Alejandro Rama loves basketball and is a mentor with Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation’s mentorship program. When Rama was growing up he would frequently turn to his coach for answers about the game, school, or whatever was on his mind. At 16, Rama now understands how important it is to have a role model when you are young.

Women’s advocates call President Donald Trump’s use of the name Pocahontas as a jab at U.S. Senator Elisabeth Warren disrespectful to tribes and harmful to Native women.  Advocates point to the story of Pocahontas, a Pamunkey Indian, as being romanticized too often. Advocates add the Pocahontas story is in fact about kidnap and rape and sadly resonates with modern-day Indigenous women.

“To dismiss, minimize that story (Pocahontas) or to make her invisible from who she is as a human, to explain to people why that’s inappropriate is very exhausting,” said Amber Kanazbah Crotty, an advocate and Navajo Nation lawmaker.

Navajo Nation tribal leaders respond to a White House event honoring Navajo Code Talkers by calling the contributions of code talkers invaluable, but cultural insensitivity shown by President Donald Trump after Trump made comments about Pocahontas. 

“The statement by President Trump was disrespectful and rude,” said Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez on Tuesday in response to President Trump’s comments.  “Our Navajo Code Talkers fought for courage and honor and that same respect should have been given to them yesterday at the White House. Instead that event will be remembered for entirely different reasons.”

The Treaty Alliance, an organization representing 150 U.S. and Canadian tribes, has voiced its opposition to the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s approval of the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline. Nebraska regulators announced the decision on Monday. Treaty Alliance members were disappointed that the pipeline would be approved only days after an associated TransCanada pipeline in South Dakota leaked more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil.

Some Native organization and advocates across the United States are seeking to get young Native people to switch from drinking sugary beverages such as soda and energy drinks to water.  The Service To All Relations School, known as the STAR School, near the Navajo reservation in Flagstaff, Arizona is one place efforts are underway to encourage students to drink water and at the same time find ways to address the longstanding lack of access to clean water at their homes. Read more…

The key to Thunder Valley’s development was realizing from the start that there would be challenges with personalities, politics and available resources. Supporting each other helped in that process. But, understanding that change would take time and having the patience to accept that has been equally important in Thunder Valley’s success. Read more…

Organizers of a new coalition led by Alaska Native groups plan to step up their efforts on a variety of environmental issues. The group organized an initial protest at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage, speaking out against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other issues. Defend the Sacred organized the march of more than 200 people during the AFN convention over the weekend. The march was timed as Senator Lisa Murkowski was about to address AFN. Read more…

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…