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Last month, I read a lot of news stories about the Canadian government's most recent attempts to somehow bring justice and comfort to those who suffered in residential schools. And my heart cried. I also read stories on the anniversary of Standing Rock. I read once again the recap of the rubber bullets and hypothermia suffered by those who were sprayed with cold water in the freezing weather. And to add insult to injury, I read the investigative report of how people gave $1.4...
I saw the moving van parked in front of the house across the street and knew it wasn’t a good sign. Molly had lived in that house 50 years until she became ill and her family placed her in a nursing home. The moving van meant she wasn’t coming home. I walked across the street to talk to her son, Fred. We’d only met a couple of times, but he’d seemed like a nice person. I asked him how Molly was doing, and I already dreaded the answer. “Mom doesn’t have much time left,” he said...
Mediator between the U.S. military and the Apache Information about her is sketchy-including her date of birth and the specifics of her death-but Dahteste (ta-DOT-say) was a member of the Chiricahua Apache band. Dahteste fought with the warrior Geronimo when the Apaches warred against Mexico for having murdered Geronimo's family. She also fought against the United States for its encroachment and colonization of Apache ancestral lands. Dahteste was reputed to have been quite...
In March, I took a little drive to have a refreshing break. On a ten-hour trip, my truck began to act up. I kept losing power! It was quite concerning, and left me feeling helpless because I had no idea what was wrong! The only thing I knew to do was to pull over, stop the truck and wait a bit. Then I started it again and continued my trip. Thankfully, I reached my destination safely and was able to take the truck to a mechanic for help. As I reflect on the whole situation, I...
My emotions were in a tangle. I wasn't mad or agitated; but I was sad and happy at the same time. Waiting in Ad Seg (the Hole) to be transferred is nerve-wracking. An inmate in the Hole can wait up to five months-or more, in some special cases-to be put on a bus. Every day, we listen for our names to be announced from the weekly transfer list. Ears perk up and the air goes still as we all try to hear the officer making the announcement. We hear whoops of happiness and cheers...
I love strawberries, both wild and cultivated. Wild ones are small but contain more flavor than those big, beautiful ones in the market. Fragaria chiloensis is a coastal strawberry that grows from California north to Alaska. The most common meadow berry east of the Mississippi is fragaria virginiana. In the 20th century, this variety and other wild native berries were pushed out of the commercial market and replaced with oversized, tasteless, modern hybrids. There are over...
VANCOUVER, Wash.-The national not-for-profit Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) has awarded eight accomplished artists representing six states as the 2018 NACF Mentor Artist Fellows in Contemporary Visual Arts and Traditional Arts. This fellowship recognizes established American Indian and Alaska Native artists of ten years or more who wish to mentor an American Indian or Alaska Native emerging artist apprentice for one year, strengthening the artistic skill and...
EAGLE BUTTE, S.D.-The Cheyenne River Youth Project officially launched its Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Performing Art Series in April and will host regularly scheduled events through the end of May. The family-friendly series, made possible with funding from NEA Art Works, will incorporate popular films, live performances, a youth wacipi and a handgame tournament in the nonprofit youth organization's public Waniyetu Wowapi Art Park, as well as Midnight Basketball in the...
EAGLE BUTTE, S.D.-Earlier this month, five Lakota teens who are participating in the Cheyenne River Youth Project's "Growing Into Wowachinyepi" program traveled to Washington, D.C. to learn to articulate and pitch their individual platforms and learn more about becoming leaders and culture-bearers for the Lakota nation. The Growing Into Wowachinyepi initiative was designed to honor the Cheyenne River community's youth leaders in a culturally relevant and respectful way, while...
The first few years of Conrad's life took place in the northern Manitoba Cree community of Garden Hill, along with his three brothers and sister. His father was a hunter and trapper, out in the bush weeks at a time. When Conrad was about eight, his father turned ill, necessitating a move for the family to Winnipeg. Up North Conrad had always gone to church with his mom. "But they didn't really teach us about salvation there," he says. At age 18 a motorbike accident helped...
TAMA, Iowa-The Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, also known as the Meskwaki Nation, and Meskwaki Food Sovereignty Initiative (MFSI) will host the 2018 Great Lakes Intertribal Food Summit in partnership with Intertribal Agricultural Council (IAC) and Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA). The event occurs on May 9–13 in Tama, Iowa, and will feature a concurrent Youth Summit. The Great Lakes Intertribal Food Summit is a regional, travelling summit. Past h...
INDIANAPOLIS-A new exhibition at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis showcases the work of some of the most admired Native American basketmakers. Mel and Joan Perelman recently gifted to the museum their collection of 147 baskets, cradles and bags spanning much of North America, with a focus on the Southwest and far west regions. A selection is featured in a special exhibit, Interwoven: Native American Basketry from the Mel and Joan Perelman Collection, that will continue...
