Sorted by date Results 876 - 900 of 1057
CANNON BALL, ND-U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made a historic visit to Indian Country on June 13, meeting with youth and attending a powwow hosted by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota. The Obamas touched down in Cannon Ball, a small community on the reservation, around 2:49 p.m., not far behind the official schedule. "I never thought I'd see a president landing in our front yard, you know?" Alycia Yellow Eye told The Grand Forks Herald.... Full story
OTTAWA, ON-The highest court in Canada issued a landmark decision June 26, 2014, recognizing Native title in British Columbia and defining what it means. The Tsilhqot'in Nation, a coalition of First Nations, laid claim to about 656 square miles (1,750 kilometers) in the western region of the province. The Supreme Court of Canada affirmed their title to the land and said they have a right to use, enjoy and profit from it. "In simple terms, the title holders have the right to...
ALBUQUERQUE, NM-Chester Nez-the last remaining original Navajo Code Talker-went to receive his reward on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sources close to the family say that Nez died peaceably. He was 93 years old. The Navajo Code Talkers are credited to have helped change the face of World War II, using their native Navajo language as a basis of communication between American forces. The code developed-a combination of Navajo and secret words-was never broken by the Japanese forces. As...
Many little girls wish to grow up to be fashion models, but how many aspire to sit for hours as the model for a historical figure on a coin? Randy'L He-Dow Teton (Shoshone-Bannock/Cree) did just that when she was chosen as the depiction of Sacagawea, the legendary guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Born in southeastern Idaho in the Lincoln Creek district of the Fort Hall Reservation, she is the daughter of Randy Leo Teton and Bonnie C....
Inuit and others across northern Canada have taken to social media to post #sealfies, or photos of themselves wearing, eating or hunting seals. It began as a protest against Ellen Degeneres' decision to donate money from her Oscar #selfie to an organization that opposes the Canadian seal hunt. But the trend has emerged as a social phenomenon in itself-a mass collection of photographs that show how important the seal hunt is to Canadian Inuit and others....
WINNIPEG, MB-In late March, Phillip Flett, known to a number of INDIAN LIFE readers, passed on to his heavenly home. He was well-known for his singing and had been nominated for an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award a couple years prior. His funeral was held at First Nations Community Church in Winnipeg on March 26. Our condolences and prayers are with his family....
Gaborone, Botswana-President Khama of Botswana, has banned all hunting nationwide, even for Bushmen who hunt to feed their families-but an exception is being made for trophy hunters paying up to $8,000 to hunt giraffes and zebras. Wealthy tourists are being invited to travel to Botswana to hunt big game on private ranches that have been exempted from the ban. But Bushmen from Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve, who have hunted with spears, bows and arrows for thousands...
VANCOUVER, BC-The recent screening of a film that reveals through disturbing eyewitness accounts the horrors of the residential school system could become a catalyst for healing between First Nations peoples and Asian evangelicals. "People have been working hard at that already," says Daniel Louie, pastor of Urban Village Church, "but this is one of the first times I've seen it most publicly brought to the front. I don't think that necessarily big events fix things, but I thin...
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The world’s largest gathering of Native American and Indigenous people took place on Thursday, April 24, 2014 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 31st Annual Gathering of Nations, considered the most prominent Native American powwow in the North America, again hosted tens of thousands of people and more than 700 tribes from throughout the United States, Canada, and around the world. The three-day event included more than 3,000 Native American singers and dancers co...
Charisma, culture and cuteness abounded at Hard Rock Live when 31 girls and 10 boys graced the stage in full Seminole garb to vie for the Little Mr. and Miss Seminole titles. After the judges' votes were calculated, Madasyn Osceola, 7, of Big Cypress, took the Little Miss crown and Roberto Benard, 7, captured the Little Mr. title. "It's great to have all this support encouraging this kind of participation because it's really great to start young," said Miss Seminole Tia...
QUITO, ECUADOR (ANS)-The first believer among the Waodani, previously known as Auca, language community in Ecuador, Dayuma Caento, died on March 1, 2014. According to a missionary prayer update from Wycliffe Associates, she was approximately 80 years old. In 1956, five missionaries lost their lives attempting to make contact with this group. Two years later, God used Dayuma to open the way for Elizabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint to begin language work among the Waodani. Dayuma...
OTTAWA, ON-If you were born in Canada before 1980, you will most likely remember what's now become known as "The Sixties Scoop." This is when thousands of First Nations babies and children were adopted out to non-Native families. These victims are now adults and from all accounts, many if not all, bear emotional scars from this major event in Canadian history. They now want the Government of Canada to apologize as they have done to former students of Residential Schools....
OTTAWA, ON-Shawn Atleo has resigned as Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations over the federal government's proposed overhaul of Aboriginal education. The AFN chief announced his decision at a news conference in Ottawa on May 2. Chiefs from across the government have been divided over the Canadian government's First Nations education bill and Atleo had faced calls for his ouster on social media and criticism from some regional chiefs over his support for the overhaul....
