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ANCHORAGE, Alaska-On October 7, the Indigenous Alaskans were honored in two ways. First, Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed House Bill 126 into law, declaring November as Alaska Native Heritage Month. The bill reads, in part, "Alaska Native Heritage Month may be observed by schools, community groups, and other public and private agencies and individuals with appropriate activities to honor and recognize the contributions made by Alaska Natives in the history of this state and the...
PHOENIX – Alex Alejandre lost 75 pounds in a year. His wife, Mary, lost 40. They want to set a good example for their 17-year-old son, Nathan, and take a personal stand against obesity, which can lead to diabetes and other serious health problems, especially in Native Americans. "The health of my child is everything to me. I want him to grow up to be healthy," said Alex, a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. With the help of a community program, his f...
KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz.-Vanissa Barnes-Saucedo was 21 when military recruiters stopped her in a shopping mall, waving enlistment papers in front of her. Although she says she wasn't entirely sure what she was getting herself into, she signed the papers anyway. For the next six years, Barnes-Saucedo was stationed around the world: Virginia, Colorado, South Korea, Kuwait and Iraq. However, by the time she was honorably discharged in 2014, she suffered from post traumatic stress...
On Friday, October 4, Indian Life hosted a banquet at Calvary Temple in Winnipeg to celebrate 40 years of ministry. We thank all those who contributed to organizing the banquet and those who joined us in this milestone celebration to praise our Lord for all He has done for and through this ministry. We enjoyed a fabulous meal catered by the Calvary Temple catering team and were blessed in song by Christopher Creasy and members of the band, Northern Fire. Our guest speaker, Dr....
PHOENIX-Diplomas in hand, 16 Navajo women became the latest graduating class of Project DreamCatcher, a free business training program that aims to create economic opportunities for female Native entrepreneurs. The program is the result of a partnership between the Freeport-McMoRan Foundation and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, which is part of Arizona State University. Debra Yazzie learned about Project DreamCatcher in September, when two project alumna...
DENNEHOTSO, Ariz.- The nearest water station for Darlene Yazzie is nine miles away from her home at the Dennehotso Chapter House-or community center-in the Four Corners region of Arizona. On a recent day, she counted her nickels and dimes to buy water. It costs $1.10, plus gas money, to fill up two 50-gallon barrels, and she's just learned the price is going up next month. Yazzie lugged a T-shaped key as tall as she is out to the well, where she dropped it into the hole and...
Thunder Bay, Ont.-In some schools, teachers are making a drastic change in literature curriculum to focus more on Indigenous works. One of these is the Thunder Bay Catholic School District where Grade 11 compulsary English classes now focus on Native authors., such as Rita Joe's poem, I Lost My Talk, about attending a residential school and having to relearn native language. Increasingly, school boards across Canada are revisiting their English curriculums to reflect a...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-In early December, in a 316-92 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Senate-amended version of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act. On the same day, the Senate passed the FUTURE Act by a voice vote. "Tribal Colleges and Universities fulfill a fundamental role in supporting American Indian and Alaska Native higher education and maintaining, preserving, and revitalizing irreplaceable American Indian...
Lynette Stant, a 3rd grade teacher at Salt River Elementary in the Salt River Schools district is the Arizona Educational Foundation's 2020 Arizona Teacher of the Year. Stant, a fifteen-year veteran teacher, is the first teacher working in a Bureau of Indian Education school to be named an Arizona Teacher of the Year, and the first Native teacher to be chosen. "I became a teacher because I don't ever want Native American students to feel they are not prepared to meet the...
EDMONTON, Alb.-Recently, two neighbouring Alberta First Nations, O'Chiese and Sunchild, held an official signing ceremony to enact bylaws giving the First Nations power to evict drug dealers and drive out illicit drug use from the communities. Both nations received overwhelming support for the Residency and Trespass Bylaws bylaws after presenting them to their communities for public discussion. "We are battling an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse in our communities, " said...
EVERETT, Wash.-The Snoqualmie tribe from Washington recently paid $125 million to purchase one of the state's most popular attractions: Snoqualmie Falls The 268-foot waterfall attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year. Besides the falls, the tribe has purchased , along with Salish Lodge and 45 acres of land. "This purchase represents the Snoqualmie Tribe's ongoing work to reclaim its traditional lands and will allow the Snoqualmie people to appropriately care for our...
For Waneek Horn-Miller is one of the athletes recently inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. She was the first Mohawk woman to compete in an Olympic Games, and the first water polo player to be inducted to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. The Kahnawake, Quebec native who now resides in Ottawa says the induction is a huge honor, but she also feels it is a reminder of the work needed to improve opportunities for Indigenous youth in sport. Only 11 of the 665 members of...
