Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 1044
HOUSTON-The Rev. David Wilson was elected as bishop in The United Methodist Church's South Central Jurisdictional Conference, becoming the denomination's first Native American bishop. Delegates elected Wilson, age 59, Nov. 2 at the jurisdiction's meeting in Houston. Wilson has been the assistant to the bishop for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference since 2021, following 19 years as a conference superintendent. He was lead coordinator for the North Oklahoma City Native...
WASHINGTON-Haskell Indian Nations University, a Bureau of Indian Education-operated Tribal University in Lawrence, Kansas, is the recipient of a $20 million award from the National Science Foundation for an Indigenous science hub project. Funded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the award is for five years and is the largest research award ever granted by the NSF to a Tribal college or university. The project will create The Large Scale CoPe: Rising Voices, Changing...
OTTAWA, Ont.-More Inuit live in southern Canada and more of these Inuit are living in urban centres, said a Statistics Canada survey on Indigenous population growth in Canada. In 2021, 15.3 per cent of Inuit lived in a large urban centre, up from 13 per cent in 2016, Statistics Canada found. Its survey found three urban centres had an Inuit population of more than 1,000: Ottawa–Gatineau (1,730), Edmonton (1,290) and Montreal (1,130). The survey also found 920 Inuit living i...
OTTAWA, Ont.-This fall, Canada Post unveiled four new stamps that encourage awareness and reflection on the tragic legacy of Indian residential schools and the need for healing and reconciliation. The stamps are the first in an annual series showcasing the visions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis artists for the future of truth and reconciliation. Between the 1830s and 1990s, more than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children across Canada were taken from their f...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Pope Francis apologized. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland called it a "heartbreaking" part of U.S. history. Congress is considering legislation to atone for the government's actions. Few dispute that Indian boarding schools led to more than a century of abuse, systematically seizing Indigenous land, separating children from their families, destroying communities and working to erase tribal languages, religions, cultures and economies. Poor conditions and harsh...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-When Southern Baptist denomination met in their annual meeting in June 2022, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution decrying the historic assimilation and treatment of Native Americans in the United States. The denomination has 47,530 churches and 14,525,579 members. Their statement: WHEREAS, The Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigative Report, released in May 2022, documents and records that the United States maliciously targeted Native American,...
OTTAWA, Ont.-In late September, Statistics Canada presented reports based on the 2021 census. The census report includes expected, and surprising data, on the Indigenous population in Canada. Some of the findings: • The number of people identifying as Indigenous in Canada grew almost twice as fast as the non-Indigenous population and now stands at 1.8 million-about five percent of the population. From 2016 to 2021, the number of people in Canada identifying as Indigenous g...
WASHINGTON-Indigenous leaders called on Congress September 20 to reverse a Supreme Court ruling that expands states' ability to prosecute crimes on tribal land, a ruling they said threatens their sovereignty and their ability to protect their citizens. Witnesses told a House Natural Resources subcommittee that the Castro-Huerta ruling tramples on 200 years of legal precedent about tribal jurisdiction and has made it harder for them to pursue cases of domestic violence or missi...
Every city needs a few "pillars of the community," or people who serve to build bridges and support belonging and morale. For Little Earth in Minneapolis, one of those pillars is T.J. Valtierra. As a pastor's kid, Valtierra knew about God. But he didn't have a personal relationship with the Lord until his early 20s after saying he heard God tell him he had wasted his life. The next day, while at a party with friends, he knelt down in front of a small crowd and gave his life...
ADA, Okla.—The decade spanning 2022–2032 is designated “Chikashshanompa’ Ilanompoli’! (Let’s Speak Chickasaw!): A Decade of Chickasaw Language” thanks to a recent gubernatorial proclamation issued by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. Governor Anoatubby’s proclamation mirrors a United Nations’ proclamation of 2022-2032 “International Decade of Indigenous Languages,” which invites Indigenous peoples, as guardians of their language, to initiate ideas for preserving this endangered facet of their cultural and social l...
Is it in your calendars yet to attend Indian Life's upcoming fundraising banquet? If not, head on over to our website at indianlife.org or give us a call at 1-800-665-9275 to change that. We are finalizing details big and small, and with that has come a change in our keynote speaker. We were thrilled to have Craig and LaDonna Smith confirmed to speak, but complications have caused this to change. We will miss them. We are however excited to announce that Steven and Noemi Keesi...
GARDEN RIVER, Ont.-The Anishinabek Police Service now has a new offering in their line of uniforms. It is reportedly the first law enforcement agency in Ontario to allow police to wear ribbon skirts for events and ceremonies when a police-issued duty belt isn't required. The skirts presented to officers in a ceremony were skirts handcrafted by Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre Executive Director Cathy Syrette. Anishinabek Police Service Chief Jefferey Skye felt it was...
