My name is Storm Stoker, I am the daughter of Crying Wind, columnist for Indian Life, author and life long activist for indigenous people. I was invited to be a guest speaker at the ATALM Conference (Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums) near Phoenix, Arizona and luckily my mother was able to join me. The Conference was being held at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort, which is owned by the Gila River Indian Community. It is a beautiful resort with murals...
SIKSIKA NATION, AB, Sept. 7, 2016 /CNW This year, as many as 1,970 students will be starting a new school year in one of the six new schools in First Nations communities. These new schools will provide First Nation students with improved learning environments which will lead to stronger communities and hope for a brighter future. Today, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Carolyn Bennett, was in Siksika Nation to congratulate the community on the completion of its new school. The Minister had the opportunity to v...
Indian Life lost a good friend this year. Debra Fieguth passed away suddenly following a massive stroke. She was not only a wonderful person but an excellent writer. When I first met Debra, she was the Assistant Editor of Christian Week. During her time with that publication, she took on the assignment of writing some news features for Indian Life as well as writing the stories of five Indigenous women which we published in a book entitled Keepers of the Faith (see page 19)....
BUFFALO, NY-Winning the Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Pop Recording was probably the best birthday present Spencer Battiest could have wished for. "Winning the Best Pop Recording was really great because in a nutshell, that's who I am," Battiest stated. "I didn't have a speech prepared, so I just spoke from the heart. I love pop music, I love to write songs and work at it every day. It was a great validation from my peers, the general public and NAMA." Battiest...
OTTAWA, ON-The Canadian government, along with the government of the Province of Ontario, signed a historic agreement with the Algonquins of Ontario to give back large sections of eastern Ontario to the First Nations people along with as much as $300 million. The Honorable Carolyn Bennett, Indigenous Affairs Minister and her Ontario counterpart, David Zimmer signed the agreement which eventually will give back to the Algonquins about 36,000 square kilometers (almost 22,370...
GALLUP, NM—“Spotlight: A Public Discussion about Faith, Journalism, and Protecting Children from Sex Abuse” was held on September 24 at Gallup’s El Morro Theatre. The event was held in conjunction with two free screenings of “Spotlight,” the 2015 Best Picture Academy Award winner. At that panel discussion were panelists Terry McKiernan, of Boston, the founder of BishopAccountability.com and a consultant to “Spotlight”; Phoenix attorney Robert E. Pastor, who represented 18 clergy sex abuse claimants in the Diocese of Gall...
