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A community's "heart-language" is one of the great ties that binds individuals to their own unique history and culture. This awareness is important in Christian ministry. When Bible truths are shared in the "heart-language" of the hearers, the beauty and logic and power of God's love can transform lives. Bessie McPeek is into "heart-language" ministry! Bessie's Dad was an Englishman, who came to Canada to serve as a missionary in an OjiCree community in northwestern Ontario....
PHOENIX—The Arizona State Fair is one of Arizona's longest-standing traditions, dating back almost 30 years before statehood. Starting all the way back in 1884, it's one of the largest fairs in the United States, bringing in over 1.4 million visitors in 2023. The Native American Rodeo is part of the rich tradition of the fair, with spectators and competitors from tribal nations across the country. It celebrates the Indigenous people who heavily influenced the history of Arizon...
ADA, Okla.—Helping others has always been ingrained in Kallie Chapman's DNA. As a youngster, the Chickasaw citizen from Coalgate, Oklahoma, wanted to play a role in being useful to others in their time of need. That passion still drives her today as a soon-to-be graduating senior at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Oklahoma. "I've always enjoyed being as helpful as possible," Chapman said. "If something is wrong or something needs fixing, I like to be there. I l...
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 Nov 15–17, Kamloops B.C., Indigenous Couples Getaway Dec 6–7, Mini Thni (Morley) Alb., Community Gospel Christmas Concert Jan 24–26, Loon Lake Sask., Every Story Matters . . . Including Yours, testimony conference Feb 7–9, Winnipeg Man., Manitoba Missionsfest Feb 14–16, Red Lake Ont., Indigenous Couples Getaway...
OTTAWA, Ont.—In late October, the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated (NICHI) team announced the recipients of funding to address the critical need for safe and affordable urban, rural and northern Indigenous housing projects in Canadian provinces and territories. Through the national process, $277.8 million out of a total funding amount of $281.5 million is being distributed to 75 projects across the country, aimed at building more than 3800 units. This f...
ADA, Okla.-The Chickasaw Nation has partnered with Amazon Business to expand and enhance the Packed Promise program for its citizens. "The Chickasaw Nation Packed Promise program continues to grow and meet the nutritional needs of Chickasaw children throughout our treaty territory by offering shelf-stable meal delivery to increase food access, food security and diet quality," Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said during his 2024 State of the Nation Address presented...
OTTAWA, Ont.—The Government of Canada has announced plans to work with First Nations to establish a new fiscal relationship that moves toward predictable, flexible and sufficient funding for First Nations communities. The goal is that it will support self-determination and increase their ability to plan for the future. It will extend grant eligibility to to Tribal Councils and First Nations-led service delivery entities, such as health authorities. The grant stems from a Memorandum of Understanding the Government of Canada s...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.—After Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the southeastern United States, the Cherokee Nation stepped in to support recovery efforts for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. Cherokee Nation Emergency Management, along with students and staff from the Cherokee Nation Immersion School, traveled to the region to provide critical aid. Cherokee Nation Emergency Management helped organize donated items and assembled food and care kits for f...
GATINEAU, Que.-Parks Canada has developed a new strategy for working alongside Indigenous communities to conserve nature and culture. The policy objectives, according to the Parks Canada website, are to have a framework for Indigenous stewardship and to support cultural continuity, cultural safety and healing. Parks Canada says the Indigenous Stewardship Policy recognizes and supports Indigenous stewardship in all places Parks Canada plays a role in administering. It is...
Winnipeg, Man.-On October 26, 2024, more than 150 people gathered at The Meeting Place in Winnipeg, Man. to offer praise to the Lord for the outreach and effectiveness of Indian Life Ministries. Attendees from Canada and the United States reflected on Ecclesiastes 3:1–4 and the goodness of God in every season. And the theme was carried throughout the music and message. Chris and Rochelle Creasy led the participants in worship and blessed the crowd with their music. Chris a...
LAVEEN VILLAGE-President Joe Biden, on October 25, 2024, formally apologized for the 150 years of abuse and harm suffered by Indigenous children who were put into the federal boarding school system. "I believe it is important that we do know there was [sic] generations of Native children stolen, taken away to places they didn't know, with people they never met, who spoke a language they never heard," Biden said during a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in front of an...
GARRISON, Minn.—Lerner Publishing Group and Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network-a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Ojibwe and other Indigenous languages through education, advocacy, and community engagement-have announced that the two organizations are collaborating on a line of Ojibwe-language books for young readers targeting the school and library market. "There is a great need for books that support Ojibwe language revitalization and Lerner Pub...
TUCSON, Ariz.-The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service recently awarded a grant of $1.6 million to aid Indigenous students pursuing nursing careers at the University of Arizona College of Nursing. The grant will fund the Indians in Nursing: Career Advancement and Transition Scholars, or INCATS, program for another five years. The program provides Indigenous students at the U of A College of Nursing with financial support for tuition, fees and a...
