Sorted by date Results 676 - 700 of 1096
ADA, Okla.- A new application for mobile devices will help preserve a tradition Chickasaw and Choctaw churchgoers have enjoyed for almost two centuries. Developed by the Chickasaw Nation through the Chickasaw Press, the app will allow people to open songs on a smartphone with their own portable hymnal. "These beautiful and powerful Choctaw hymns have been a cherished part of church services for generations," said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. "This new app will...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.-The longest-running American Indian art show in Oklahoma returns to the Cherokee Heritage Center in Park Hill, Oklahoma, with the 47th annual Trail of Tears Art Show April 7–May 5. Artists compete for more than $15,000 in the following categories: painting, sculpture, pottery, basketry, graphics, jewelry and miniatures. All artists are citizens of a federally recognized American Indian tribe or nation. An awards reception will be held on April 6 from 6-8 p.m....
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-Harvard's first-ever tenured professor in Native American studies, History professor Philip J. Deloria, began teaching last month, after years of activists calling for Native American studies offerings. Deloria's appointment is the culmination of an effort by the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). Deloria, who is Native American, has been working with HUNAP, the University's main organization for Native American students and faculty, since...
WASHINGTON-In late January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed an agreement with the Alaska Native King Cove Native Corp., which is made up of tribal members from the local Agdaagux and Belkofski tribes, to build a life-saving road between the Native village and the nearby all-weather airport in Cold Bay. For three decades the Aleut residents of King Cove Native Corporation in Alaska have tried to get federal approval for a 12-mile single-lane road corridor to...
WINDOW ROCK-In February, the three branch chiefs of the Navajo Nation met to sign cyberbullying legislation into law. The legislation effectively updates the harassment, stalking and manslaughter statutes of the Navajo Nation Criminal Code to include criminal behavior in usage of electronic devices. President Russell Begaye was joined by Speaker of the 23rd Navajo Nation Council Honorable LoRenzo Bates and Navajo Nation Chief Justice JoAnn Jayne. The amendments to the...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Ontario is expanding culturally relevant child and family programs for more than 1,800 children and their families in over 40 First Nation communities across the province. As part of The Journey Together: Ontario's Commitment to Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, the province is enhancing existing and supporting the development of new child and family programs in over 40 First Nations. Ontario is supporting First Nations children and their families by...
Tallequah, Okla.-Preserva-tion of Cherokee heritage comes in a wide array of forms. There are Cherokee Nation preservationists in areas like language, which is spoken and written. There are song and dance traditionalists, and master artisans devoted to traditional Cherokee arts like carving, pottery and basket weaving. One of the other most popular and highly participatory efforts to preserve heritage has been food preservation through the Cherokee Nation seed bank program. Th...
SEATTLE, Wash.-The city of Seattle, Washington may have been named after a Native American chief of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes, but in today's world the city and surrounding areas are not smiling on the plight of Native Americans. In a country where Native Americans die at higher rates than most Americans from diabetes, drugs and homicide, and have experienced a long history of often-violent displacement, they also make up an outsized portion of the homeless...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Ontario and Indigenous partners are working together to improve access to care and increase the involvement of Indigenous communities in developing and delivering their health services. This includes direct funding for communities to enhance access to care, funding for services as well as training opportunities and identifying opportunities for greater First Nations control over the design and delivery of health care services in the future. Dr. Eric Hoskins,...
WASHINGTON-Recovery from the Great Recession has been slow in much of Arizona, but in Indian Country the pace has been glacial. A decade after the start of the recession, Native Americans posted poverty and unemployment numbers that were more than twice the overall state average, and per capita incomes that were less than half those of the rest of the state. Those margins have barely budged since the recession started at the end of 2007, and in the case of income the gap has...
ATLANTA, Ga.-A new report released recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that although significant progress has been made in reducing overall commercial tobacco product use among Americans, disparities persist, with American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) having one of the highest cigarette smoking prevalences of all racial/ethnic groups. The findings based on five years of studies revealed that tobacco product use was significantly higher...
MESA, Ariz.-Nominations are now open for the 2018 UNITY 25 Under 25 Native Youth Leadership Awards. The program is designed to celebrate the achievements of Native American and Alaskan Native youth ages 14 to 24 who embody UNITY's core mission and exude living a balanced life developing their spiritual, mental, physical and social well-being. Honorees will be recognized at a ceremony during the National UNITY Conference, July 5–9, 2018 in San Diego, California. In addition t...
