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WINNIPEG-The directors and editorial team at Indian Life Ministries are pleased to announce the impending return of the popular column, "The Council Speaks," beginning with the January/February 2019 issue of Indian Life newspaper. This column answers questions you have or maybe you're afraid to ask. For example, what about Native spirituality and Christianity? Is it OK to wear Native regalia? Is Creator and the Christian God the same? A panel of Native believers and elders...
As I start this column I am on day number 12 of 16 of a mission trip to Fort Simpson and Hay River and Fort Resolution in the North West Territories. I came with a contact from Gideons International and my wife, Angeline. We didn't have enough resources to bring our kids, so we are missing them. Our children are dwelling at home with their big sister, and we are dwelling with the Indigenous people in what ever way we can. We have put on services with singing and teaching from...
"Life isn't fair!" Tayanita, Young Beaver complained. "I work all day gnawing down trees and building dams while the other animals in the forest do nothing but eat and sleep. How I wish I had nothing to do but nibble on tender twigs and sleep in the warm sun." Young Beaver was convinced no one in the forest worked as hard as he did. From sun up to sun down and sometimes after dark, he gnawed down small trees and dragged them into the stream. He weaved them together, using his...
Known as one of the Five Moons, celebrated ballerina Marjorie Louise Tallchief (Osage descent) was the younger sister of acclaimed ballerina, Maria Tallchief. Marjorie was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Fairfax, Oklahoma, along with her siblings, including her brother, Gerald. The family moved to Los Angeles to further the girls' ballet training. There, Marjorie studied under Ernest Belcher, teacher and dance director, whose school of dance in 1942 was considered the...
"Stand on the red-painted feet," the officer ordered. "Don't smile. This is not Sears Portrait Studio." With my feet now on the red feet, I stood in front of a massive glass wall looking at a funny camera peeking through its side. It was still early. An already-stressed-out officer came to my cell door. "Torres, get your jumpsuit on. We are going to take you to get your picture taken." I quickly put on my shirt, socks, jumpsuit, and shoes. With a quick splash of water, I ran...
Finally! It looked like we were really going on vacation. My husband had finished his doctor appointments and felt fine for our first vacation since his cancer diagnosis. My son and I had taken time off work. My daughter had arranged to register for high school when she returned. So we gathered our clothes to leave the next morning. Then I got the message from Janie’s sister. Janie and I became friends during our Bible college days right after high school. Through the following decades, sometimes we saw each other more, a...
Lately I have been asking people, "What is the most memorable picnic you have ever had?" Most people remember where and when right away and what they ate. Others just sputter, "Don't know." I don't remember all of them I've enjoyed, but I usually remember whom I was with and what we had to eat. The first memory was with a boy who had red hair. We went to a local park overlooking the water, and we ate leaning on the handlebars of our bikes-we enjoyed peanut butter and jelly...
Three men I deeply admire-the late Dr. Duane King, Dr. Neil Morton and Dr. Bob Blackburn -collaborated to write an engaging new history book called, Cherokee Nation: A History of Survival, Self Determination and Identity. It is the first book of its kind to have the full support of the Cherokee Nation and the first historic narrative of the tribe that we have self-published. Cherokees persevere because our values and traditions are deeply rooted in us. They have enabled us to...
PHOENIX-As Samantha Quigley tears down another rebound, she sees more than a basketball. In her hands is something beyond an object that she can dribble around defenders and put through a hoop with ease. It's a ticket to a better life. "Basketball is, like, the only key to go a long way if you're a native," said Quigley, the starting forward for the Navajo Nation Elite. "Basketball taught me a lot and it can help me get off the reservation." She's one of the hundreds of...
I was speaking at a summer camp for aboriginal teens. The rule with teens is that if you get one of them by himself or herself he or she has many, many functioning brain cells. Put two teens together and the number of functioning brain cells is immediately halved. But these were great kids with great potential. Life is challenging for them, though. Drug and alcohol abuse is common. A father in their lives is not. Many have considered suicide. One told me, "Things are dark...
Arnold: We come here every fall around this time-end of September, beginning of October-to harvest fish and moose meat, most of which we bring back to Garden Hill to share. We also come here to reflect on God's creation, and it is also a time of prayer. We came to know Jesus Christ about 35 years ago. Before that we were living a life of sin. Things were not working out right for our family, and for our marriage, but God intervened. We didn't have anything to do with the...