GATINEAU, Que.—If plants can start fires, can they also stop them? That was the question two Cree community students started wondering about. And it was the title the two students, Kristopher Neeposh and Rory Henry-Felstead, from Nemaska, Quebec, used for the project they entered in the 2024 Quebec Indigenous Science Fair earlier this year. And by exploring that question, their project ended up winning first place. The project was birthed as a result of forest fires their c...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—"Reservation Dogs" has received four nominations for the 76th annual Emmy Awards, the Television Academy recently announced. Canadian actor D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (Bear) won an Emmy nomination as the best lead actor in a comedy series. Woon-A-Tai has become associated with main character Bear Smallhill in "Reservation Dogs." Bear is a young teen in the coming-of-age comedy series who is the self-acclaimed leader of the Rez Dogs gang. The show also won a n...
Ashley Callingbull, an accomplished model, actress, and television host from the Enoch Cree Nation, has become the first Indigenous woman to win the title of Miss Universe Canada. Callingbull was crowned on July 27, 2024, in Windsor, Ontario. "This is the most surreal feeling. I've been chasing this dream for years and I'm still in awe that it really came true." Callingbull wrote on Instagram. "Representation truly matters because when one of us wins, we all win. Rez kids...
Paris-More than 50 Indigenous athletes competed in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from July 26 to Aug. 11, and several of those were from Canada and the United States. Paris was the main host city with events held at 16 other cities spread across Metropolitan France, plus a site in Tahiti for the surfing competition. Indigenous athletes from North America included: • Justina Di Stasio represented Canada in wrestling in the 76 kilograms weight class at the Paris Olympics. H...
Plans are coming together as decisions are being made for our upcoming Annual Fundraising Banquet. This year, as we celebrate with friends of Indian Life Ministries, we will praise our Heavenly Father for what He has done this past year, testify regarding what He is currently doing, and share details of what He is leading us in for the upcoming year. Remembering our mandate of restoring hope, healing and honor within Indigenous communities across North America, through a...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Park Service (NPS) has allocated $3 million in grants to support the consultation, documentation, and repatriation of Native American ancestral remains and cultural items. These grants, awarded to 13 Tribes and 21 museums, are part of the ongoing efforts under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Enacted in 1990, NAGPRA mandates that museums and federal agencies inventory and identify Native American human r...
WHITEHORSE, Yukon—Yukon's territorial court has issued its first manslaughter sentence in a drug overdose death. Jared Skookum, 34, was sentenced to two years in custody less a day for selling two points of "down," or opioids, to Stephanie Pye, 36, who was a member of the Liard First Nation. Pye died from an overdose of fentanyl and etizolam, commonly known as "street valium." Skookum, a citizen of the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation, was arrested for trafficking and p...
REGINA, Sask.—At the beginning of summer, an Indigenous young woman received the biggest cash prize in Canadian television history. Rebecca Strong won this prize as she was also the first First Nations woman to be crowned winner of the amateur performance show, "Canada's Got Talent." The Indigenous singer living in Prince Albert, Sask., took home the competition's first $1 million prize at the end of the show's third season. She was voted on by viewers all across Canada. S...
VICTORIA, B.C.—According to "The First Nations Population Health and Wellness Agenda" report released in late August, life expectancy for First Nations people dropped by six years. The multi-year project was introduced in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic and the toxic drug crisis in British Columbia are being blamed for life expectancy for First Nations people in B.C. dropping from 73.3 years to 67.2 years and the mortality rate jumped from 117 people dying early per 10,000 populat...
LANGDON, Alb.—On Saturday, October 26, Indian Life Ministries will host their annual banquet. This year's theme is "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." (Ecc. 3:1). "In every season, for every reason, our heavenly Father is the reason for our joy," says ILM director team, Todd and Krystal Wawrzyniak. "Regardless of the circumstances we our in, there is always a reason to praise Him." So the evening will feature praise! Some participants w...
LA RONGE, Sask.—A wrong that was committed over 100 years ago looks like it will probably be made right. The Lac La Ronge Indian Band announced it approved a whopping $601.5 million settlement with the federal government to address the "cows and plows" clause of Treaty 6. Under treaties 4, 5, 6 and 10, the Crown promised agricultural benefits-livestock, hand tools, seeds and farming equipment-to the First Nations that signed. This was meant to push First Nations people from a...
HORNBROOK, Calif.-In August, crews completed the largest dam removal project in US history by demolishing the last of the four dams on the Klamath River. For decades, tribal nations on the Oregon-California border have fought to restore the river back to its natural state. For the past 100 years, the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River-Iron Gate Dam, Copco Dams 1 and 2, and JC Boyle Dam-have prevented the region's iconic salmon population from swimming freely along...