Pawhuska, Okla.-In May, the Osage Nation Museum (ONM) will celebrate its 80th anniversary. Taking its place as America's first tribal museum, the museum is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting Osage art, history, and culture on the Osage campus in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. The celebration May 2 will also be the unveiling of the new exhibit: Wedding Clothes and the Osage Community: A Giving Heritage which will run through December 1st, 2018. This exhibition will examine Osage...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Cherokee Nation citizen Brian Barlow is using his last term on the National Congress of American Indians Youth Commission to share his story and encourage other Native youth to get involved. "I was so honored and humbled to have been elected to this position by my fellow Native youth and am so thankful for the support of my family, community and tribe," said Barlow, of Tahlequah. "There are countless Native youth out there making a difference in their...
OKLAHOMA CITY-The Chickasaw Nation recently earned nine awards at the 52nd Annual Oklahoma American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) ceremony. Three golds, three silvers and three bronze medals were awarded to the Chickasaw Nation in head-to-head competition with premiere advertising, marketing and publication agencies statewide. The Chickasaw Nation won gold "ADDYs"-first place-for the 2018 Chickasaw Press Catalog and for magazine design for the fall 2017 edition of "Chokma"...
CLAREMORE, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation and Rogers State University are teaming up to connect more Cherokee Nation citizens to the Cherokee language through a new, online learning platform. RSU Public TV's continuing education and enrichment program, RSU Works, is linking students to the tribe's online language courses taught by instructor Ed Fields. This is the first time registration for the Cherokee Nation's free classes is available both through the tribe's website www.cherokee.org and through www.RSUworks.org. "This is...
SASKATOON-Karla Jessen Williamson has been named as Canada's first tenured Inuk professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and one of the few Inuit professors internationally. Originally Jessen Williamson was a kalaaleq, an Inuk from Greenland. She received her primary education in Greenland, and attained her high school education in Denmark. Jessen Williamson experienced the issues of racism and colonization first when she was young, and the Danish government moved her...
QUEBEC-On April 20, 2018 the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB) launched a smartphone app of medical terms in East Cree dialects of Southern Inland, Southern Coastal and Northern, available for download on the iOS App Store and Google Play. The Cree Medical App is a free tool designed to improve the cultural safety of Cree patients, especially those undergoing cancer care. It is a glossary and translation dictionary intended to give a fun and...
OTTAWA-The Government of Canada is making historic investments to improve housing in First Nation communities to reduce overcrowding and better safeguard the health and safety of residents. The Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, congratulated two Ontario First Nations on the completion of their housing projects with funding from Budget 2016. Indigenous Services Canada provided $1,151,600 to Grassy Narrows First Nation for lot servicing and construction...
PHOENIX-Congress has passed legislation that brings the Amber Alert system for abducted or missing children to Native American reservations, a move to prevent deaths like those of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike. Ashlynne's parents and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., advocated for the Ashlynne Mike Amber Alert in Indian Country Act to close a loophole in the system's funding that left tribes ineligible for support, he said at a news conference at the state capitol. The measure awaits...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-A five-year-old law that let Native American tribes prosecute non-Natives in domestic violence cases "has fundamentally changed the landscape of tribal criminal jurisdiction in the modern era," according to a new report. The study released last week by the National Congress of American Indians said 18 tribes took part in a pilot program, including the Pascua Yaqui of Arizona. Of those tribes, 10 made a total of 143 arrests that led to 74 convictions of...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-On April 16, the Senate failed to come up with the necessary votes to proceed with a full vote on the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, an amendment to the National Labor Relations Act that would include tribes in the same exempt category as all other government employers in the United States. The Senate voted 55-41 in favor of moving forward with the legislation, but this tally fell short of the 60 votes needed. "Obviously, this is disappointing," said Jefferson...
Did you ever get an invite to something that-well, you just knew you had to get there? Whatever it took! You cancelled that Hawaiian holiday, postponed that summit with Justin and Donald, packed that motorhome and you got there! The Indian Life Banquet coming up on May 25 in Winnipeg, Man. is just that kind of invite! The Speaker you'll recognize-Conrad Flett from Tribal Trails! The Musicians you'll love-a dad and son Team with roots in the old SonRise Band and ongoing with...
TULSA, Okla.-Teachers of Native American students were among those frustrated and disappointed by the results of the recent teacher walk-out in Oklahoma to demand better pay and increased education funding. While teachers, parents and administrators had hoped for state lawmakers to pass bills providing $3.3 billion, the bills generated a $479 million increase. Factoring for inflation, since 2008, Oklahoma has decreased the per pupil funding by 28 percent and teacher salaries...
Winnipeg-In April, Indian Life newspaper received the Award of Merit in the Evangelical Press Association's annual Awards of Excellence contest. The contest had more than 1,200 entries overall, in a couple of dozen categories. The judge said, "From its logo to its editorial mix, this publication delivers a bold, appealing, crisp look and read that speaks directly to its audience's interests and concerns."...