WASHINGTON, D.C-The Department of the Interior recently announced that the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) has voted on the final replacement names for nearly 650 geographic areas featuring the word "squaw." The government is renaming hundreds of peaks, lakes, streams and other geographical features on federal lands in the West and elsewhere. The word "squaw" originated in the Algonquin language and experts say it probably once simply meant "woman." But over time, the word...
North Bay, Ont.-For the second year in a row, a railroad engine has been painted orange and lettered "Every Child Matters" to commemorate Orange Shirt Day. In mid-September, 2021, Ontario Northland, headquartered in North Bay, Ontario, revealed their new paint scheme for locomotive 1808. The North Bay, Ontario-based railroad's engine pays tribute to and raises awareness for Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also called "Orange Shirt Day," an opportunity for...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-According to a report released in September 2022 by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Native Americans and Alaska Natives saw the biggest life expectancy decline among all races between 2020 and 2021. Among the total United States population, the average life expectancy for those who were born in 2021 was expected to be 76 years. This is the lowest the U.S. life expectancy has been since 1996. Among Native Americans and Alaska Natives, the...
WASHINGTON, D. C.-Oklahoma's five largest tribes split in late July on the terms of treaties signed more than 150 years ago regarding their treatment of descendants of their former slaves, and on what those treaties require. The hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee was the first to bring together federal officials, tribal representatives and descendants of the Freedmen, the former slaves of the five tribes who were offered varying levels of tribal rights after th...
CHESTERMERE, Alb.-On July 23-26, 2022, representatives from Indian Life Ministries joined the Siksika Nation in their annual camp meeting. The Siksika Nation is on Treaty 7 territory and the traditional lands of the Blackfoot people. With a population of about 7800, it is approximately 60 miles east of Calgary, south of the Trans-Canada Highway #1. The Siksika Nation is part of the Siksikaitsitapi–Blackfoot Confederacy which includes Kainai Nation, Piikani Nation and A...
TSE BONITO, N.M.-The National Navajo Code Talkers Museum is closer to being a reality. On August 2022, National Navajo Code Talkers Day, workers will break ground on a 400-acre permanent site in Tse Bonito, New Mexico. The museum will honor the Navajo Code Talkers who used the Dine language to help the United States and its allies achieve victory in World War II. "Since our inception, we have been actively planning and strategizing . . . Our vision statement: Educating the...
After a two year hiatus, due to the worldwide pandemic, and two years since Todd and I joined Indian Life, we are excited to announce that our annual banquet is back! Since coming on board with ILM, we bear witness to the men and women who went before us. Many planted seeds, many watered, and God has been faithfully pushing roots, growing the seeds into luscious life. "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:16) During our time together, we seek...
In the coming months, you can meet Indian Life staff at these events! Make sure you stop by and say, "Hi!" October 7–8: Steer Conference-North Dakota, United States STEER is an organization that facilitates the capacity for farmers in the US to raise and sell cattle, and then donate the monies to charities of their choosing that are registered with STEER. This of course is the unofficial explanation of their ministry. See the link below for the official info: h...
Winnipeg, Man.-In July, Pope Francis launched an historic six-day tour in Canada that has been dubbde as the "apology tour" or "pilgrimage of penance." The focus of the Roman Catholic church's leader was to express sorrow and support to the Indigenous people of Canada who suffered from the church's grim legacy in the country. This was the first visit by a pope to Canada since 2002, and Francis is only the second pontiff to visit the country. All three previous visits were...
TUSCON, Ariz.-Undergraduate students from the state's 22 federally recognized Native American tribes will no longer have to pay tuition and mandatory fees at the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson. Beginning in the fall 2022, new and continuing full-time, degree-seeking, in-state undergraduates will be eligible for the Arizona Native Scholars Grant, the first program of its kind in Arizona. "Serving Arizona's Native American tribes and tribal students is a crucial...
PHOENIX-Mental health emergencies in the United States haven't gotten the attention and support they require, resulting in increased suicide rates over past decades-particularly among teens, young adults and people of color. Enter 988 – the federally mandated dialing code used to connect those in need to 24/7 suicide prevention services. A call or text to the number links individuals with trained counselors who are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. T...
ILM co-sponsors retreat for Indigenous couples RED DEER, Alb.-On June 3–5, 2022, Indian Life Ministries, Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Family Life Canada joined forces for the first time to sponsor the first Indigenous Couples' Getaway in western Canada. Seventeen couples attended this premier event held in Red Deer, Alberta, joined by three speaker couples, two musician couples, and several volunteers. The conference was born out of 20 years of prayer by a C...
OTTAWA-The Department of National Defence recently announced the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Jocelyn Paul as the commander of the Canadian Army. Paul is the first Indigenous person to lead the Canadian Army, He began the role as commander of the Canadian Army and chief of the Army staff on June 16. Jocelyn (Joe) Paul, from the community of Wendake, Que., is a member of the Huron-Wedat First Nation. Brigadier-General Paul's interest in a military career was sparked at a young age...
