Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 310
OPENS ONE’S MIND I truly do appreciate getting the Indian Life. It really opens a person’s mind to the Native American, their culture and ways of life. —D.M., Ontario REACHING PEOPLE This is J.T. from Death Row in Ohio. I just wanted to take a minute and write and thank you guys for sending me the paper and for keeping everyone in prison in your prayers and tell you how I love to get the paper and always pass it around to the other guys as even the non-Native Americans enjoy it too. So you see you are reaching people you d...
It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Time is marching on. But with it, also comes increased violence and less compassion and care for one another. The past year 2014 was especially brutal and painful for millions of people around the world. Just think of these events or circumstances: • The mysterious disappearance of Malaysian Airlines jetliner with 227 on board. It could have been an act of violence. Conspiracy theories abound. Another Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down by Russian-supported fig...
RELIGION VERSUS JESUS A fellow inmate recently showed me his latest edition of the Indian Life newspaper. I was truly blessed. The stories and pictures are great! I am currently in the final stretch of a 97-month sentence for possession of child pornography. My incarceration made me realize I had been practicing religion without having a personal relationship with Jesus. That has changed now. When I read Luke Gilkerson’s “Husbands Who Watched Porn,” it touched me deeply. I was also impressed with how his “12 ways to reassur...
Even before the first snow falls, Christmas begins to make its appearance in our shopping malls, on our streets, and even in our homes. For those who live in cities and towns where winter weather is present for five months or more, beginning in October, images and lights of Santa, angels, and the birth of the Christ Child begin to appear in homes in early October after Canadian Thanksgiving. Christmas in our dominant society is not always a happy, peaceful time. It has become more about getting presents for our family and...
I could see he was sad, almost depressed. He wore it heavy on his eyes. Even his walk indicated that not all was well. I didn't know much about who Max was. Although I would see him almost daily, I had never really had a real conversation with him. However, I did know two important facts about Max: he was a believer in Christ, and he wasn't much of a talker. So it was a surprise to me when he walked up to me and tried to sell me a greeting card. "I didn't know you draw!" I sai...
DAMASCUS ROAD Yes, healing does take time Mr. Uttley. Especially with what you went through. I can relate very very well. But you did a lot better than me, as for coping with those memories. Myself, light was turned to darkness. I treated those I loved with great disrespect. Doing what was done to me and using alcohol as a bandage. Now I am in prison. It took our Creator to show me the way out of that lifestyle. I feel alive for the first time. Each day is appreciated, because I wasted living my life for the flesh. Amazing...
Thirty-five years—about half a person’s life. It’s hard to believe how time seems to slip by and all we have experienced in that amount of time. With this issue, Indian Life Ministries is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this fall. However, it is actually the 46th Anniversary of the birth of Indian Life newspaper. Our history began as a challenge and a dream. A South Dakota dairy farmer was challenged by a conference speaker in British Columbia to start a publication for the thousands of Native Americans living in and aroun...
CHERISHED MEMORY I wish to convey a sincere “Thank You” to all the staff there…Your publication has helped renew hope to a lost soul, although I do not practice Christianity, I do follow Judaism. I am the son of a Creek Indian father and a Cherokee/Irish mother. Born and raised in Oklahoma. Since leaving my homeland, I have strayed from my Native roots. Of course, I’ll always be “Stajodi” at heart or Indian as my “race” is listed here. I don’t attend the American Indian Religious service here because the circle is many ti...
Everything in our world is changing, including the most popular month for weddings. For centuries, June was considered the “wedding month” because June is named after the Roman goddess Juno and getting married in June meant special blessings. But that has changed. In the United States, August is now the most popular month followed by June, July, and then December. My family is excited about my son’s wedding on August 8 and happy for my niece’s wedding on July 11. But listening to the news, watching TV shows or certain...
"Look Mike," I said in my semi-serious voice, "the question should be 'What if Prince Charming had given up on Snow White – after all, she was in a deep dead-like sleep – and just simply moved on to the next available Princess?'" Mike's look was priceless. I think he even pinched himself to make sure he wasn't sleeping. "What?" he finally said. "What? What, what?" I answered, smiling of course. "What are you talking about?" "God's love. The topic we've been speaking about for...
Hello. I just have to say that I was very touched by an article I read in your paper by Naomi Knoles. I can relate to what she went threw because I have gone through the same thing. I am 29 years old serving a 40-year sentence for child neglect and battery. There’s not a day that I wish I could turn back the hands of time to go back and save myself and my daughter. You just don’t know how relieved I was to actually find a true story that I could relate to even though the circumstances are very different. I was 25 when my cri...
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) established by the Canadian government has completed its mandate with the last of seven national gatherings in Edmonton, Alberta. Now the commission has the task of organizing over 8,000 interviews and writing their report which will reveal through testimony, research, and relevant documents, the history of Canada’s Residential Schools. The commission has reached a historic milestone and Canadians ought to eagerly await the results of their work. Over the last couple of years, a...