PHOENIX-Thirty miles south of Phoenix, Arizona, green fields of alfalfa and pima cotton stretch toward the sun producing triple-digit heat. Hundreds of yellow butterflies dance above the purple flowers that dapple the tops of the young alfalfa stalks-to expert eyes, the flowers signal that the plants are heat-stressed and should be harvested soon. Gila River Farms near Sacaton-which is named after the Pima people who inhabited the Gila and Salt River valleys-has been growing...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-President Russell Begaye, current Navajo Nation president will not be on the November 6 ballot for the next Navajo Nation presidential election. According to Navajo tribal election officials, more than 93,000 citizens registered to vote in the August 28 primary election. Of the 18 candidates vying for the presidential position, current Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez secured the most votes at 14,105, with former Navajo Nation president Joe...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-The Office of the President and Vice President (OPVP) on Friday welcomed 21 inductees into the Navajo Nation Hall of Fame. The inductees, nominated from among the youth and elder populations across the Navajo Nation, were recognized during a ceremony at the Navajo Nation Museum. The ceremony marked the second round of inductees since the Navajo Nation Women's Commission launched the program last year. "Congratulations to all who were selected for the Hall...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-More than 10 years after it was first approved, a federal loan program for tribal energy development projects will accept its first applications in September. The Department of Energy in July said it was accepting applications for projects under the $2 billion Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program, which will provide "partial loan guarantees to leverage private sector lending" for a range of energy projects by tribes. "It's a good start," said Pilar Thomas, a...
VICTORIA, B.C.—A new law program at the University of Victoria is the world’s first to combine the intensive study of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous law, enabling people to work fluently across the two realms. Students will graduate with two professional degrees, one in Canadian Common Law (Juris Doctor or JD) and one in Indigenous Legal Orders (Juris Indigenarum Doctor or JID). Their education will benefit areas such as environmental protection, Indigenous governance, economic development, housing, child protection and...
LONGMONT, Colo.- First Nations Development Institute and Echo Hawk Consulting recently released groundbreaking research about attitudes toward and perceptions of Native Americans as part of a jointly-managed effort called "Reclaiming Native Truth: A Project to Dispel America's Myths and Misconceptions." "Some incredible findings were unearthed through this research-many of which had long been experienced and assumed but not proven," said Michael E. Roberts (Tlingit),...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation, working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the first tribal nation to designate an area of land to protect an endangered species of beetle. Principal Chief Bill John Baker signed an executive order designating a portion of the tribe's 800-acre park on Sallisaw Creek in Sequoyah County as an American Burying Beetle Conservation and Mitigation Area for the next 10 years. "Cherokees have long understood that we must protect our...
PETERBOROUGH, Ont.-Ours is really an incredible story but there is so much more to that is yet to be written," said Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) President Margaret Froh at the MNO Annual General Assembly in Peterborough. President Froh made her remarks during her State of the Nation Address where she reflected on progress towards self-government made both recently and over the MNO's 25-year history. Over 400 MNO citizens, guests and partner representatives from across...
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, today recognized the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) as one of seven finalists in this year's Innovations in American Government Awards competition. ANSEP will compete for a $50,000 grand prize this fall in Cambridge. ANSEP was selected by the Innovations Award evaluators based on its novelty, effectiveness,...
TORONTO, Ont.-A large delegation from the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) participated in an Indigenous languages engagement session in Toronto this summer. The information gathered during the session will inform the National First Nations, Inuit and Métis Languages legislation that will reflect the geographical, political, legislative and cultural context that impacts language preservation, promotion and revitalization. The session was one of 30 hosted by the department of C...
WINNIPEG-Starting in August, 174 billboards across Canada took on a new look, highlighting the work of 50 Indigenous women. The Resilience project runs from coast to coast. Images by 50 First Nations, Inuit and Métis women will serve as a highly visible celebration of Indigenous women and make the Indigenous culture more visible. A goal of the project is to give the non-native public, which still lives in much ignorance about the first inhabitants of Canada, a positive...
SASKATOON, Sask.- Governing Member Presidents from the Métis National Council, including the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), signed the Canada-Métis Nation Housing Sub-Accord with the federal government at the General Assembly of the Métis National Council. MNO President Margaret Froh and Dr. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, were among those who signed the Housing Sub-Accord in Saskatoon, Sask. This is the second Sub-Accord under the Canada-Métis Nati...
Vancouver-The 2018 Assembly of First Nations Annual General Assembly was held on July 24 to July 26 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. A highlight on the agenda was the election of a National Chief. A total of 522 chiefs attended the Assembly, along with their proxies, to vote for a National Chief. It took a second ballot to declare incumbent, Perry Bellegarde as winner of this year's election. Five candidates ran for national chief, including Kathryn Whitecloud, Russ Diabo,...
