News For All Americans
Officials in Wellsville City, Utah are rethinking their Founders’ Day event that includes residents painting their bodies red to portray Native Americans during a ‘reenactment’ of history (Photo: screenshot of 2010 Wellsville City Founders’ Day parade video)
A South Dakota Army National Guard helicopter helps battle a fire in this 2012 photo. Pine Ridge and other areas in South Dakota are bracing for the possibility of wildfires as drought conditions drag on (Photo: Master Sgt. Don Matthews, U.S. Army via Wikimedia CC)
Members of the Smith family from the Tlowitsis First Nation visit their totem pole in Albuquerque (Photo: Andi Murphy).
Tribes are urging the U.S. government to change the name of Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park to Buffalo Nations Valley (photo: Wikimedia, Anusia1984)
The United American Indian Involvement organization is currently studying ways that its traditional social outreach program program is helping improve mental health among Native Americans in Los Angeles County. As we find out in our ongoing series Health and wellness: the Indigenous way, people travel long distances to participate in the Drum, Dance and Regalia program and other events that help connect them to their cultures and other people with similar values. Organizers hope the programs help improve the statistics for people vulnerable to problems like child abuse, gang involvement, and mental illness. Read more…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds Native Americans and Alaska Natives are more likely to report their health is fair or poor compared to other groups, particularly Caucasians. Rates of diabetes, suicide and chronic illnesses are often higher in Native communities. National Native News is teaming up with New Mexico In Focus and the USC Annenberg-Center for Health Journalism this fall for a series highlighting health and wellness in Native America. PBS. The series will examine some of the ways Indigenous people in California, New Mexico and Arizona are taking control of their mental and physical health. Read more…
A federal court has overturned a Muscogee Creek man’s death sentence in a major jurisdiction ruling. The ruling reaffirms the tribe’s historical reservation boundaries in Oklahoma. The case goes back to 1999, when Patrick Murphy was accused of murdering another Muscogee man. He was convicted in Oklahoma court and put on death row in 2000. Since then, he’s unsuccessfully appealed multiple times.
