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Kansas City, Mo.-In the November 6 USA mid-term elections, the first Native American women were elected to Congress. Deb Haaland was voted to replace Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who vacated the New Mexico seat to run for governor, and Sharice Davids unseated Kansas GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder. Davids is reported to be a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, and Haaland is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna. Haaland served for two years as the chair of the...
My older brothers had a favorite Christmas tradition. They used to save up the cardboard tubes from rolls of wrapping paper and whap me with them Christmas Eve until my mother made them stop. Through the years, our Christmas traditions became less violent. They involved sleeping under the Christmas tree, watching Star Wars, making Norwegian lefsa and cramming our house with relatives on Christmas Eve to eat too much and retell stories of Christmas past. Around the world,...
I was in a junk store a few years ago, it's one of my favorite places to shop. I like used books, and sometimes I find an odd cup or old plate that catches my fancy. Everything in the store has been donated or thrown away by someone who no longer wanted it. I saw a small antique doll that had a rough life. The doll's dress was faded and torn and it was missing a leg. It was only a quarter and I felt sorry for it and decided to buy it, when I got to the checkout stand the clerk...
When we think about Native American fashion design, traditional aesthetics usually come to mind-intricate beading, fringe and feathers, silver and turquoise-elements that have deviated little over time. Taos Pueblo heritage designer and style-maker Patricia Michaels, however, has taken her edgy, sophisticated one-of-a-kind fashions into the mainstream. In spring 2012, the native of Taos, New Mexico gained national acknowledgment for her designs when she appeared on the...
Today I write this to offer my apologies for all the pain my people instilled upon yours (Native North Americans). Ninety percent of my friends are Native, as is my fiancé, and at this time I would like to offer my heart, my soul and my mind to the Creator and ask for forgiveness and a state of welcome by anyone who chooses to read this. This world, this land and all its creatures offer more than I could ever ask for and every time I learn more about what is done to you by...
I watched this year as the summer season morphed to fall. It happened quite abruptly as the September snow fell on the green leaves and grass of an ecosystem that wasn't quite ready for it! It looked like a battle between the trees trying desperately to stay alive and green, but the cold, white snow having none of that argument. Every party involved or watching knew who the ultimate winner would be. Hey, welcome to winter for a few months (before spring makes a comeback)!...
Dear Friends Nidobak, Seasons are changing again, they keep doing that! I have to say that fall is my favorite. Spring gives us the pink, yellow, white and purple lovely flowers, but fall's blaze is red, orange, deeper yellows and is more intense than spring. Such variety that I don't know how nature keeps it straight! The colorful produce starts with corn in many colors, we have red tomatoes, squash in all shades of yellow and orange, greens and even purples. Growing seasons...
BOSTON, Mass-The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), has announced the gift of the estate of David Rockefeller from the Collection of David and Peggy Rockefeller-an acquisition including 52 works of art by Native American artists and works representing Native American culture. The objects in this cornerstone gift were assembled primarily by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in the 1920s and 1930s, and include Plains beadwork, Navajo (Diné) weavings and...
PORT ALBERNI, B.C.-Students across Canada took time in late September to learn about residential schools. In Port Alberni, B.C., on September 28, NEW (Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker) Richard Samuel, organized activities for the third year to raise students' and staff awareness of the legacy of Canada's Indian residential schools. Each year he holds class discussions and students create a banner that is displayed in Port Alberni. An article in Ha-Shilth-Sa, Canada's oldest...
BELLINGHAM, Wash.-Northwest Indian College's (NWIC) Salish Sea Research Center (SSRC) on the Lummi campus was awarded a $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support community-driven research in marine sciences. The grant, "Restoring the Salish Sea: Food Sovereignty and Clean Water in the Pacific Northwest," partners with Lummi Natural Resources (LNR) and forms a network of collaborators, establishing a Tribal Enterprise Advancement (TEA) Center for Commun...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Junior Miss Cherokee Kaitlyn Pinkerton recently presented at the 35th annual National Indian Health Board's Tribal Health Conference in September, where she shared her platform of mental health awareness. "It is important to present on mental health because people need to know that they are not alone when they have a mental health disorder," Pinkerton said. "I want people to know that they have support available to them, and where to find support." At 15 years...
Wayne Leman, an Alaska Native, worked with the Cheyenne for many years. In his darkest hour, it was the Cheyenne who came to rescue him. "They were the ones with whom I felt safe. I shared my story and it was a breakthrough." Twenty-five years ago, our mission administrator told us he was requiring us to move from the Cheyenne reservation to one of our mission centers to get counseling. It was a shock to hear that, but we moved. Counseling sessions were confusing. I didn't...
