Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Mural-painting festival showcases Indigenous strength

    The Strong People, Strong Communities mural-painting festival highlights positive Indigenous stories. The project paired 11 young artists with 11 elders in six teams, each of which painted a mural with a distinct theme. The artists collaborated virtually on the designs and while some artists attended the festival to paint together others were produced digitally. The murals showcase the positive contributions of a diversity of Indigenous voices - including LGBTQ2S+, women, and youth – which helps them feel empowered and contributes to a sense of confidence in their cultural identities.

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  • Alaska Native identity 'weighs heavily' on friends and a future

    Defining and maintaining indigenous identity is an ongoing process for tribes who want to ensure a strong future. Various enrollment policies have worked for different tribes, from lineal descent to blood quantum requirements. Tribal leaders are trying to strike a balance between shrinking populations in some cases and the fear of sudden increases in enrollment, which could put “a strain on already scarce resources."

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  • New tribal colleges offer ‘sense of belonging' for Native students but hit roadblocks

    Indigenous students find a sense of community and belonging at new tribal colleges in California. As the racial group with the lowest rates of college attendance, indigenous students face a long list of obstacles. Having an alternative to mainstream universities gives more tribal members an opportunity to pursue higher education.

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  • Lummi Nation Creates a Community to Support Families

    The Lummi Tribal council created Sche'lang'en Village to provide a supportive community for Native families that have been torn apart by the foster system, drugs, or domestic violence. The more than 30 families accepted to the low-cost housing project receive a host of services to help them recover and build better futures. A disproportionate number of Native children are taken from their families into foster care, which damages not only families but the Native culture.

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  • How Indigenous-led organizations are rebuilding connection to language and culture

    The Nisaika Kum’tuks and Tsawalk learning centers provide alternative schooling options for Indigenous students to learn more about their culture and languages. The centers teach a total of 100 students from 23 different nations, many of whom come from single-family homes that are experiencing economic hardship or have been part of the foster care system. While the schools have recently shut down to be consolidated with the local school system, efforts are underway to create a new learning center that continues the mission of combining traditional knowledge and culture with academia.

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  • How the White Mountain Apache Tribe Beat COVID

    The White Mountain Apache Tribe curbed COVID-19 death rates with contact-tracing, surveillance of high-risk people, and vaccinations. After a devastating COVID-19 outbreak, health officials began daily home visits to monitor vital signs of those who tested positive and those at greatest risk, allowing positive cases to be identified early. In combination with prior health outreach programs, this helped the team to form strong bonds with tribal members, which has been key to the program’s success. This familiarity has also helped them address vaccine hesitancy as they vaccinate people in their homes.

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  • Bringing wild bison and an endangered ecosystem back

    Research suggests that in the 1500s there were 30 million to 60 million bison, 400 years later roughly 1,000 remained. Today, their ecosystem, the Great Plains, is one of the most endangered in the world. However, there is a growing movement trying to change that. Across the U.S. indigenous communities are trying to return bison to parts of their historic range. This article looks at various ways indigenous communities are unfolding different methods to do just that, not only to grow the population, but to return them to their culture.

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  • How Native Americans launched successful coronavirus vaccination drives: ‘A story of resilience'

    Comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination strategies helped some Native American Nations achieve high vaccination rates. Tribal sovereignty gave Nations the flexibility to create their own methods of distributing the vaccine and allowed officials to distribute doses to hard-to-reach areas – even by dog sled in Alaska. They could prioritize who to vaccinate and diversify how vaccines were offered – from private appointments to mass-vaccination events – to ensure broad accessibility. Medical professionals, tribal leaders, and Native youth used social media to share information and encourage people to get vaccinated.

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  • Okemos Public Schools is changing its mascot. Belding already did and says they have no regrets.

    Many parents and community members lobbied the Okemos School Board, which approved a name change for the public school's mascot from one that objectifies and stereotypes Native Americans to one that promotes a positive imagery for students of all races and backgrounds. Belding area schools also approved a name change after parents protested an interim solution that allowed the use of the mascot’s name without imagery as not going far enough. The Native American Heritage Fund provided grants to schools wanting to change their mascots to help mitigate the obstacle of the high costs of rebranding.

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  • Wild Basket initiative brings traditional foraging techniques to future generations

    The Wild Basket allows community members of Temiskaming First Nation to gain traditional knowledge about native food sources and foraging techniques while re-connecting to the land and their roots. The initiative also provides a source of native food. The wild foods include mushrooms, fiddleheads, spices, and tea leaves which are sold to restaurants and other community members.

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