Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 1085
As winter approaches, volunteers with Chizh for Cheii are preparing to deliver firewood to elders on the Navajo Nation reservation, where nearly 90% of homes rely on wood for heat. The nonprofit organization, whose name means "firewood for Grandpa" in English, launched nine years ago. The volunteers work because they "don't want people to pass on because they were neglected," founder Loren Anthony said. Young people and families traditionally help their elders collect and...
WASHINGTON-For decades, coal from the Navajo Nation helped deliver water and helped power homes and businesses throughout Arizona and the Southwest. Now, some of that coal is being used to heat Navajo homes as well. For the fifth straight year, the Community Heating Resource Program (CHRP) is helping Navajo residents stay warm through fall and winter months by distributing coal for free from the Navajo Mine-one ton at a time. The program kicked off this year on Oct. 28 and...
EDMONTON, Alb.-An Indigenous design is a new featured look in an IKEA in Canada as an Alberta-based artist has helped IKEA design its first-ever Indigenous showroom. IKEA is a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other goods and occasionally home services. It has about 450 large warehouse stores in 52 countries. The stores include several floors and feature different showcases featuring...
WATERLOO, Ont.-The University of Waterloo has announced a new fellowship designed to support the university's The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) program. The Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD Project will provide financial support of $30,000 per year for 4 years for University of Waterloo recipients. This funding support will allow recipients to pursue advanced degrees and undertake both traditional and/or non-traditional areas of...
SASKATOON-With the new year, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has begun a six-week pilot for a unique Indigenous Storyteller-in-Residence program at the university library. The storyteller will be involved in creating and participating in opportunities designed to promote intercultural understanding and story-sharing between and among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. "It's so important that we never lose sight that we are on Treaty 6 territory and the homeland of t...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) recently announced a partnership with Lumina Foundation to support the expansion of tribally-designed and driven K-12 curriculum in public schools, as well as funding to support opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) college students who choose to pursue research careers. Through a $200,000 grant from Lumina Foundation, NCAI's Tribal Governance and Special Projects department will launch...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Step aside, Instagram, TikTok has taken the floor as teenagers' second favorite social media app to the tune of 29 percent of teens choosing it as their favorite compared to 34 percent who chose Snapchat as their top pick. Instagram rates third in favorites with 25 percent. And TikTok continues to gain market share among young North American users, which is a key demographic for social apps and advertisers. TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.-In mid January, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez signed Resolution CD-97-20, approving $2.5 million from the Navajo Nation's Unreserved, Undesignated Fund Balance for the Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship and Financial Aid to provide scholarship funds for Navajo students through the Higher Education Program. In mid December, the Navajo Area Bureau of Indian Affairs informed the Navajo Nation that no funding was available funding for the Higher...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The 2020 National Native American Language Summit, hosted by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and U.S. Department of Education (ED) drew record attendance and introduced new Language Legacy Awards in November. Registration for the virtual summit exceeded 500 people, the greatest number of attendees in its seven-year history. The National Native Language Summit hosted 15 live workshops over three days focused...
PAULS VALLEY, Okla.-The Chickasaw word "AYA" means "to go" or "to journey." AYA is an interactive mobile walking app designed to keep participants moving by combining physical activity with Chickasaw history and culture. Using step-tracking technology, the interactive mobile walking app rewards users as they move throughout their day. The app tells a historical story through voice-acted walking partners, consisting of fictional Chickasaw characters living at important periods...
NEW YORK-For the first time in its 94-year history, the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featured a land acknowledgement and blessing to honor the Wampanoag and Lenape people. This broadcast took place on Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving Day 2020 in the United States. Ryan Opalanietet Pierce (Lenape) and Joan Henry (Tsalagi/'Nde/Arawaka) acknowledged the Lenape territory of Manahattan, where the parade takes place annually. Mashpee Wampanoag tribal members and language...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has received a $5.67 million gift from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, a federally recognized tribe in Northern California. This gift is the largest to date dedicated to supporting the museum's national education initiative, Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°). These funds will allow the museum to underwrite, pilot and launch the first national, state and local model, which will produce content t...
OKLAHOMA CITY-More than 30 Chickasaw elder veterans received custom-made quilts during a Nov. 10 drive-thru luncheon, thanks to the stitch work of a Chickasaw citizen and her quilting friends. Summer Roberts, Chickasaw Nation Senior Center manager and quilter, surprised the veterans with individual gifts as they pulled up to receive lunches at the Chickasaw Nation Oklahoma City Senior Center. Roberts, with the help of David McDowell and Zach Burnett, who prepared the meals,...