ST. PAUL, Minn.-The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) has announced that it will keep the Grand Mound Historic Site closed to the general public, following the wishes of Native Americans whose ancestors are buried at the site. The site will be accessible to Native Americans for ceremonial and educational purposes. "This site is foremost a burial ground with thousands of human remains still interred there," said Joe Horse Capture, director of Native American Initiatives at...
LANSING, Mich.-Tribal and state partners are working closer than ever to care for and preserve more than 100 petroglyphs carved into a large sandstone outcrop on Michigan's Cass River floodplain using laser technology. "We created digital models of the Sanilac Petroglyphs with harmless pulses of light that detect and measure the 3D world," said Stacy Tchorzynski, an archaeologist at the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and project manager for the Sanilac Petroglyphs....
GRANTS, N.M.-If you're driving along historic Route 66, keep an eye open for one of the country's largest tributes to Native American culture. When Connect 66 Internet, a New Mexico broadband company affiliated with Sacred Wind Communications, ended up with a bunch of satellite dishes they didn't need, they decided to recycle them to look like giant Native baskets. So the eight-foot dishes were wrapped with copies of Native basket paintings and placed along Route 66 in...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.—Cherokee Nation’s Behavioral Health HERO Project was recently recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for their work in suicide prevention and children’s mental health awareness. The department received three awards, including one gold, one silver and one shining star award, as part of the 2018 Excellence in Community Communications and Outreach program that recognized SAMHSA grantees. “Our work in behavioral health is some of the most important work that we do as a tribe,...
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-Don't call First Nations Kitchen a soup line. Yes, it serves dinners to those who can't afford them, but that's where the similarity to traditional community food services ends. It is run by Indigenous people for Indigenous people and features a menu of the ancestral foods of Indigenous people. Randy Johnson has been on both sides of the table. He regularly volunteers now to work at the Sunday evening dinners, but he's also been on the receiving end of the...
AUSTIN, Texas-The StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-7NATIVE) has announced that 1,000 callers have now reached out to the helpline for safe, confidential support and resources for domestic violence and dating violence. Since March 2017, the StrongHearts Native Helpline has offered a culturally-appropriate space for victims, survivors, their families and friends, service providers and abusive partners to reach out for help. As a partnered effort, StrongHearts combines the...
WASHINGTON, D.C-Navajo Technical University (NTU) has been awarded $667,909 by the National Science Foundation to improve broadband connectivity for Native students, expanding access to educational opportunities and workforce training throughout the region. NTU is the country's largest tribal university, offering academic and research programs to students across Navajo Nation, particularly in the science, technology, education, and math (STEM) fields. But uneven Internet...
ADDISON, Texas-Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), a nonprofit committed to serving immediate needs and supporting long-term solutions for Native Americans living in reservation communities, has announced new initiatives to help communities on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River and Crow Creek reservations in South Dakota be better prepared when an emergency strikes. "More than 90,000 Native Americans in the U.S. are homeless, and 40 percent of Native Americans live in...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.-The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has awarded the Autry Museum of the American West a generous grant of $414,101, the largest gift the Autry has received from any tribe or Native community. The grant will enable the Autry to build and strengthen relationships with Native communities as well as provide significant access to its collections, particularly with the anticipated opening of the Autry's Resources Center. "This grant would be notable enough...
COAST SALISH TERRITORY, B.C.-The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) has been awarded $2.5 million over five years, its largest research grant to date, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). FNHA will collaborate with academic partners on this research project to improve harm reduction for First Nations across British Columbia, employing a groundbreaking decolonizing approach that has not been used before. "This project is innovative and the first of its...
AKWESASNE, New York, Ontario, Quebec-The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has reacquired 240 acres that were set aside for the Akwesasne Mohawk community by a 1796 federal treaty with the Seven Nations of Canada at a price of $1,667 per acre ($400,000 total). The 240-acre property is in the heart of the Akwesasne community, abutting 609 acres that were purchased by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in 2010. The parcel contains a large stand of conifer trees and an open expanse of fields....
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...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Recently, the U.S. Senate passed several bills that support Native American interests. One of these was passage of S. 2515, the Practical Reforms and Other Goals to Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination (PROGRESS) for Indian Tribes Act of 2018. "This legislation works to correct the bureaucratic processes and procedures that the Department of the Interior Self-Governance program has imposed upon Tribes," said Senator John...
