Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 185
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...
BUSBY, Alb.-On May 18-21, 2023, 187 youth gathered at Camp Nakamun in Alberta, Canada, for the Native Youth Conference (NYC). The students came from 17 communities and four provinces. Students were joined by 40 chaperones of varying ages. "The mission at Indian Life Ministries is to restore hope, healing, and honor within Indigenous communities across North America through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ," said Todd Wawrzyniak, director of Indian Life Ministries. "Being...
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court recently upheld a federal law that requires tribal families to get priority in the adoption or foster placement of an Indigenous child, a law aimed at stopping what one justice called the "nightmare" of family separation. Advocates have called the Indian Child Welfare Act the gold standard of child welfare laws, but it was challenged by three families and the state of Texas, which claimed the law steps on state's rights and unlawfully uses race to...
WATERLOO, Ont.-The University of Waterloo in Ontario will become the first Canadian university to waive tuition starting this fall for students who are members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation or Six Nations of the Grand River. In a press release, the university announced, "Indigenous students who are members of these bands (on whose traditional territory the University of Waterloo is situated) and who are pursuing studies in a graduate or undergraduate program a...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Two days before his coronation, King Charles III met with Canadian Indigenous leaders for a conversation that many people hope will bring a new chapter in the relationship between the Crown and Canada's Indigenous people. While King Charles previously met with Canadian Indigenous leaders during a May 2022 visit to Canada, this was the first time a British monarch met with First Nations, Inuit and Métis representatives together. The meeting at Buckingham Palace was...
WASHINGTON-Supreme Court justices pressed government attorneys in March on their argument that the treaties that put the Navajo on reservation lands implied an intent-but not a duty-for the government to provide water to the tribe. "Could I bring a good breach-of-contract claim for someone who promised me a permanent home, the right to conduct agriculture and raise animals, if it turns out it's the Sahara Desert?" Justice Neil Gorsuch asked Frederick Liu, the assistant to the...
CHESTERMERE, Alb.-A Saskatchewan First Nations woman has won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for best audio journalism. Journalist Connie Walker, who is from Okanese First Nation, won the award for her Gimlet Media podcast: Stolen: Surviving St. Michael's. The concept began when Walker learned a surprising story about her late father. She discovered that while performing a routine traffic stop as a RMCP officer (Mountie), her dad recognized the driver as the priest from St. Michael's...
RED DEER, Alb.-On January 27–29, 2023, Indian Life Ministries, Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Family Life Canada joined forces to sponsor the third Indigenous Couples' Getaway in western Canada. Eighteen couples attended this premier event held in Red Deer, Alberta, joined by three speaker couples-Kirby and Bernadette James, Conrad and Florence Flett, and Gord and Bev Mills-as well as musicians Kene and Milly Jackson, and several volunteers. The conference was b...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-The Super Bowl LVII held in Glendale, Ariz. in February offered unprecedented opportunities for showcasing Native Americans this year. In the days before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles even started, Indigenous artist Lucinda "La Morena" Hinojos was the first Native artist to be selected by the NFL to create the official artwork, which was featured on each of the 60,000 game tickes, as well as on the game ball and around the...
CHESTERMERE, Alb.—On December 16–18, Indian Life Ministries hosted the Gift of Reconciliation conference at Camp Chestermere, Alb. Featured speaker Mario Swampy talked about reconciliation being a gift from the Lord for all of His children. He asked participants to reflect upon how they are modeling reconciliation, and to have difficult conversations with people as the Lord leads. Swampy also talked about sinful people being reconciled to a Holy God. During the weekend, Swampy led some times for participants to hold discussio...
CHESTERMERE, Alb.-On December 16–18, Indian Life Ministries hosted the Gift of Reconciliation conference at Camp Chestermere, Alb. Featured speaker Mario Swampy talked about reconciliation being a gift from the Lord for all of His children. He asked participants to reflect upon how they are modeling reconciliation, and to have difficult conversations with people as the Lord leads. Swampy also talked about sinful people being reconciled to a Holy God. During the weekend, S...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-For the first time in a half-dozen years, leaders of federally recognized tribes from across the United States gathered in Washington for The White House Tribal Nations Summit November 30-December 1, 2022. The summit was designed to bring together tribal leaders with administration officials, Cabinet secretaries and the president. Held at the Interior Department, it included panelists discussing topics such as mental health and health equity, economic...
CHESTERMERE, Alb.-Searches at two more residential school sites in Canada have revealed more disturbing findings regarding the burial of children. The Wauzhushk Onigum Nation has announced that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has detected more than 170 anomalies during a search for unmarked graves at the site of the former St. Mary's Indian Residential School in Kenora, Ont. The school was in operation from 1897 to 1972, and survivors of the school helped identify areas that...
WINNIPEG, Man.-In December, Indian Life Ministries hosted an annual banquet for 130 constituents and friends of the ministry. The banquet was themed, "But God Gave the Growth" and featured ministry from Steven and Noemi Keesic, who have served with the Adult and Teen Challenge program, Grand Chief Anishininenew Okimawin, Rising Above Band, and NEFC Representatives Kene and Milly Jackson. "The 2022 ILM banquet celebrated the goodness of God and his faithfulness to this...
Chestermere, Man.—Back by popular demand, Indian Life Ministries will host “The Gift of Reconciliarion” on December 16–18 at Camp Chestermere, west of Calgary, Alb. Beginning on Friday evening and ending on Sunday afternoon, the conference will help participants look at reconciliation on a personal level, evaluate their relationships with God and others, and answer the question “What does reconciliation mean for me?” The conference will feature teaching by Mario Swampy, who has served as Pastor for the Louis Bull All Nations...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-More than two years after its opening, the Native American Veteran's Memorial in the nation's capital was finally dedicated in mid November, in a ceremony lasting more than three hours. Tribal leaders and citizens and veterans from across the country marched down the National Mall on Veterans Day to a stage at the foot of the U.S. Capitol Building. Rex Hailey, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and a Gulf War veteran, drove halfway across the country...
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, 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...
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...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-On May 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released its historic Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report, which serves as a formal investigation into federal Indian boarding school policy. The report identified 408 federally-run Indian boarding schools and discovered more than 500 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) or Native Hawaiian child deaths at these institutions. These initial findings are considered...
RAPID CITY, N.D.-Native American Christian leaders came together in South Dakota with a powerful focus on sharing Jesus with Indigenous people who've faced generational hardships. The gathering is ahead of the Native Peoples Tour with Will Graham this summer. They came from Texas and Saskatchewan, South Carolina and Wyoming, Alberta and Kentucky. They carried the names of their tribes with honor: Lumbee, Chippewa, Navajo, Apache, Sioux, Hopi and more. Altogether, more than...
BUSBY, Alb.-On May 19-22, 2022, more than 150 youth gathered at Camp Nakamun in Alberta, Canada for the Native Youth Conference (NYC). The students came from eleven communities between British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskachewan. "We didn't even know if kids were gonna show up," said Chris Steinhauer, one of 11 NYC committee members from 4 communities and the Native churches, who helped plan the event. "And then to see over 150 kids show up blows my mind. Especially after...
EDMONTON, Alb.—Even though prices are skyrocketing on the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, Indigenous groups are still lining up, hoping to purchase the pipeline. The 1,150-km Trans Mountain pipeline carries 300,000 barrels of oil per day, and is Canada's only pipeline system transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast. The expansion will raise daily output to around 890,000 barels, which will expand Canada's crude oil production and expand t...
