Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 1085
IQALUIT, NVT—The Canadian Pediatric Society says more needs to be done to prevent injuries among aboriginal children and youth. According to Health Canada statistics, aboriginal children are three to four times more likely to die from unintentional injury than other Canadians the same age. “Indigenous children are dying at a disproportionate rate compared to other Canadians and a lot of these injuries are preventable,” said Dr. Anna Banerji of the Canadian Paediatric Socie...
SHREVEPORT, LA—The Friends of the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, Inc. announce the opening of the long-awaited renovation of the West Wing Native American Galleries in Shreveport, Louisiana. Renamed by the Governing Board of LSEM in honor of Dr. Clarence H. Webb, the new exhibit area displays artifacts from the Poverty Point and Caddo Cultures in north Louisiana. The opening of the exhibit, “Archaeology and the Native Peoples of Louisiana,” was held during a reception on Oc...
TUCSON, AZ—Lori Arviso Alvord, MD, has been appointed associate dean for student affairs and admissions for the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson. She began her new role September 5. A board-certified general surgeon, Dr. Alvord is a member of the Diné (Navajo) Tribe and of the Tsinnajinnié (Ponderosa Pine) and Ashi’hii’ Diné (Salt People) clans. She was raised in the Navajo community of Crownpoint, New Mexico, and is author of “The Scalpel and the Silver Bear...
OKMULGEE, OK—The oldest Muscogee (Creek) church recognized a milestone September 22-23. Created before Oklahoma statehood, when Indian Territory was all the land was known as, Montesoma Baptist Church, located 22 miles northwest of Okmulgee, celebrated its 125th anniversary as an important part of Creek history. A sunrise service Sunday morning marked the occasion. After Sunday school, Deacon Charles Taylor rang the bell, something that’s been done since the church’s incep...
KAHNAWAKE, QUE—A medal awarded to a wounded soldier in the First World War is returned to his family almost a hundred years later. Private James Beauvais was wounded in France in 1919 and was awarded the Victory Medal which is given to all British and Canadian soldiers during that war. He returned to his home in Kahnawake ill and traumatized. According to the Canadian Press, Beauvais’ life after the war was filled with tragedy. He returned home with shrapnel in his chest and h...
“Get back up there and sing another song.” After singing my first song I turned to sit down and she said to me, “Where do you think your going?” I was afraid I had offended her by singing, but she was intimidating and insistent. When I finished with that song and sat down, Judy said to me, “Gary, now you’re a real Paiute.” This happened in 1986 after my Paiute mentor, Art Cava-naugh, told me I could begin singing with the rest of the singers for the dance. I was very nervous,...
HELENA, MT—According to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, the U.S. Congress should make legislation protecting Native women an “immediate priority.” Following a month long tour to hear from Indigenous peoples and tribal Nations within the United States, the Special Rapporteur presented his report in September on the situation of Indigenous peoples in the United States to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report...
LOS ANGELES, CA—Native American roles are far and few between in Hollywood and when they do appear, it’s often non-Natives who are cast. That’s the case with Johnny Depp, who is reprising the role of Tonto in the film version of The Lone Ranger. Though he’s been adopted into a Comanche Nation family and has made vague claims of Indian ancestry, he’s not a member of a federally recognized tribe. “I’m not sure how much redefining I’m going to expect, not sure how much of the movie will be something I can show my son,” attorn...
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressional gold members will be presented to members of two Sioux tribes who served as Code Talkers. Members of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate used their languages to help develop unbreakable codes. They will be presented with medals that recognize their contributions. H.R. 4544, the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008, authorized Congress to award medals to tribal code talkers who fought in World War I and World War II. The medals are being designed to be unique to each t...
She was a familiar figure on the Florida Seminole Indian Reservations for 35 years, and along with her missionary friend, H. Pepper Harris, served as teacher, mentor, and evangelist. The only girl among five brothers, Gladys Adele Wigden was born to Jehiel and May Bryant Wigden on April 5, 1917 in Naples, New York. Several other momentous events heralded the arrival of this unique woman whose life would spiritually impact many; and as if prophetic, one had to do with Native...
TORONTO, ON—The Royal Ontario Museum’s special exhibit of Great Lakes art from the early 19th century to the present, currently on display for an “indefinite engagement,” is entitled “Sovereign Allies/Living Cultures: First Nations of the Great Lakes.” It conveys two themes: First, Great Lakes tribes helped British soldiers combat American soldiers during the War of 1812; Second, Native stereotypes continue into the 21st century. Housed in only one large display case among a l...
OMAHA, NE—The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska signed a deal to host a wind farm on the reservation. The tribe is working with Bluestem Energy Solutions. The deal calls for a 10-megawatt wind farm, enough to power 3,500 homes. “The tribe realized during its study of wind energy that it would need a significant partner with the resources to complete the multimillion dollar project,” Chairman John Blackhawk said in a press release. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2013....
