Sorted by date Results 526 - 550 of 1044
WASHINGTON-The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is applauding a decision by Little League® International (the governing body of all global Little League-affiliated leagues and teams) to institute a new official policy in its 2019 Rulebook prohibiting the use of "racially insensitive, derogatory or discriminatory" team names and mascots, which NCAI has confirmed includes offensive Native "themed" names and mascots that cause significant harm to Native people. Th...
OPASKWAYAK CREE NATION-In an historic move, two women were recently held accountable for racist remarks on Facebook. It began last July when Destine Spiller posted on Facebook a picture of her vandalized car in Flin Flon and announced that she would "kill some Indians when I get home." She also proposed a "shoot a [sic] Indian day," and other derogatory comments about First Nations people. Another woman suggested a "24 hour purge" of Indigenous people. A pair of women who fit...
LONGMONT, Colorado-First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) recently released the Native Farm-to-School Resource Guide, a comprehensive manual for planning and implementing farm-to-school programs in Native American communities. Farm-to-school is the common phrase for programs and activities designed to incorporate local foods into school systems to better educate students about nutrition, agriculture and culinary arts, as well as improving student nutrition and...
TAHLEQUAH, Okla.—The Cherokee Nation celebrates the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 becoming an official law after President Trump signed the bill earlier this week. Enrolled tribal citizens of the Five Tribes can now inherit their family’s allotted land and keep it in restricted fee status without having to meet a required blood quantum. The Stigler Act Amendments of 2018 removes a one-half degree Indian blood quantum requirement that was part of the original law passed in 1947. “We’re so thankful our leaders in Washing...
OTTAWA, Ontario—Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott, with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed, and Métis National Council President Clément Chartier, recently announced that the Government of Canada has co-developed federal legislation on Indigenous child and family services. Indigenous children represent 52.2 percent of children in foster care in private homes in Canada, but account for only 7.7% of the overall child population. The ove...
EDMONTON, Alberta-For more than 30 years, a treasure trove has sat in boxes-a collection of 900,000 hours of video and audio tape focused solely on Indigenous events, messages, stories, and people. The Government of Alberta had purchased the collection for a cool $80,000. Eventually they turned around a resold it to Bert Crowfoot and the Alberta Native Communications Society for just $1-and the promise that the collection would be kept safe. The collection has sat untouched...
Port Alberni, BC-The provincial government of British Columbia announced Oct. 25 that it will fund 280 new housing units in support of victims of violence, the first major investment in transition housing in more than two decades. These homes will be delivered in 12 projects around the province. They are the first step in the government's new Building BC: Women's Transition Housing Fund, a $734-million investment over 10 years to build 1,500 transition housing, second-stage...
Washington—On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 325 tribal nations, 57 Native organizations, 21 states, 31 child welfare organizations, Indian and constitutional law scholars, and seven members of Congress joined the United States and four intervenor tribes in filing briefs to urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the long-standing federal law protecting the well-being of Native children by upholding family integrity and stability. “The Indian Child Wel...
WASHINGTON-The Department of the Interior has signed agreements with the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, and the Santee Sioux Nation of the Santee Sioux Reservation in Nebraska to guide implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations at each of these reservations. The Buy-Back Program implements the land consolidation component of the...
LONGMONT, Colorado-First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) has received a $98,772 Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to improve conservation practices on the grazing lands of Native American livestock producers. Under the grant, First Nations will work with selected Native producers in Arizona to develop conservation plans and monitor and evaluate their grazing systems. This project...
Washington, D.C.-The leaders of the Native Farm Bill Coalition are applauding the the enactment of the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, which passed December 19, 2018, citing its 63 provisions relating to Native American communities and producers. "The number and significance of Native American-related provisions in the new Farm Bill is unprecedented," said Ross Racine, executive director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council and co-chair of the Native Farm Bill Coaliti...
OTTAWA-The Government of Alberta recently purchased copies of the Canadian Geographic's Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada to be distributed in every junior high school and high school in the province. Produced in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Métis National Council (MNC), the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), and Indspire, the atlas is promoted as being a comprehensive education tool written from...
Kansas City, Mo.-In the November 6 USA mid-term elections, the first Native American women were elected to Congress. Deb Haaland was voted to replace Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who vacated the New Mexico seat to run for governor, and Sharice Davids unseated Kansas GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder. Davids is reported to be a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, and Haaland is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna. Haaland served for two years as the chair of the...
