Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 1085
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has granted broadband spectrum licenses to 11 Arizona tribes in what FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called "a major step forward in our efforts to close the digital divide on Tribal lands." The awards, announced last week, were the result of a "first of its kind" Rural Tribal Priority Window that gave tribes the chance to apply for and receive spectrum licenses at no cost. Those licenses – which can be used for high-speed wireless b...
PHOENIX-In March, Tawny Jodie was preparing to travel to Israel for her first trip overseas. By July, she was masked and delivering food boxes in rural New Mexico amid a deadly pandemic. A full-blooded Navajo, the 20-year-old said she was compelled into service when COVID-19 started ravaging her community and others across the Navajo Nation. With the virus dispropor-tionately affecting tribal nations due to health disparities, poor infrastructure and chronic under-funding to f...
GROVE, Oklahoma-On September 30th, 2020, the Seneca-Cayuga Nation held a swearing-in ceremony for a newly elected chief, members of the Business Committee, and Grievance Committee. Sarah S. Channing was sworn in as the new chief. Channing is the first woman to be elected chief of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation. In addition to electing a new chief, five other positions were filled during the most recent election. Incoming Chief Sarah S. Channing issued a statement thanking everyone...
LONGMONT, Colo.-During the summer, First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) selected four community partners that will implement an initiative to honor Native knowledge and build environmental stewardship and sustainability. Funded with a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Continuing the Tradition of Indigenous Farming and Environmental Stewardship: A Native Farm to School Initiative is designed to build capacity of Native American farm to school...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-Right on the heels of the Washington Redskins changing their name, other sports teams in North America are making changes to show respect for Indigenous people. Edmonton football team changes name On July 20, the Edmonton Eskimos football club announced that they have dropped the word Eskimo from its team name, after many in the Inuit community have said the name Eskimo was offensive. Until a new name is selected, the organization will be known as the...
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia-Mi'kmaw fishers dropping lobster traps as part of their livelihood are facing intimidation and vandalism at the hands of protesting Acadian commercial fish harvesters from communities around southwestern Nova Scotia. Sipekne'katik First Nation is the first band to start its own Moderate Livelihood fishery, with two other bands, Paqtnkek and Potlotek, soon to follow. The band has seven licenses, but only three of them are being fished right now, with 50 tra...
La Verendrye FAUNIC RESERVE, Quebec—Tempers have stirred in Quebec as the Algonquin Nation has blocked access to hunting trails until a proposed moose-hunting moratorium is called. Dozens of sports hunters angered by the move recently blocked a stretch of Highway 117 in Quebec’s La Verendyre Faunic Reserve in protest—on what was supposed to be the first day of gun hunting for big game. After more than two hours, officers with the provincial police force finally persuaded hunters to leave. The hunters pay thousands of dolla...
Chickasaw Nation STEM Academy, Maintenance and Cabinet Shop work together to save money ADA, Okla.-Safety for employees and visitors has been the first priority of the Chickasaw Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic. As protective measures have been enacted, plastic barriers to protect against the spread of COVID-19 were needed in facilities where staff works closely with the public. Mark Factor, director of property and facilities for the Chickasaw Nation, was tasked with...
WASHINGTON—Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney announced today that approximately $5.5 million is available for Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) Energy Mineral Development Program (EMDP) grants to help federally recognized American Indian tribes, Alaska Native entities and tribal energy resource development organizations identify, evaluate or assess the market for energy or mineral resources to be developed. EMDP will fund about 25 to 30 grants. The application deadline is Dec...
GOODFISH/WHITEFISH LAKE FIRST NATION, Alberta-Tom Jackson has watched his small northern Alberta First Nation evolve into a community with a growing economy thanks to abiding relationships with the energy industry. Jackson, who lives on the Goodfish/Whitefish Lake First Nation, is CEO of the Goodfish Lake Business Corporation, which is 100 per cent-owned by the band some 200 kilometers northeast of Edmonton. Even amid a global pandemic, the community has seized economic...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In late 2019 the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) launched an innovative school bus internet connectivity project with the goal of using its 25 longest bus routes to keep students connected to learning, and now that project is nearing completion. Well before COVID-19 hit the United States, the Bureau had begun to transform the designated school bus fleet into extended classrooms so that students remained connected while traveling, in some cases over 200 miles...
WASHINGTON, D.C-Advocates said a new policy that lets Arizona residents without traditional street addresses register to vote online is not perfect-but it's a vast improvement over the old process. "It's critical," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said of the change this month by the Arizona Secretary of State's office. "This is a very important election, I think, across the country, and we want our votes to be counted." The change allows prospective voters with...
