Sorted by date Results 501 - 525 of 1085
DOWAGIAC, Mich.-On Septembe 21, 2019, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Reaffirmation of its Sovereignty. Sovereignty as affirmed by the United States Government, enables the governments of federally recognized Native American Tribes to self-govern their people and lands as they did before European immigration. Similar to state governments, tribal governments build and maintain infrastructure and provide a variety of services and programs...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Twenty-six tribes will see the return of ancestral remains from Finland, where the items have been held in a museum after being taken from Colorado almost 130 years ago. Tribes include the Hopi, Navajo, Southern Ute Tribe, Mescalero Apache, tribes of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico, and others. The repatriation, announced Wednesday during Finnish President Sauli Niinistö's visit to the White House, follows years of cooperation between the tribes and the...
OTTAWA, Ontario-Canada's Arctic and Northern Policy Framework was launched in September. The Framework sets out a long-term, strategic vision that will guide the Government of Canada's activities and investments in the Arctic to 2030 and beyond and will better align Canada's national and international policy objectives with the priorities of Indigenous peoples and Arctic and Northern residents. As the first policy framework of this scope to be co-developed with Indigenous,...
WASHINGTON-Consumer advocates said recently that Wells Fargo's $6.5 million settlement of a Navajo Nation lawsuit that charged the bank with preying on tribal members is a "tremendous victory" for Native communities targeted by such practices. Wells Fargo & Co. said in late August that it will pay $6.5 million to the Navajo Nation to settle the tribe's 2017 suit that alleged a history of "unfair, deceptive, fraudulent and illegal practices," particularly aimed at elderly and...
Shoal Lake 40, Ontario-Recently Dan Vandal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, and Shoal Lake 40 Chief Erwin Redsky participated in a ground breaking ceremony to celebrate the awarding of the contract for construction of a water treatment and distribution system. The new system will end seven long-term drinking water advisories that have been in place since February 1997, and bring a reliable supply of safe, clean drinking water to 292 residents....
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Indian Health Service Office of Urban Indian Health Programs has awarded $1,050,000 to the National Council of Urban Indian Health for the Urban Indian Education and Research Program Cooperative Agreement. Through this agreement, NCUIH will act as an education and research partner for 41 urban Indian organizations in 22 states funded by IHS, offering assistance regarding public policy; research and data; training and technical assistance; education, public relations, and marketing; and payment system r...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Indian Health Service has awarded grants totaling nearly $1 million to nine tribes and tribal organizations as part of a competitive program to develop and improve tribal capacity to manage health programs under the authority of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. "At IHS, we recognize that tribal leaders and members are in the best position to understand the health care needs and priorities of their communities," said Rear Adm....
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. recently announced a $16 million investment in Cherokee language preservation-the largest language investment in the tribe's history. Chief Hoskin announced the "Durbin Feeling Cherokee Language Preservation Act" during a celebration of Cherokee language speakers. "Now is the time to be bold and act quickly so we do not fail the legacy of our ancestors or future of our Cherokee speakers," Chief Hoskin said. "We...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.-In early October, the Orange County Transit Authority halted a road-widening project on the I-405 Freeway when construction workers discovered human remains, including bones. Analyzation by the Orange County Coroner's office determined the site to possibly be a Native American burial site. Construction workers who were excavating as part of the I-405 Improvement Project spotted the remains, including bones, on Sept. 25 at an undisclosed location. According...
WHITEHORSE, Yukon-Yukon has received the first of two $8.25 million annual installments of the federal Gas Tax Fund (GTF), along with a top-up of $16.5 million, made available through Budget 2019. This top-up doubles the amount of money for municipalities, unincorporated communities and First Nations in Yukon, enabling them to carry out infrastructure projects that support the well-being of their residents. The federal GTF is a long-term, indexed source of funding that...
VANCOUVER, B.C.-The Government of Canada and Nisga'a Lisims Government are pleased to announce an agreement to support the Nisga'a Nation's efforts to revitalize its language. The Government of Canada will invest up to $6 million over six years to fund Nisga'a Lisims Government's language revitalization plan. The plan was established based on Nisga'a Nation priorities, and includes gathering and collecting information on Nisga'a language, culture and traditional practices,...
