Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 1096
REGINA, SK—Jim Sinclair, one of the most significant figures in the advancement of Aboriginal interests in Canada, died November 9, 2012, at the age of 79. Sinclair was a founding member of the Native Council of Canada, now known as the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and the Métis National Council. In 1982, Sinclair led the effort, which wound up in the courts, to have Métis recognized in the Constitution. “He was a leader like none we’ve ever seen before,” Don Ross, a long-t...
CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI—Rikki Schock has been a fixture on the Aboriginal scene for years on Prince Edward Island. A mother and grandmother, she is the Vice-President of the Native Council of PEI. A long-time resident of South Pinette and well-known Aboriginal advocate, Schock is Canada’s newest member of the Aboriginal Order of Canada. On October 19, 2012, Schock learned she had been chosen for the special honor at the annual meeting of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in Ott...
RAPID CITY, SD—Just weeks before he officially took office, Oglala Sioux Tribe President-elect Bryan Brewer made an unprecedented move. Brewer on November 15, made a pledge to make major reforms in regard to Lakota language policy and revitalization on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The announcement of this historic action fittingly came at the opening of the fifth annual Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Language Summit held in Rapid City, November 15-17 at the Best Western Ramkota H...
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The Jicarilla Apache Nation of New Mexico signed an agreement with PNM to provide service on the reservation. The tribe was receiving service from Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative. But a dispute over the utility’s equipment on the reservation has led to lawsuits in tribal and federal court. “The nation has been dealing with issues related to the service they’ve been getting for three decades. The nation has lost trust in NORA,” attorney Nann Winter to...
PORCUPINE, SD—Lyle “Dusty” LeBeau, an Oglala Lakota from Porcupine, has been chosen to enter the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. LeBeau is one of 11 South Dakotans selected to enter the Hall of Fame this year. He is joined by golfer Kris Tschetter, Olympian Rod DeHaven and coaches Gary Munsen, Don Meyer, Bob Schroeder and Curt Fredrickson. In addition, several athletes were selected for the honor, including Harold Thune, LeRoy Carlson and James A. “Pev” Evans. Also, ref...
BISMARCK, ND—The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is training members to work in oil service fields. The Tribal Employment Rights Office already offers a 10-day oil rig training program. The last session had 24 graduates, The Bismarck Tribune reported. “In order to enable them to get a foot in the door, so to speak, we put on these trainings,” Volney Fasthorse, the assistant director of the office, told the paper. The tribe is now starting a heavy equipment operation training program. Rock, gravel and other materials gener...
WASHINGTON, DC—Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton law firm announced that the federal judge overseeing the historic Cobell settlement authorized $1,000 payments to begin for approximately 325,000 Native Americans. “With this authorization from U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan, we are working non-stop to get this first round of checks to as many class members as possible before Christmas,” said Keith Harper of the Kilpatrick Townsend law firm representing the plaintiffs. Led b...
TOHLAKAI, NM(ANS)--Calvary Chapel Tohlakai is the first Calvary Chapel on the Navajo Nation. Planted by Pastor Landoll Benally, a graduate of Calvary of Albuquerque’s School of Ministry, the church has been ministering to the larger Yahtahey region of New Mexico for over two years. Landoll became aware of Calvary of Albuquerque’s School of Ministry from a radio broadcast he heard on a local station in the Gallup, New Mexico area. As it turned out, Landoll was praying abo...
WASHINGTON, DC— Kevin K. Washburn, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. His position makes him the new head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The U.S. Senate confirmed him following his nomination in August by President Barack Obama. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar applauded Washburn stating: “As we continue to strengthen the integrity of the nation’s gover...
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...
BRASILIA, BRASIL—The Awá of Brazil, known as the Earth’s most threatened tribe, have written to the country’s Justice Minister telling him to “evict invaders urgently,” as news emerges that their hunting livelihood is being held for ransom by the activities of illegal loggers. The Awá’s letter urges Brazil’s government to evict invaders from their forest, stressing that, “Only then will we be satisfied!” Their written appeal coincides with fresh video testimony from an A...
“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...
Slain US ambassador to Libya was member of Chinook Nation SEATTLE, WA—Chris Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya who was killed in an attack on September 11, was a member of the Chinook Nation of Washington. “To all of the Chinook members and all the friends of the Chinook Nation I am hopeful that you will include the family of Chris Stevens the former Ambassador to Libya that lost his life while working towards bringing lasting peace to the region, in your prayers. Chris, along with his family are Chinook members,” Chair...
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...