WARM SPRINGS, OR—Members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have decided to spend nearly $11 million to build a new school. The vote was essentially a re-do of a referendum that failed in May due to inadequate voter turnout. Nearly three quarters of the tribal members who cast a vote in that first election favored the plan. Still, it failed due to a provision in the tribes’ constitution that requires at least 33 percent of all members over the age of 21 cast a ballot. Just by comparison, only 22 percent of reg...
KETCHIKAN, AK—Ketchikan Indian Community Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) continues its good work, recently wrapping up a second 16-class session with nine participants. This year’s first session, also with nine members, experienced similar success. Graduation ceremonies for the second class were held on July 26 at the KIC Clinic. The Diabetes Prevention Program is funded through the Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) initially authorized by Congress in 1997. The...
NEW LONDON, CT—The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut is set to open its first gas station this fall. The tribe has already begun work on the 24-pump station, The New London Day reported. It’s located on the reservation, near a hotel and the tribe’s casino. The paper did not say whether the tribe would offer gas at lower prices....
SPOKANE, WA—The Bark Canoe Store opened in 2000 in Spokane. Originally it began operating by making birch bark canoes and it expanded to provide birch bark for cabinet and furniture and construction. Then it expanded to accessories and things that might go along with birch bark canoes like Hudson Bay axes, packs, materials. Then came delivery of birch bark canoe building classes. “We are known for taking courses to communities, often First Nation communities,” says John Linde...
BILLINGS, MT—Joshua Peppers, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, is back in the U.S. after being injured in Afghanistan. Peppers, 27, stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) while on patrol. He’s in recovery at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Maryland after his right foot was amputated. “He said he felt pretty lucky to be alive considering what had happened,” his mother, Rae Peppers, told The Billings Gazette. “His spirits are positive and he is...
EAU CLAIRE, WI—William R. Fredenberg, a decorated combat veteran who was a member of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, died on July 21. He was 89. Fredenberg enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1942. He served in World War II, when he was shot down in France and taken as a prisoner of war. As a prisoner, Fredenberg led a daring escape of 13 fellow prisoners. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters for his efforts. Fredenberg enlisted in the Air Force a second time in 1950 and ser...
WINNIPEG, MB—Aboriginal and political leaders are set to meet in Manitoba for the third National Aboriginal Women’s Summit. According to Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson the summit will be held November 1 and 2 in Winnipeg. He said the summit is a “critical opportunity” to focus on ending violence against Aboriginal women and girls. “We all have a stake in stopping the abuse and exploitation of vulnerable women and girls in Canada,” he said. “This summit is a critical opportunity for governments to conti...
SPRUCE GROVE, AB—Joe Jespersen, 70, fought his final battle and was released from this earth to his heavenly home on July 29, 2012. Joe was a regular contributor to Indian Life for a number of years. Joe grew up on a dairy farm near Spruce Grove, Alberta. His family was always generous to the Aboriginal people who stopped by their farm. When a Metis neighbor was evicted, Joe’s dad moved the fellow’s house to the Jespersens’ land, where he lived the rest of his life rent fr...
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (ANS)—One of the marvelous facets of living in New Mexico is the Native American influence found in the cultural life of the state. New Mexico turned 100 years old this year—2012, admitted as part of the United States in 1912, with most of the political groundwork laid by President Theodore Roosevelt. Yet, President William Taft signed the Proclamation of Statehood on January 6, making New Mexico the 47th state of the United States of America. Though New Mex...
LONDON, UK—Usain Bolt’s frisky relationship with Olympic solemnity is some of the best entertainment at the London Games. But when it comes to ranking the greatest Olympians ever, Bolt is nowhere near the top of the list. The worship Bolt shouts for belongs more rightly to a 100-year-old dead man who hardly ever spoke up for himself, Native American Jim Thorpe. Bolt has sprinted hard into immortality; he is indisputably the fastest man ever, and maybe one of the most cheerful,...
DESORONTO, ON—Early in the morning on August 22, 2012, we lost a great leader, warrior, motivator and organizer. Ross Maracle, 66, died from injuries sustained in a car accident in Upstate New York. He was known across Canada and many parts of the United States as the host of Spirit Alive TV program. He was also founder and president of the National Native Bible College for almost 20 years. A member of the Mohawk First Nation, Ross was also dedicated to Native young people w...
VANCOUVER, BC—The Lower St’at’mx First Nations have a world of opportunity at hand as they become part of energy developments that make new opportunities available. Douglas First Nation partnered with Cloudworks Energy to help bring hydro-electric power into Douglas First Nation for the first time in history. This benefits Douglas and other In-SHUCK-ch member-communities of the St’at’mx Nation. There are less than a dozen villages left in the St’at’mx Nation, and four of those are known as In-SHUCK-ch, but the people of these...
TULSA, OK—Tribes across the nation have been exercising inherent governmental powers since the 1970s. Nowadays, tribal sovereignty and self-determination are considered a part of everyday business. But, when did tribes start really using their governmental powers and who helped this government-to-government relationship develop? He is best remembered for political spying during the Watergate scandals of the early 1970s, but U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and his a...
