Arizona projects get sizeable cut of Great American Outdoors Act funds
WASHINGTON - Arizona projects got $110 million last year and will get another $159 million in the fiscal year that started this month, or more than 9% of all funding nationally under the Great American Outdoors Act for those two years.
Biden reverses Trump cuts to national monuments, restores Bears Ears
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden restored Bears Ears National Monument to its previous 1.36 million-acres footprint Friday, reversing a Trump-era decision to cut as much as 85% of the southern Utah site valued for its environmental, archeological and tribal treasures.
Programs tackle diabetes prevention in Black, Hispanic youth as cases surge
PHOENIX – New research shows a surge in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in youth, and some of the biggest increases are among Black and Hispanic children. One Arizona project seeks to prevent the problem with a nutrition and exercise program focused on Latino families.
Arizonans hopeful that focus on missing Indigenous persons may pay off
WASHINGTON - Duane Garvais-Lawrence pulled into Washington, D.C., Friday, ending his second annual coast-to-coast trip to bring attention to the problem of missing and murdered Indigenous women - a trip he hopes he does not have to make again.
First Native American poet laureate begins third term, releases a memoir
Joy Harjo of Oklahoma, the first Native American woman to serve as the nation’s poet laureate, has begun her third term – an honor bestowed only once before, in 1999. She also has released “Poet Warrior: A Memoir.”
Preserving the force of Navajo language: Dubbing ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’
FLAGSTAFF – Star Wars: A New Hope” was dubbed into the 700-year-old language of the Navajo in 2013 and now streams for subscribers of Disney+. The museum director who launched the dub sees it as a method of language preservation, with parallels between the tribe and “Star Wars.
Attorneys, advocates reflect on new Native American Voting Rights bill
The Native American Voting Rights Act aims to address voting barriers related to addresses, IDs and delivering ballot in tribal areas.
Chickasaw woman gets USDA post, one in a string of Indigenous nominees
WASHINGTON - For the first time in history, an Indigenous woman is overseeing U.S. agriculture law - but Janie Simms Hipp is just the latest in a number of Native Americans nominated to top posts in the Biden administration, highlighted by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Oklahoma tribes prepare to pivot to booster shots in COVID-19 battle
WASHINGTON - Formal guidance from the Indian Health Service on how and when to give COVID-19 vaccine booster shots is still in the works, but some tribes in Oklahoma are not waiting but getting ready with the news that booster shot guidelines are on the horizon.
Solutions and struggle: COVID relief highlights complexity of issues facing Native people
The pandemic exacerbated different infrastructure issues in Indigenous communities across the country.
Shawnee language classes move online during COVID-19 pandemic
Only about 100 people speak the ancient language of the Shawnee people, which has motivated tribal officials to educate more young people. 2020 was supposed to be the Year of the Shawnee Language in Oklahoma, but COVID-19 forced educators online. There were some positives.
Nevertheless, she persisted: Woman keeps helping, despite COVID losses
She has lost 20 blood relatives and many more friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kim Holmes keeps showing up for work as a property manager for the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma so she can be there for those who need help the most.
