Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 567
Toronto, Ont.—When the 2006 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement was created in 2006, students who attended federally-run schools were allowed $10,000 for the first year of living at a residential school and $3000 for each year succeeding year. However, those who only attended residential schools during the day, but were able to go home at night, were left out of the settlement. In October 2021, the Federal Court has approved a day scholar settlement that includes individual compensation of $10,000 and a $50 m...
Ottawa, Ont.-In late November, The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) elected its first Indigenous president. Members selected Dr. Alika Lafontaine, an anesthesiologist in Grande Prairie, Alberta, as CMA president for 2022-23. He will serve as president-elect until August 2022, when he will become the official CMA president, says a news release from the CMA. Lafontaine is from Treaty 4 Territory in southern Saskatchewan, and is of Cree, Anishinaabe, Metis and Pacific Islander...
Chestermere, Alb.-"Let's Talk About Reconciliation" This was the theme of Indian Life Ministries' first conference in our 42-year history. We wanted to consider reconciliation on a personal level. If reconciliation is vertical (both personal, and between people) and horizontal (between us and God), what is our role? At Indian Life, we believe that reconciliation is not merely a big picture idea. We believe it is a verb. It requires action. Personal action. We sought to answer...
QUEBEC CITY-In late May, legislators in Quebec passed Bill 96 after the Charter of the French language was overhauled after a year of contentious debate. Indigenous leaders are among those who are concerned about the bill, joining the English-speaking communities in the province. Bill 96 limits the use of English in the court system and throughout other public services. It also puts more restrictive language requirements on small businesses and towns. Businesses with 25 or...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-THE Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law recently, codifying the historic tribal provisions that strengthen tribal sovereignty and safety in Indian Country. The reauthorization of VAWA, passed as part of the Omnibus Spending Package for Fiscal Year 2022, empowers Tribal Nations to exercise restored jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators of child violence, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking, crimes against tribal law enforcement and...
BROKENHEAD OJIBWAY NATION, Man.- Cities and rural posts in Manitoba are suffering from a shortage of nurses across the province, and now, First Nation leaders in northern Manitoba have declared a state of emergency. The Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council, made up of chiefs and councillors from the 23 First Nations represented by Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, made this declaration in late May. "It has always been critical, there's always been a crisis, but it's only been a...
Two recent moves aim to benefit water access for tribal communities in the Colorado River basin. One, a bill in the U.S. Congress, could increase access to clean water. Another, the release of a "shared vision" statement, outlines the goals of tribes and conservation nonprofits. Tribes in the basin hold rights to about a quarter of the river's flow but have often been excluded from negotiations about how the river's water is used. At the same time, tribal communities often...
TSAWWASSEN FIRST NATION, B.C.-In late April, Chief Ken Baird and the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, announced that the Tsawwassen First Nation and the Government of Canada have reached a settlement agreement of the English Bluff Specific Claim. As part of the settlement, the Tsawwassen First Nation will receive $7.7 million in total compensation. "We at Tsawwassen First Nation are pleased to bring closure to this long-standing issue," said...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska-The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) recently was awarded $35 million dollars to help alleviate broadband and communication challenges in the state's remote geography. The award was the largest to date given by through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. The connectivity program is sponsored by the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, with the agency announcing 19 new grants totaling $77 million in...
The sun was shining as we drove away from our home one Friday morning. The roads were dry; the sky was blue. Driving west through the prairies, watching the grasses blow in the breeze, you could almost hear a gentle whisper in the air. My view from the passenger seat maintained this prairie panorama for countless hours as we passed through Alberta and into Saskatchewan. About 30 minutes west of Brandon, the weather changed to blowing snow. This caused a white out and hid the...
In the coming months, you can meet Indian Life staff at these events! Make sure you stop by and say, "Hi!" June 3–5: Indigenous Couples Getaway- Red Deer, Alberta, Canada June 24: Siksika Tent Meeting-Canada July 7–10: Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (NEFC) conference-Alberta, Canada July 23–24: Native Peoples Tour, Rosebud Reservation and Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, United States July 25: The Gathering (see note on Native Networking) July 28–31: Beaver...
July 25, 2022—The Gathering. Native pastors, Native churches and cross-cultural missionaries will gather to discuss a joint effort to bring the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Native Peoples Tour to continue the revival among the Native people in the Dakotas. For more information or to attend contact laura.long@the-harvest.org...
In our March/April issue of Indian Life, in the column “What’s Up with Indian Life,” we included the paragraph: “Over 40 years ago, a dream came to fruition. George McPeek, Ray Gowan and Chuck Olson came together with the sole purpose of restoring hope, healing and honor within the Indigenous community of North America, through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Intertribal Christian Communications was formed!” We inadvertently listed Chuck Olson instead of Chuck Fiero. We honor Chuck Fiero as one of the founders of Intert...
