Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 1044
Addison, Texas-Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), a nonprofit serving Native Americans in impoverished reservation communities, has teamed with the Bank of America to provide fresh produce on reservation food deserts in Arizona and South Dakota. "Thanks to a generous donation from Bank of America, we will be able to provide bulk produce deliveries to Native American Elders and families on four reservations that are so devoid of healthy food options," said Joshua Arce,...
Toronto, Ont.—When the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was created in 2006, students who attended federally-run schools were allowed $10,000 for the first year of living at a residential school and $3000 for each year succeeding year. However, those who only attended residential schools during the day, but were able to go home at night, were left out of the settlement. In October 2021, the Federal Court has approved a day scholar settlement that includes individual compensation of $10,000 and a $50 m...
Winnipeg, Man.-In early January, the federal government revealed details of a historic $40-billion agreement-in-principle that aims to compensate First Nations citizens who were children on-reserve and in the Yukon who were removed from their homes between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022. According to Assembly of First Nations Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse, Manitoba has one of the highest percentage of children in care in the country. Statistics from the Manitoba...
Cambridge, Mass.-National Public Radio (NPR), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently released findings from a survey conducted this fall analyzing effects of COVID-19 and it's variants on social groups. The study examined the most serious problems facing households across America in regards to COVID–19 and finances, healthcare, racial/ethnic discrimination, education, caregiving, work, and well-being. Among the findings: ...
Ottawa, Ont.-In late November, The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) elected its first Indigenous president. Members selected Dr. Alika Lafontaine, an anesthesiologist in Grande Prairie, Alberta, as CMA president for 2022-23. He will serve as president-elect until August 2022, when he will become the official CMA president, says a news release from the CMA. Lafontaine is from Treaty 4 Territory in southern Saskatchewan, and is of Cree, Anishinaabe, Metis and Pacific Islander...
RESTON, Va.-In December, the US Board on Geographic Names voted to re-name Colorado's Squaw Mountain that sits between Evergreen and Idaho Springs off Highway 103, also known as Squaw Pass Road. The federal government has already made changes online and is preparing to change maps and road signs to Mestaa'ėhehe Mountain. (Pronounced Mes-ta-heh.) The change comes after filings from the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's objections and hearings in the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory...
Chestermere, Alb.-"Let's Talk About Reconciliation" This was the theme of Indian Life Ministries' first conference in our 42-year history. We wanted to consider reconciliation on a personal level. If reconciliation is vertical (both personal, and between people) and horizontal (between us and God), what is our role? At Indian Life, we believe that reconciliation is not merely a big picture idea. We believe it is a verb. It requires action. Personal action. We sought to answer...
Chickasaw Nation-On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the Muscogee reservation remains part of Indian Country for purposes of criminal jurisdiction. In March, 2021, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals applied that ruling to the Chickasaw Nation. As a result of these rulings, the Chickasaw Nation and federal governments have jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans throughout the whole Chickasaw Nation, and Oklahoma has...
Durant, Okla.-The Second Annual Trail of Tears Virtual Journey kicks off March 21, 2022. This year, the route will take the participants over 512 miles from Mississippi to Oklahoma. The points of interest along the way will be different from last year, with several videos highlighting aspects of the ancestral journey and Choctaw heritage. Participants will have until June 19, 2022 to complete the challenge. The Trail of Tears Virtual Journey started in 2021 when the Choctaw...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Tribal advocates told a Senate panel in January that the federal government's effort to fund expanded broadband infrastructure in Indian Country overlooked a fundamental issue. Many tribes did not have the broadband access needed to apply for the funding that would let them improve broadband access. Information about the first round of grants was available only online, and tribes were encouraged to apply online in a 90-day window during the pandemic. The...
Victoria, B.C.-A new statement from the government of British Columbia announces that by 2027, all of the province will have access to broadband. The federal and British Columbia governments are spending $830 million to provide access to high-speed internet across the province. B.C. is promising that every home and community will have the service by 2027, a promise announced in last month's budget. In a joint statement, Minister of Citizens' Services Lisa Beare and Minister...
PHOENIX-Telehealth has been a widely used resource during the pandemic, but as providers and policymakers consider its future, some continue to weigh the pros and cons of treating certain conditions from a distance-particularly mental illness and substance use. "Patients have tended to be OK with teletherapy, but a lot of therapists feel something is lost relative to in-person therapy," said Dr. John Markowitz, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University and a...
Indian Life Ministries is excited to announce that in the upcoming few months, we get to be a part of two events! Native Youth Conference Over the May long-weekend (May 19–22), at Camp Nakamun Alberta, NYC (Native Youth Conference) is back! With special musical guests, exciting speakers and unique activities, we are thrilled to get to help plan and roll-out events like this that will help us feel young again. Even if at least only for the weekend. If you are a youth (aged 1...
