Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 1085
Diné College wasn't Harley Interpreter's first choice for higher education. During summers in high school, at the urging of her elders, she would travel off the Navajo Nation reservation to see what colleges elsewhere had to offer. But the convenience of Diné College-the first accredited college to be tribally controlled-and its proximity to Interpreter's home near Tsaile was too good to pass up. And the longer she attends, her choice makes more sense. As a young Navajo w...
NUNAVUT, N.L.-In January, Nunavut Independent Television (NITV) made history when it launched Canada's first all-Inuit Inuktut TV channel. Uvagut TV ("Our" TV) broadcasts 168 hours a week of Inuit-produced culture, arts, movies and information programming available nationally to more than 600,000 Shaw Direct customers as well as Arctic Co-ops Cable subscribers in Nunavut and NWT. Other satellite and cable systems will be added and viewers around the world can stream programs...
CARNEGIE, Okla.-Last month, an unseasonably cold spell hit the vertical middle of the United States, causing emergency situations from North Dakota to the southern part of Texas. As temperatures broke below-zero records, and snow and ice filled the streets, power supplies plummeted under the demand. During the weather event and after, Oklahoma's Kiowa Tribe expanded emergency assistance efforts for tribal members. The tribe offered free firewood, and households with tribal...
PORTLAND, Ore.-Across the North Pacific, salmon fisheries are struggling with climate variability, declining fish populations, and a lack of sustainable fishing opportunities. According to a study published in BioScience from a team of Indigenous leaders and conservation scientists, help lies in revitalizing Indigenous fishing practices and learning from Indigenous systems of salmon management. "Salmon and the communities that depend on them have been pushed to the brink by...
DENVER, Colo.-The American Indian College Fund and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium are receiving $1.5M in pandemic-related supplies including hand sanitizer, disinfectant, and gloves from AT&T. Both organizations are working with AT&T to distribute the supplies to more than 20 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) across the country. This comes as Native communities face soaring COVID-19 infection rates, rolling lockdowns are enacted on Indian reservations,...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Recently the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) released a report Breaking Barriers: A Decade of Indigenous Women's Entrepreneurship in Canada which shows that Indigenous women-owned businesses in Canada are growing in terms of revenue and number of employees but continue to face existing and amplified barriers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Historically, there has been a lack of data on Indigenous...
WASHINGTON-Pascua Yaqui Council members called it "a blessing." They were talking about $900,000 in federal funds that will be used to bring water to the tribe's lands for irrigation, the first fruits of an effort last year by members of the state's congressional delegation to win $150 million in federal funding for water projects around the state. "Water is sacred to a lot of tribes and a lot of Arizonans. For us, it's a blessing," Pascua Yaqui Chairman Peter Yucupicio said...
LONGMONT, Colo.-Multiple Native American communities and organizations will receive support from First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) to preserve and protect Native American control of their natural resources, especially those impacted by fossil fuel extraction projects. The grant funding is made possible through a $288,000 grant from the Broad Reach Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. The grant marks the fourth year of commitment by the foundation, which...
DALLAS-Researchers already knew that American Indians had the highest risk of atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular heartbeat ("arrhythmia") that can increase the risk of blood clots and stroke. But a new study by the American Heart Association found that Native Americans, categorized as American Indians, had a 47% higher risk of having a non-bleeding stroke compared to people from all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. American Indian people with...
ALBERTA-New measures are in place to provide assistance to First Nations, Inuit and Métis businesses that have been hit by the pandemic. The Indigenous Community Business Fund (ICBF) has provided key support for Indigenous businesses across the country. Indigenous Services Canada Alberta Region has provided $16.5 million to support Indigenous community-or collectively owned businesses and microbusinesses whose revenues have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This...
OTTAWA-According to the parliamentary budget office (PBO), the federal government may need to pay up to $15 billion to compensate First Nations families and children impacted by the child welfare system, under the Jordan's Principle ruling. Jordan's Principle requires governments to cover the cost of services for First Nations children and work out any disputes over jurisdiction afterwards. Jordan's Principle, was named for Jordan River Anderson, a boy from Norway House Cree...
PIERRE, S.D.-On March 2, 2021, the South Dakota State House of Representatives passed a resolution acknowledging and honoring the survivors of American Indian boarding schools. House Concurrent Resolution 6014 was introduced and sponsored by State Rep. Peri Pourier (D-Pine Ridge), a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The resolution was adopted in a 52-17 vote. Boarding schools for Native American children were begun in 1860 and were originally designed to teach academic...