ROSEBUD RESERVATION-The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO) presented the Rosebud Sioux Tribe with a $388,306 dividend payment at a special tribal council meeting held recently. "REDCO has grown from 1 employee to 57 employees in 7 years," stated Wizipan Little Elk, REDCO CEO. "We want to find ways to help our people improve their quality of life." REDCO's top accomplishments during the past year include bringing in revenue totaling $16,042,066. This amount...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-On December 9, in a voice cote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Esther Martinez Native Languages Program Reauthorization Act. "The protection and preservation of our Native languages is crucial to the cultural identities and life ways of tribal citizens and the overall sustainability of tribal nations," said Kevin J. Allis, Chief Executive Officer of the National Congress of American Indians. "We are thrilled to see the House pass the Esther...
OTTAWA, Ont.-The federal government will adopt changes to its criminal justice legislation, Bill C-75, which will require judges to consider harsher sentences in cases of violence against Indigenous women, according to a motion from Justice Minister David Lametti. Lametti said the changes to the bill are "in the spirit of the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls," and will recommend harsher penalties for those who commit crimes against Indigenous...
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C.-In October, the Tŝilhqot'in Nation celebrated the Grand Opening of its solar farm, located 80 km west of Williams Lake. The 1.25-MW solar farm is the largest of its kind in British Columbia and is a hundred percent developed, built, owned and operated by the Tŝilhqot'in Nation. The Tŝilhqot'in Solar Farm consists of 3,456 solar modules that will convert the sun's rays into electricity which will then be sent into the BC Hydro grid and generate ec...
OLYMPIA, Wash-Raquel Montoya-Lewis was recently named as the first Native American to serve on the Washington Supreme Court, and only the second Native American to serve on any state supreme court in the nation. Montoya-Lewis's experience includes serving as the chief judge for the Nooksack and Skagit tribes and the Northwest intertribal courts. She has been an associate professor at Western Washington University, and is in her fifth year on the Whatcom County Superior Court,...
TORONTO, Ont.-In late October, the Ontario government announced that Wataynianeyap Power would receive a $1.34 billion loan to bring electricity to 17 First Nations in northwestern Ontario. "I think it's an amazing milestone we've accomplished and we look forward to building the line," said Margaret Kenequanash, CEO, Wataynikaneyap Power LP. Wataynikaneyap means 'lines that brings light." Wataynikaneyap Power, also known as Watay. is a partnership with 51 per cent ownership...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-President Donald Trump authorized creation of an eight-member panel of federal officials Tuesday to coordinate the federal response to the problem of murdered and missing indigenous women. Trump told tribal leaders gathered at the White House for the signing that the "Operation Lady Justice" task force is long overdue, calling statistics related to missing and murdered indigenous women "sobering and heartbreaking." The executive order signed Tuesday creates a...
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced nearly $200 million in grant awards to 52 Native American Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) across the Nation for new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, and critical infrastructure projects. HUD announced the grants during the 2019 National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) Legal Symposium in Las Vegas. "HUD is excited for this new opportunity to...
AKWESASNE, Mohawk Nation-The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council signed Tribal Council Resolution 2019-58 in early December in response to public health concerns associated with vaping and e-cigarette products and their appeal to youth and young adults. Customers must now be 21 years old to purchase all products associated with vape, e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or similar devices. The resolution also prohibits the retail sale and distribution of...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-The Cherokee Nation's new four-story, 469,000 square foot outpatient health center opened its optometry, audiology, physical rehabilitation, behavioral health, radiology, lab and pharmacy services Oct. 7. The new facility is the largest tribal outpatient health center in the country and is opening in phases in October. "The Cherokee Nation is excited to open this beautiful new facility that allows us to serve more of our citizens, and offer more services than...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The number of people who showed up at Indian Health Service facilities with health insurance rose from 64% of patients in 2013 to 78% in 2018, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The report said growth in coverage was highest in states, like Arizona, that expanded their Medicaid programs as part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Despite the gains, however, the share of people without insurance at the 73 IHS facilities...
EDMONTON, Alberta-In 2018, the Canadian federal government bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline for $4.5 billion from Kinder Morgan. And now several First Nations groups want to buy it. The Westline Indigenous Pipeline Group is a coalition of First Nations people determined to purchase from the government the 1,150 km pipeline that runs from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C. Mike LeBourdais, chief of the Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band, and representative for the Western...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Recently, the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, which sits on the National Mall in Washington, broke ground for construction of the Native American Veterans Memorial. The memorial, named Warrior's Circle of Honor, will be built on the grounds of the museum. The $15 million memorial will take over a year to construct and is scheduled to be dedicated on Veterans Day 2020. "The circle is something that is really meaningful to most- if not...