OTTAWA, Ont.-In mid-October, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled concerning the Mikisew Cree First Nation, stating that the federal government does not need to consult with First Nations before tabling legislation. Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde says Canada still has a duty to ensure its laws respect and honor First Nations rights and title. "Today's decision is disappointing, but it does reaffirm the federal government's duty to uphold the...
JUNEAU, Alaska-In late September, then-Governor Bill Walker issued Administrative Order 300, formally acknowledging the emergency faced by Alaska's Native languages, supporting their revitalization and improving government-to-government relationships between Alaska's state and tribal governments. "This order focuses on concrete ways Alaska can show leadership to support its first people and their languages-one of our richest and most at-risk resources," Walker said. "It's our...
AUSTIN, Texas-The StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-7NATIVE) has announced that 1,000 callers have now reached out to the helpline for safe, confidential support and resources for domestic violence and dating violence. Since March 2017, the StrongHearts Native Helpline has offered a culturally-appropriate space for victims, survivors, their families and friends, service providers and abusive partners to reach out for help. As a partnered effort, StrongHearts combines the...
WASHINGTON, D.C-Navajo Technical University (NTU) has been awarded $667,909 by the National Science Foundation to improve broadband connectivity for Native students, expanding access to educational opportunities and workforce training throughout the region. NTU is the country's largest tribal university, offering academic and research programs to students across Navajo Nation, particularly in the science, technology, education, and math (STEM) fields. But uneven Internet...
ADDISON, Texas-Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA), a nonprofit committed to serving immediate needs and supporting long-term solutions for Native Americans living in reservation communities, has announced new initiatives to help communities on the Pine Ridge, Cheyenne River and Crow Creek reservations in South Dakota be better prepared when an emergency strikes. "More than 90,000 Native Americans in the U.S. are homeless, and 40 percent of Native Americans live in...
LOS ANGELES, Calif.-The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has awarded the Autry Museum of the American West a generous grant of $414,101, the largest gift the Autry has received from any tribe or Native community. The grant will enable the Autry to build and strengthen relationships with Native communities as well as provide significant access to its collections, particularly with the anticipated opening of the Autry's Resources Center. "This grant would be notable enough...
OTTAWA, Ont.-Recently the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) met with representatives from the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) to discuss the ongoing systemic and aggravated forms of discrimination against Indigenous women and girls in Canada. "The international community's concern regarding the staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women in Canada demonstrates the need for action," said NWAC's President Francyne Joe. "It is important...
COAST SALISH TERRITORY, B.C.-The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) has been awarded $2.5 million over five years, its largest research grant to date, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). FNHA will collaborate with academic partners on this research project to improve harm reduction for First Nations across British Columbia, employing a groundbreaking decolonizing approach that has not been used before. "This project is innovative and the first of its...
AKWESASNE, New York, Ontario, Quebec-The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has reacquired 240 acres that were set aside for the Akwesasne Mohawk community by a 1796 federal treaty with the Seven Nations of Canada at a price of $1,667 per acre ($400,000 total). The 240-acre property is in the heart of the Akwesasne community, abutting 609 acres that were purchased by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in 2010. The parcel contains a large stand of conifer trees and an open expanse of fields....
PAWHUSKA, Okla.-The Osage Nation Family Violence Prevention Department (ONFVPD) has been awarded the Coordinated Tribal Assistance grant from the Department of Justice for Violence Against Women for three years in the amount of $737,245. The Osage Nation Grants Department (ONGD) successfully applied for and secured the funding to strengthen current services and efforts by the ONFVPD to address domestic violence and sexual assault in Osage County. "This grant is a continuation...
WINNIPEG-The directors and editorial team at Indian Life Ministries are pleased to announce the impending return of the popular column, "The Council Speaks," beginning with the January/February 2019 issue of Indian Life newspaper. This column answers questions you have or maybe you're afraid to ask. For example, what about Native spirituality and Christianity? Is it OK to wear Native regalia? Is Creator and the Christian God the same? A panel of Native believers and elders...
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Recently, the U.S. Senate passed several bills that support Native American interests. One of these was passage of S. 2515, the Practical Reforms and Other Goals to Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination (PROGRESS) for Indian Tribes Act of 2018. "This legislation works to correct the bureaucratic processes and procedures that the Department of the Interior Self-Governance program has imposed upon Tribes," said Senator John...