Shakopee, Minn.-The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has broken ground on Hoċokata Ti, a multi-purpose building that will serve as a community gathering space, cultural activity site, and public exhibit chronicling the history of the tribe. The SMSC intends to interpret and encourage traditional Mdewakanton Dakota cultural heritage, language and history through exhibitions, preservation and education at Hoċokata Ti, which means "the lodge at the center of the c...
OTTAWA, Ont.-In November, Inuit from Canada, Greenland, Alaska and Chukotka came together in Ottawa to discuss cultural sustainability, food security and conservation through use. The Summit resulted in a commitment to collaboratively and inclusively promote, sustain and strengthen Inuit cultural rights to food sovereignty. The Summit further called for a unified pan Arctic voice on Inuit rights to the sustainable use of the Arctic's living resources and a move toward...
ADA, Okla.-The Chickasaw Nation has created a mobile application that offers mothers, fathers and other caretakers a new resource in the palm of their hands. The MOMents app, now available to the public at no charge through the Apple App Store and Google Play, provides tips and advice through every step of a child's development. Topics include eating, breastfeeding, sleeping and playtime, among others. Also included in the app are links to helpful resources and information...
PULLMAN, Wash.-Washington State University has received two state grants from the state's Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to help indigenous educators become state-certified teachers. The PESB is responsible to oversee the state's teacher preparation, certification and continuing education through traditional methods as well as alternative routes. The first award, for $210,000, is a project called Ti'tooq'an Cuukweneewit AlterNATIVE Route. The project focuses on I...
KANSAS CITY-November marked 120 years that The Indian Leader has been published. This, the world's oldest Native American student newspaper, is published by Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. To celebrate the event, the university held a reception which included a mayoral proclamation, Dr. Venida Chenault, President of Haskell Indian Nations University, discussing the importance of maintaining a Native American presence in journalism, a history of the...
Thunder Bay, Ont.-Ontario is working with Indigenous partners to deliver 14 projects that will help people break the cycle of poverty, increase access to safe and nutritious food, find good jobs and end homelessness, while meeting the unique challenges and needs of First Nation, Métis and Inuit peoples. "We know that Indigenous individuals and families face far greater rates of poverty than their non-Indigenous neighbors," says Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing and Minister...
WINNIPEG, MB—Manitoba has promised to donate $10 million for the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG). This contribution will make an incredible social, economic, and cultural return for Manitobans, now and in the future, stated the gallery in a press release on December 19, 2017. All three levels of government—city, province, and federal government—are getting behind the Inuit initiative and “underscoring the value of this major project not only for Manitoba but also Canada as a whole. According to the gallery...
A very unusual art exhibition on display at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, "Insurgence/Resurgence" brings together the unique talents of 29 Indigenous artists whose work ranges from emerging to established, some of whom push the boundaries in their presentations. Curated by Jaimie Isaac and Julie Nagam, the pieces speak to political insurgency and the radical shift in understanding Canada's history and art culture. Working with many different media, these young Indigenous artists...
ADA, Okla.-This fall, the feature film Te Ata, produced by the Chickasaw Nation, was released to theaters and subsequently to DVD in November to coincide with Native American Heritage Month. In 2014, the Chickasaw Nation embarked upon telling the story of Mary Francis Thompson, born in 1895 in Emet, Indian Territory. She acted on Broadway, toured Europe, entertained Britain's King George and Queen Elizabeth and other European dignitaries. She was a favorite of President...
Chicago-The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented the Trustees Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites to the Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Nation was recognized for their careful stewardship of several properties vital to their history and culture, as well as for their contributions to preserve state-owned resources within the Nation. For example, the 1844 building that housed their National Supreme Court, the 1875 National Prison and...
Ottawa, Ont.-As part of the journey towards reconciliation, the Government of Canada has taken an important step to renew the relationship with Indigenous people, based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, by announcing a profound shift in the way the government delivers services and advances self-determination and self-government of Indigenous peoples. Accordingly, the Government of Canada has created the Department of Indigenous Services...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is moving to rein in a low-cost telephone service for low-income customers that critics say will hit Indian Country hard if fully implemented. But FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai and other supporters say the reforms would close the digital divide between urban and rural Americans by ending "ongoing waste, fraud and abuse" in the program that serves more than 12 million people nationwide. The Lifeline program, established under the...
WINNIPEG, Man.-What Canadian city has the largest Indigenous population? According to a recent report from Statistics Canada, Winnipeg has the largest number with 92,810 people who identify themselves as First Nations, Metis or Inuit. Edmonton has 76,205, Vancouver, 61,460 and Toronto, Canada's largest city, has 46,315. According to the CBC News, Thunder Bay, Ontario has the highest proportion with 12.7 percent of its overall population. Winnipeg is second with 12.2, and...