OTTAWA, ON-Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently presented his government's plan to reform First Nations education. This plan was redone after it ran into opposition from First Nations who tried to undo the reform process. Now the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador is requesting the courts take a look at the government's plan for Aboriginal education. The group is asking the Federal Court to stop the legislation from going ahead without its approval....
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY-Yellowstone plans to slaughter between 600 and 800 bison before spring, according to park spokesman Al Nash. "We're going to seek opportunities to capture any animals that move outside the park's boundaries," he said. Yellowstone has set a "population target," of 3,000 to 3,500 animals. This is the first time Yellowstone has turned bison over to the tribes under the slaughter agreements. According to James Holt, a Nez Perce Tribal Member and a...
"The information that is to be gathered...respecting the mode of life of one of the great races of mankind, must be collected at once or the opportunity will be lost," Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868–1952) wrote in the 1907 introduction to his first volume of The North American Indian. He began taking photographs as a teen and started traveling the West in 1898. Curtis devoted 30 years to photographing and documenting more than 80 tribes west of the Mississippi; when all was s...
PRINCE RUPERT, BC-As a result of repeatedly hearing people's stories of abuse and recognizing the deep negative impact abuse has had on their lives, communities and culture, a group of First Nations leaders were convinced they had to do something. Remaining silent was no longer an option. Further, they believed that as First Nations people they needed to be the ones to rise up and take responsibility to help their own people. In 1992, they decided to organize a conference to...
WINNIPEG, MB-Perhaps the most successful and longest-running Native American singer is none other than Buffy Sainte-Marie. At 73, Buffy is still "on the road" making music and raising issues that affect First Nations. On a western Canadian tour, Sainte-Marie played a concert recently in Winnipeg at the West End Cultural Centre backed by her all Manitoban and Aboriginal band-Leroy Constant, on bass, Jesse Green, guitar, and Mike Bruyere on drums. "I'm actually working on a new...
CLEARWATER, FL (ANS)—The weekend of April 6-7 2014 has been designated as the 23rd Annual “Just Pray NO!” to drugs Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting. According to a news release received by the ASSIST News Service, since early 1991 “Just Pray NO!” has united millions of Christians from 150 nations and territories around the world in intercessory prayer on behalf of the addicted and their families. Organizers are asking for a formal commitment from believers worldwide for the upcoming weekend. The news release said even...
PHILADELPHIA, PA-An exhibition entitled Native American Voices: The People-Here and Now, opened at the Penn Museum on March 1, 2014. It challenges visitors to leave preconceptions about Native Americans behind-and discover a living tapestry of nations with distinct stories, identities, and contemporary leaders. The richly interactive new exhibition features a wide range of contemporary Native American voices-including artists, activists, journalists, scholars, and community...
ENID, Oklahoma-A Chickasaw athlete known for feats of brilliance on softball fields throughout Oklahoma and the nation was inducted into the Oklahoma Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame on January 25. The honor bestowed upon Vernon Straughn came 58 years after his death from injuries sustained in a 1955 automobile accident. He was 43 when he died. Straughn's inclusion in the hall of fame is a "dream come true" for his family, according to Straughn's 72-year-old son,...
WINNIPEG, MB-After several weeks of hearings into the death of Brian Sinclair, his family is putting pressure on the government to hold an inquiry. In order to make their point even stronger, they withdrew from the inquest hearings into his death. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Robert Sinclair, Brian's cousin, said "his family no longer has confidence the inquest will get all the answers they were hoping to get, so they will boycott the rest until it gets to final...
WINNIPEG, MB-At a conference on urban-reserve development, Manitoba chiefs began to take steps in a plan to develop urban reserves in and around Winnipeg. The Long Plain First Nation Urban Reserve Conference set the stage for a promising future for First Nations in southern Manitoba. By the end of the conference, it was clear the next steps would decide the success of the venture. Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches and Teddy Nelson of the Southern Chiefs Organization have a plan...
OTTAWA, ON-Another vigil was held on March 5 on Parliament Hill for missing and murdered women. This time for a young Inuit woman. There were hopes that this would prompt the Canadian government to conduct a public inquiry into the missing and murdered women in Canada. This vigil was made all the more urgent by the loss of Loretta Saunders, a young Inuit woman found slain on the side of a New Brunswick highway the weekend before. But it was not to be. On Friday, March 7, the... Full story
WASHINGTON, DC-In a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on November 20, Congress bestowed its highest honor on 33 tribes whose languages helped the United States defeat its enemies. The Code Talkers developed and transmitted unbreakable codes during World War I and World War II. Their participation remained a secret for decades even as their own government carried out policies that attempted to stamp out their languages, ancestry and tribal nations. That changed with the Code Talkers...