Most everyone who lives within winter's grasp will agree. This has been a long, cold winter. For those who live where snow lies on the ground for more than four months, it's been a lonely winter. In the upper Midwest and north of the 48th parallel, neighbors aren't seen for weeks at a time. Few want to venture out into the -30 or lower temperatures unless it is absolutely necessary. Winter for many often means feeling alone and isolated. Do you feel abandoned? Perhaps if not now, there may have been times in your life when...
IMPRESSED I am a Cherokee. My tribe is the North Eastern Arkansas and East Missouri Tribe. I have been incarcerated for four years now. A friend gave me a copy of Indian Life newspaper. I was really impressed with your paper. I have been a saved man for about five years. That’s why I really like the Indian Life paper. It is very good to read about other tribes and hear about what’s going on in the Free World. I don’t get much mail. I could use a pen pal if you happen to know anyone who might write a lonely Christian man. I am...
Commissioned by the Indian Métis Christian Fellowship, Regina, Saskatchewan© 2008 I.M.C.F. Used with permission....
By the way, how was your New Year's Celebration? Now that the celebrations are over and we've returned to a regular routine of living how do you feel about your life and the shape our world is in? At the conclusion of one year and beginning of the next, it's good to reflect back on where we were and where we're heading. For many, a New Year is nothing more than changing calendars. But it's also a good time to evaluate life's situations and what we need to change. Think of it...
"Brother Adrian! Brother Adrian!" Chavo was flagging me down and calling me from about half the prison yard away. I was headed back to work, but I decided to meet him halfway. Chavo is a new believer who has been in prison for over 20 years. He has never had any outside financial support from anyone. So the little he does have is well taken care of. It is clear and obvious that he is grateful for everything he has. Last week one of the other leaders blessed Chavo with a simple...
HATE MELTED AWAY I read the book called Thunder in Our Hearts, Lightning in Our Veins by Crying Wind. I took my time reading that book and it took me 6 days to read other than normally a book of 138 pages would take me a few hours to read. I followed the recommendation of Mr. Phil Callaway and the stories have truly turned my ways of seeing God and killed all my hatred for Him and everything He stands for. I don’t know why or how completely why this book and its stories got me to pray the prayer in the back of the book yet it...
Dream Guidance Bitter Tears had returned home to be with her family and to He Gives Sons, the man she was promised to in marriage. Before they came together he discovered that she was with child. Because he was a man of honor and did not want to disgrace her, he thought about secretly releasing her from the marriage promise. As he wondered about these things, a messenger from the Great Spirit appeared to him in a dream, and said, "He Gives Sons, son of Much Loved One, do not...
Country singer Toby Keith's song "God Love Her" and the video should be required material for all followers of Jesus. The video portrays a romance between a preacher's daughter and a motorcycle-riding "bad boy" universally feared by all good "fundamentalist" Christian parents. After receiving heated disapproval from her father, the girl decides to run away with the boy. The video starts with a white cross, and then moves to a wooden church in a country setting. Organ music...
SOLITARY I am writing you to ask if I might please start receiving your Indian Life newspaper. I know you charge for your wonderful newspaper but I am indigent and have no funds to give you. I do write poetry and also articles from time to time. I live in “Solitary Confinement” prison…I’ve been locked up “almost” 19 flat years and hope and pray to be home in about a year or so from now. I was wondering if I could be put on your mailing list for Indian Life and would be very happy to be receiving it and even share it with oth...
Each year at this time, we hear messages about hope, love, and peace. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, there are faint signs of brotherhood and “peace on earth.” This year, if there’s anything that’s pretty obvious, it’s the fact that love, peace, and hope, are in very short supply. Just take a look at the world around us. In the U.S., there has been so much bickering and discord that the federal government was forced to shut down because Congress and the White House could not come to a resolution on the budg...
Summer time is a time for adventure. Vacations, trips, visiting family, and reading. Some of our best times of reading are when we are on holidays. I discovered this to be true when my family and I spent a few days in the Cypress Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan in August. The Cypress Hills are sacred to North America’s Indigenous Peoples. Sacred because it was on this ground that innocent blood was shed in what has become known as the “Cypress Hills Massacre.” So what better way to spend several hours than to read some Nat...
I’m not a prophet. Or the son of one. But once I allowed someone to think I was. Well, allow me to explain... Ad-seg (the Hole), by law, must give each inmate the opportunity to go outside for exercise. However, in order to do this and yet keep security in place, the yard is no more than a basketball court-sized concrete slab, with 20 zoo-like cages. Four rows of five cages form the solution to the legal requirement. The staff calls them dog runs. Each cage is perfectly s...
If you are a follower of Jesus and have been following recent news and trends in North America, you have probably found a number of issues and events that have caused concern. Here are just three that have come to my attention during the last few weeks. It’s been five years since Canada’s formal Apology to First Nations People. This was a very moving and historic event and one which brought many people to tears. Yet something happened and almost went unnoticed following the...