KUUJJUAQ, Quebec-In Setpember, a 10-year funding contribution agreement was signed between Indigenous Services Canada and the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services (NRBHSS). This 10-year contribution agreement (2019-2029) of over $70 million ensures stable, long-term funding of health and social services for Inuit of Nunavik and provides greater autonomy in the management of federal funds. The added financial flexibility will allow the NRBHSS to better plan and...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Library of Congress has recently announced that Joy Harjo is the new United States Poet Laureate. As a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she is the first Native American to receive the honor since it was established in 1937. Harjo becomes the 23rd person to hold this annual appointment from the Library of Congress and the first from Oklahoma. Commonly held for two consecutive terms, the position was officially named the Poet Laureate Consultant in...
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-The Frist Art Museum presents Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists, the first major museum exhibition exclusively devoted to Native women artists from all over the United States and Canada, ranging across time and media. Organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) and developed in cooperation with leading Native artists and historians, the groundbreaking exhibition offers multiple perspectives to enhance understanding of Native art practices....
LONGMONT, Colo.-First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) and The Henry Luce Foundation (Luce) have partnered to launch the Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellowship. The fellowship is a 12-month, self-directed enrichment program designed to support the growth, development, knowledge and networks of Indigenous knowledge holders and knowledge makers. First Nations is now accepting applications for the inaugural year of the program. In 2020, First Nations will award 10 fell...
PHOENIX, Ariz.-The Ojibwe people tell of a prophecy that spurred their journey from the Atlantic coast of North America to the Great Lakes region more than 1,000 years ago-revelations that told them to travel west to a land where food grew on the water. That food? Wild rice, or "manoomin," to the Native American nations, which, like the Ojibwe, comprise the broader group of Anishinaabe tribes in the Upper Midwest and Canada. But manoomin is much more than just a crop to these...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-On July 30, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Tara MacLean Sweeney announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) has awarded $5,382,606 in energy and mineral development grants to 24 federally recognized tribes in 11 states across the U.S. The grants will fund tribal efforts to identify, study, design, and/or develop projects using energy, mineral or natural resources on the tribes' lands to achieve their economic development...
BAY OF QUINTE, Ont.-The Government of Canada and First Nations communities are working in partnership to improve water infrastructure and expand access to safe, reliable drinking water. This summer, the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and Chief R. Donald Maracle celebrated ongoing improvements to their water infrastructure that will improve residents' access to safe drinking water and safeguard the community from the effects of drought. The First Nation, Infrastructure Canada and...
REGINA, Sask.-Indigenous leaders are celebrating a court ruling that says First Nations hunters from outside Saskatchewan have a constitutional right to hunt in the province without a license. The ruling was made after a group of hunters from the Six Nations reserve in Ontario was charged with unlawful hunting offenses in October 2018. Some of the group's members were hunting for food in Moose Mountain Provincial Park, located about two hours from Regina near the Manitoba...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde welcomed the passing of two new pieces of federal legislation passed in the House of Commons in early summer. The Indigenous Languages Act, Bill C-91 and An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, Bill C-92 received Royal Assent in the Senate on National Indigenous Peoples Day. "Today we have made history and arrive at a turning point in our work to reclaim,...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-A federal appeals court said environmental groups cannot sue to block expansion of a coal mine owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC), because it is an arm of the Navajo government and thus immune from civil suits. The Monday ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's dismissal of the suit by several environmental groups, on and off the Navajo Nation. The courts said NTEC has to be part of any...
Calgary, Alb.-The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) recently released a data-driven report calling on the federal government to increase the dollar value of its procurement spending with Aboriginal businesses to five percent of total procurement spending by 2024. According to the Treasury Board of Canada, federal government procurement spending totaled $14.6 billion in 2017. Federal procurement spending through the Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business...
CHEROKEE NATION-Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker is sending out a message that might be a wise reminder for all Native Americans. "Native people have been historically underrepresented in the Census. The Census Bureau estimates that in the last Census of 2010, American Indians were undercounted by about 5%, which is more than double the undercount rate of the next closest population group. There are areas in Adair, Cherokee, Delaware and Sequoyah counties that...
Ottawa, Ont.-While premiers and territorial leaders meet in Saskatchewan recently to discuss the well-being of Indigenous children, youth and families, a new report released co-authored by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) says First Nations children experience the highest levels of poverty in Canada. "Canada is not tracking First Nations poverty on-reserve so we did," said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. "The findings of this report are shameful and underscore the...
On a January day in 1988, I received a call from a George McPeek in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He called inviting me to come check out Intertribal Christian Communications, of which he was the founder and director. A week or so later, I travelled to Winnipeg, and spent five days in the home of George and his family, getting to know them and the Indian Life staff. Seven months later my family and I moved to Manitoba where I began my work as Assistant Editor to George. This adv...