NORMAN, Okla.-Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizen Galen Cloud complained about traffic during the 10-hour drive from Okmulgee, Oklahoma, to his tribe's homeland near Oxford, Alabama-before recalling how his ancestors had to walk that distance against their will. "You think about it and you're filled with madness, and then you just feel the pain and then you just hate to imagine what all they went through, just to get here," Cloud said. He was headed to Oxford, where city and...
Chickasaw Nation-On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in McGirt v. Oklahoma that the Muscogee reservation remains part of Indian Country for purposes of criminal jurisdiction. In March, 2021, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals applied that ruling to the Chickasaw Nation. As a result of these rulings, the Chickasaw Nation and federal governments have jurisdiction over crimes involving Native Americans throughout the whole Chickasaw Nation, and Oklahoma has...
Durant, Okla.-The Second Annual Trail of Tears Virtual Journey kicks off March 21, 2022. This year, the route will take the participants over 512 miles from Mississippi to Oklahoma. The points of interest along the way will be different from last year, with several videos highlighting aspects of the ancestral journey and Choctaw heritage. Participants will have until June 19, 2022 to complete the challenge. The Trail of Tears Virtual Journey started in 2021 when the Choctaw...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Tribal advocates told a Senate panel in January that the federal government's effort to fund expanded broadband infrastructure in Indian Country overlooked a fundamental issue. Many tribes did not have the broadband access needed to apply for the funding that would let them improve broadband access. Information about the first round of grants was available only online, and tribes were encouraged to apply online in a 90-day window during the pandemic. The...
Victoria, B.C.-A new statement from the government of British Columbia announces that by 2027, all of the province will have access to broadband. The federal and British Columbia governments are spending $830 million to provide access to high-speed internet across the province. B.C. is promising that every home and community will have the service by 2027, a promise announced in last month's budget. In a joint statement, Minister of Citizens' Services Lisa Beare and Minister...
PHOENIX-Telehealth has been a widely used resource during the pandemic, but as providers and policymakers consider its future, some continue to weigh the pros and cons of treating certain conditions from a distance-particularly mental illness and substance use. "Patients have tended to be OK with teletherapy, but a lot of therapists feel something is lost relative to in-person therapy," said Dr. John Markowitz, professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University and a...
Over 40 years ago, a dream came to fruition. George McPeek, Ray Gowan and Chuck Olson came together with the sole purpose of restoring hope, healing and honor within the indigenous community of North America, through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Intertribal Christian Communications was formed! Under the umbrella of Intertribal Christian Communications sits Indian Life newspaper. The newspaper, this newspaper, is a combination of positive indigenous news, encouraging...
Phoenix, Ariz.-Arizonans are facing water shortages as the Colorado River declines, but Teddy Lopez and many other residents of the Navajo Nation have lived without easy access to clean water for decades. Lopez, 66, has learned that nothing is guaranteed-with water or in life. "I just take it one day at a time and try to work what I can, [and do] what I can do," said Lopez, who in August received news no one wants to hear. "I have cancer, so I just take care of my family, I...
Victoria, B.C.-Health professionals in Canada are joining forces to help people realize that alcohol is one of top causes of preventable cancer. They say that few Canadians know the truth: Any amount of alcohol can cause cancer. "Even drinking one drink a day increases your risk of some cancers-including, if you're a woman, breast cancer-but also cancers of the digestive system, the mouth, stomach," Tim Stockwell, a senior scientist with the Canadian Institute for Substance...
TORONTO, Ont.-In the summer of 2021, Ontario forest fires burned a record area of land. Nearly 800,000 hectacres of land burned in northwestern Ontario, which surpassed the record set 26 years ago. Besides the destroyed forestry, more than 3,000 people were evacuated, according to Ontario's Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES). The 793,000 hectares of land that were burned cover a span larger than the Greater Toronto Area and surpassed the 1995 record by...
Washington, D.C.-Christian Native Americans are leading an effort of reconciliation and forgiveness over the U.S. Government's 230-year treatment of native peoples. "The Apology," as the movement is called, doesn't ask for the destruction of monuments or history to be rewritten. They only seek what the name implies . . . an apology. And they're willing to forgive and move on. The Christian movement has gained big allies including former United States Ambassador-at-Large for...
BRENTWOOD BAY, B.C.—The Department of Canadian Heritage has recently invested $6.86 million in First Nations language programs through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council (FPCC). That brings the total investment from the federal government to $14.6 million this year. The funding from the federal government makes up for provincial funding that was not renewed. Starting in 2018, the B.C. government set aside $50 million to spend on language revitalizaiton projects. However, when funding was reviewed in 2021, the line item was...