EDMONTON-The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) is consulting with its citizens on a draft Constitution that will modernize its approach to self-government. Following the signing of the historic Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement (MGRSA) in June 2019 with the Government of Canada, MNA embarked on a process leading to formal federal recognition of Métis Nation self-government in Alberta, including the creation of a Constitution. The MNA established a Co...
Quebec City-First Nations citizens in Quebec received a boost recently when the Quebec government announced plans to spend $19.2 million to give Indigenous communities better access to the justice system and support services for crime victims. Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for Indigenous affairs, described the funding as a direct response to recommendations in the report from the Viens Commission, an inquiry that examined Quebec's relations with Indigenous...
PHOENIX-Land, and specifically what to do with land, has been among the most divisive topics in U.S. history since the arrival of European settlers. More than 500 years later, little has changed. On Jan. 20, the Biden administration ordered a 60-day pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters after environmental activists sent a letter urging the administration to issue a permanent ban rather than a temporary one. The order prompted an array of reactions, with...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Before leaving office, President Donald J. Trump signed historic bills that will help Native Americans for years to come. The Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act included an omnibus appropriations package totaling $2.3 trillion. The omnibus bill includes $1.4 trillion for federal spending and $900 billion for COVID-19 relief, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, along with the water rights settlement. The final...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is proud to announce, with support from Google.org, the Small Business Stabilization Grant program-a $1 million investment in Indian Country. This new funding is an expansion of a $250k NCAI small business support program, also funded by Google.org. NCAI is issuing business stabilization grants in the amount of $5,000 each to a total of 170 Native-owned small businesses that have been severely impacted by the...
NORTH BAY, Ont.-Fifty-four people from Lake Nipissing say they are guilty of doing what they've been accused of: fishing. However, their lawyer says, that doesn't make a difference. The defendants are charged with violating Ontario's hunting and fishing laws, as well as commercial fishing laws of Nipissing First Nation. But their lawyer, Michael Swinwood, is countering that those charging them have no authority to do so. He said the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 was signed by...
TALEQUAH, Okla.-That's a wrap for four Native writers tasked with creating a groundbreaking TV series focused on Native themes and characters. It's all part of the 2nd Annual Native American Writers Room, sponsored by the Cherokee Nation Film Office, a program which brings together four writers in an experimental writers room to address the lack of genuine Native American representation in television writers' rooms and in overall media. The result is "Talihina," a one-hour...
Yvette Herrell from New Mexico's 2nd district has been sworn in as the first Native American woman to serve in the House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party, Herrell served four terms as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. A member of the Cherokee Nation, before entering politics, Herrell had trained for legal administrative work and was a real estate broker. While she's the first Native republican congresswoman, Herrell is the second...
ASSINGBOINE FIRST NATION, Sask.-More than a century ago the Mosquito Grizzly Bears Head Leanman First Nation in Saskatchewan lost land. And after a 24-year trial the government of Canada has made an offer. The federal government is now offering the community, located 156 kms northwest of Saskatoon, $127 million for the 5,800 hectares of land they confiscated in 1905. The case has been in the courts since 1996, with the government's last denial of compensation in 2014. Finally...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Navajo leader Dr. Jill Jim has been added to the panel of health and policy experts that are being called on to help the new US presidential administration strategize on COVID-19 responses. Jim, who has served as executive director of the Navajo Department of Health since 2019, has seen the problem up close as the tribe has seen some of the highest COVID-19 caseloads in the country. "I look forward to working with fellow members of the advisory board to help p...
WINNIPEG, Man.-On the first day of his U.S. presidency, Joe Biden used an executive order to cancel the permit former president Donald Trump had approved to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have connected Alberta's bitumen to Nebraska and then to the gulf states further south. The Keystone XL pipeline is an international project years in the making. Without support from the U.S. government, it's effectively halted. The pipeline is meant to expand critical oil...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In October 2018 the Cleveland, Ohio, baseball team retired the caricature logo known as Chief Wahoo, and now, two years later the team has retired their name as the Cleveland "Indians." The Chief Wahoo logo had been in use since 1947 and the Indians name had been in use since 1915. The Indians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The announcement came on the heels of teams reporting that they...
WINNIPEG, Man.-As the number of active COVID-19 cases in First Nations continues to rise, Indigenous Services Canada is investing $1.2 billion in additional support to address ongoing public health responses in Indigenous communities. As of mid January, 5,442 active cases were reported in First Nations. "First Nations, Inuit, and Métis have worked diligently to prevent, respond and control the spread of the virus in their communities. We acknowledge their strength and resilien...