Over 40 years ago, a dream came to fruition. George McPeek, Ray Gowan and Chuck Olson came together with the sole purpose of restoring hope, healing and honor within the indigenous community of North America, through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Intertribal Christian Communications was formed! Under the umbrella of Intertribal Christian Communications sits Indian Life newspaper. The newspaper, this newspaper, is a combination of positive indigenous news, encouraging...
Phoenix, Ariz.-Arizonans are facing water shortages as the Colorado River declines, but Teddy Lopez and many other residents of the Navajo Nation have lived without easy access to clean water for decades. Lopez, 66, has learned that nothing is guaranteed-with water or in life. "I just take it one day at a time and try to work what I can, [and do] what I can do," said Lopez, who in August received news no one wants to hear. "I have cancer, so I just take care of my family, I...
Victoria, B.C.-Health professionals in Canada are joining forces to help people realize that alcohol is one of top causes of preventable cancer. They say that few Canadians know the truth: Any amount of alcohol can cause cancer. "Even drinking one drink a day increases your risk of some cancers-including, if you're a woman, breast cancer-but also cancers of the digestive system, the mouth, stomach," Tim Stockwell, a senior scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance...
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-A new California education law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will allow Native American students to be excused from school so they can participate in cultural ceremonies. Before Assembly Bill 516 was passed, when Native children missed school days to participate in cultural events, the days were not considered excused absence. As a result, at times students were not allowed to make up work or tests they missed. "It's certainly gratifying to see that the work...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act recently passed by Congress will deliver $550 billion in new federal investments across the country in the span of five years for bridges, roads, broadband connections, water, and new energy systems, a step the Navajo and other nations are applauding. "Indian Country will get over $11 billion in new infrastructure projects to begin construction on broadband internet lines, roadways, bridges, and water...
DULUTH, Minn.-During Native American Heritage Month, the government in Minnesota has acknowledged the 12 tribes of the state in a new way. In Northeastern Minnesota, state transportation officials are posting 12 highway signs to mark the boundaries of a treaty signed in 1854 by the U.S. government and three Ojibwe bands: the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Minnesota Department of...
CALGARY, Alb.-Traumas experienced by Indigenous Peoples due to residential schools and colonization can be passed down through generations, even among those now living in a "non-trauma environment," says Métis/Cree traditional knowledge keeper and ceremonialist Kerrie Moore. Moore is an integrative healing therapist and wellness Elder in the Faculty of Social Work and Writing Symbols Lodge at the University of Calgary. This, she says, is called intergenerational trauma. In...
At Indian Life Ministries, we wholly believe in the power of relationship. This is why, now that travel restrictions have opened up, Indian Life has been travelling! We are getting around to meet people and connect, let people know about the ministry, and build relationships. We have travelled to the BC Native Christian Conference in Kamloops, British Columbia, all the way east to Thunder Bay, Ontario for the Native Gospel Jamboree! And this past weekend, we travelled north to...
TORONTO, Ont.-In the summer of 2021, Ontario forest fires burned a record area of land. Nearly 800,000 hectacres of land burned in northwestern Ontario, which surpassed the record set 26 years ago. Besides the destroyed forestry, more than 3,000 people were evacuated, according to Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES). The 793,000 hectares of land that were burned cover a span larger than the Greater Toronto Area and surpassed the 1995 record by...
Washington, D.C.-Christian Native Americans are leading an effort of reconciliation and forgiveness over the U.S. Government's 230-year treatment of native peoples. "The Apology," as the movement is called, doesn't ask for the destruction of monuments or history to be rewritten. They only seek what the name implies . . . an apology. And they're willing to forgive and move on. The Christian movement has gained big allies including former United States Ambassador-at-Large for...
WINNIPEG, Man.-Indian Life Ministries is holding their first "Let's Talk About Reconciliation" conference. "At Indian Life Ministries, we want to take reconciliation from a big picture idea to a personal one," explain the directors, Todd and Krystal Wawryniak. "We want to help people answer the questions: 'What part do I play in reconciliation?' and 'What can I do?'" The event will be held at Camp Chestermere, west of Calgary, Alberta, on December 10–11, 2021. The c...
BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C.—The Department of Canadian Heritage has recently invested $6.86 million in First Nations language programs through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC). That brings the total investment from the federal government to $14.6 million this year. The funding from the federal government makes up for provincial funding that was not renewed. Starting in 2018, the B.C. government set aside $50 million to spend on language revitalizaiton projects. However, when funding was reviewed in 2021, the line item was...