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently determined that Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are not “tribal governments” under the CARES Act and are not eligible for CARES Act funds. The Court’s ruling is a significant victory for the tribal plaintiffs, including the Navajo Nation. However, the defendants in the case are expected to petition for rehearing, or will seek to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We thank the U.S....
WASHINGTON, D.C.—During the summer, the Department of the Interior (DOI) forged a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by signing the National Programmatic Agreement among the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Programs, National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for Sequencing Section 106 (USDA-RD NPA). “Having the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the USDA’s National Programmatic Agreement will greatly enhance the t...
TULSA, Okla.-Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting, a company within Cherokee Federal, recently signed on to continue its support of the United States Air Force and other Department of Defense agencies. "It is an honor and privilege to serve Pacific Air Forces and its important mission," said Steven Bilby, president of Cherokee Federal. "I'm extremely proud of our Cherokee Nation Management & Consulting staff and their commitment to serve our customers." Through a recent...
PHOENIX-Before COVID-19, Joshuaa Allison-Burbank spent his days traversing the Navajo Nation, stopping at homes, libraries and schools to provide speech therapy and reading support for children with developmental disabilities. Now he sits at a computer in Waterflow, New Mexico, grappling with how to keep helping kids whose families may have no internet or laptops or iPhones-or, if they do, are coping with far more than a telehealth appointment that may or may not go off as...
OTTAWA, Ont.-In early September, the Honorable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, together with the Honorable Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs Ontario, and Chief Jason Henry, Chief of Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation, announced the addition of lands to Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation. A federal Ministerial Order sets apart 45.992 hectares (113.629 acres) of land as an addition to reserve to Chippewas of Kettle & S...
ST. JOHN'S, NL-Memorial University has brought in a new policy-which school officials believe is the first of its kind in Canada-requiring any research involving Indigenous people to get their stamp of approval before going ahead. At its July 9 meeting, the Board of Regents for Memorial University in Newfoundland approved the Research Impacting Indigenous Groups policy, the first of its kind known in Canadian universities. The policy will provide more effective, sensitive and...
PHOENIX-With COVID-19 taking an especially heavy toll on Native Americans, tribal leaders and mental health experts have stepped up efforts to address the emotional suffering brought on by ongoing lockdowns and so much loss. "Please stay connected with relatives and neighbors by phone or video chat and remind them that they have support," Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer said recently, imploring Navajos to take care of their mental well-being as well as their physical...
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.-In late July, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney established the first of seven offices dedicated to solving cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The first office is located in Bloomington, Minn. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center, there are more than...
TORONTO, Ont.-Indigenous-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are showing that they are highly adept at breaking into foreign markets, according to a new report jointly released by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) and the Office of the Chief Economist of Global Affairs Canada (OCE-GAC). The report, Indigenous-Owned Exporting SMEs in Canada, finds that, based on CCAB survey data, nearly a quarter (24%) of Indigenous SMEs operating in Canada...
PHOENIX-Arizona's U.S. senators are pushing legislation to renew a federal program that fights diabetes in Indian Country-an initiative tribal leaders say is vital amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Special Diabetes Program for Indians is critical in our fight against diabetes and viruses such as COVID-19," Navajo President Jonathan Nez said in a statement. "If we want our people to be stronger and able to prevent and fight off viruses, then we need our people to eat healthy...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Two Confederate monuments were lifted by crane and removed from the Cherokee Nation Capitol Square in Tahlequah Saturday as directed by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., who observed from a few feet away. Both monuments were placed on the capitol square nearly a century ago when the property was a county courthouse owned by the state. The Cherokee Nation did not place the monuments. "We've suffered for centuries with too many others telling our story for us...
PICKLE LAKE, Ont.-CJTL (Christ Jesus the Light) Radio was started in Ontario, Canada in 2005, when an alliance was formed between a group of First Nation believers and Nations One For Christ, a US-based organization headed by Frank Drown. CJTL is licensed under the Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (NEFC) and governed by an all-Native Board of Directors. CJTL "The Light" went on the air in October 2007 from its studios in Pickle Lake, Ontario, and with a repeater in...
Washington, DC-On July 13, the Washington National Football League team retired their infamous team name: The Washington Redskins. The interim name for the 2020 season, while they choose a new moniker and logo, is the Washington Football Team. The Redskins name first came to be in 1933 when co-owner George Preston Marshall changed the name from the Braves to the Redskins while the team was sharing a playing field with the Boston Braves baseball team. Some sources say he...