PIÑON, Ariz.-One student runs 85 feet up a hill every morning, just to get a cellphone signal so he can call in his attendance. Another moved to Phoenix by himself, after his only parent died of COVID-19, to work construction while going to school online. Then there's the high school senior who spends six hours most days doing homework in a car next to a school bus turned Wi-Fi hotspot-the only way some kids on the Navajo Nation can get assignments to their teachers. These kid...
"A Chickasaw Dictionary" by Rev. Jesse Humes and Vinnie May (James) Humes, originally published in 1973, is now accessible in digital format at AChickasawDictionary.com. "Language and culture are intertwined in a manner that makes revitalizing our language essential to preserving Chickasaw culture and keeping it relevant for generations to come," Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said. The dictionary can be used to search for specific words or browsed alphabetically in...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Thanks to a newly completed digitization effort by the U.S. National Archives and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC) in Santa Fe, researchers and the public now have unprecedented access to hundreds of digitalized Native American Treaties. The online collection features 374 ratified Indian treaties from the archives' holdings. These documents are housed in a specially protected area of the National Archives building and are unavailable for use in...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Over decades, an estimated 150,000 Indigenous Canadian children were removed from their homes and communities to attend residential schools. To partially atone for wrongs done to First Nations families, in May 2006, the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement was approved. The implementation of the Settlement Agreement began in September 2007 with the aim of bringing a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of the Indian Residential Schools. Canada was...
HELENA, MT.-In October, the eight tribes of Montana gathered to celebrate rising of their tribal flags as a permanent display in front of the Montana State Capitol. The legislation to construct the Tribal Nation Flags Plaza was passed in the early 1990s. However, funding wasn't available until the 2019 Legislative session when Rep. Marvin Weatherwax, Jr. (D-Browning) introduced HB-524 to fund the construction of the Tribal Flag Plaza. It passed both houses of the Legislature...
LONGMONT, Colo.-In October, the First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) announced a project to help tribal governments and entities establish and strengthen their forest programs for the benefit of their economy, environment, educational opportunities and access to recreation. The project is part of First Nations' umbrella program of Stewarding Native Lands and is made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies....
THUNDER BAY, Ont.-Thirteen people have died in jail in Thunder Bay, Ontario, since 2002, and more than half were First Nations people-in fact, some report that 39 percent of incarcerated individuals there are Indigenous; others say that number is closer to 75 percent. Of the 13 who have died, 12 were in remand, waiting for their futures to be decided. More than half were younger than 30 years old. And inquests still have not been completed on five of the deaths. Four deaths...
The prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced in late November that his government is providing $542 million for First Nations, Inuit and Métis organizations to help them take over child welfare services. The cash is part of the federal government's ongoing project to implement Bill C-92, through which Indigenous communities can assert inherent jurisdiction over the system. Parliament passed a law to reform the system in 2019, requiring that children on reserves...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-After 25 years in the making, the National Native American Veterans Memorial opened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on November 11, 2020, which was Veterans Day. "It's an article of faith in Indian country that Native Americans serve at a greater rate than basically any other group," said Kevin Gover, the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and a citizen of the Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. He said the steel ring s...
WINNEPEG, MB-Almost 175 First Nations communities across Canada have received kits including personal protective equipment (PPE), Bibles and other support supplies from a coalition of Canadian Christian ministries led by Northern Youth Programs, Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and Samaritan's Purse. The coronavirus can strike anywhere, even in Canada's remote First Nations communities. Many health care staff and emergency first responders in these places have had...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-On election day 2020 in the United States, a record number of six indigenous people were elected to positions in the U.S. House and Senate. The U.S. House expanded by two on Election Day: Yvette Herrell, who is Cherokee and prevailed in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, and Kai Kahele, a Native Hawaiian who won that state's 2nd District. They will join four Native Americans who won reelection: Reps. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, who's Laguna; Sharice...
RAPID CITY, S.D.-If you're seeing tepees outside of Rapid City, S.D., you might assume it's yet another Black Hills attraction for the tourists. But you might assume wrongly. You might be catching a glimpse of Camp Mniluzahan. Camp Mniluzahan is a homeless camp set up by Lakota members on 90 acres held in trust for the Cheyenne River, Rosebud and Oglala Sioux tribes. Once upon a time the land was home of the Rapid City Indian Boarding School. Because it's on trust land, city...
