Citizenship/Membership

Dismembering Natives: The Violence Done by Citizenship Fights

Year

Outside Indian Country most don't realize that over the past 10 years, several thousand people have had their tribal citizenship status terminated. Most were not dismembered for wrongdoing or adopted by other Native nations. They were simply identified by their elected officials as allegedly no longer meeting revised citizenship criteria. One day they were Native citizens, the next day, they were not. This fate has befallen individuals on a case by case basis over the years, but the practice has now reached alarming proportions never before witnessed...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Wilkins, David E. "Dismembering Natives: The Violence Done by Citizenship Fights." Indian Country Today. May 16, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/dismembering-natives-the-violence-done-by-citizenship-fights, accessed April 5, 2023)

Tribal Rights Legend and Leader Billy Frank Jr. Walks On

Author
Year

In 2004, we celebrated 30 years since the Boldt Decision of 1974, the landmark Indian fishing rights victory, that Billy Frank Jr. fought so hard for.

“Frank is widely credited as conscience and soul of the efforts by Indian people in Washington to secure their rights to a fair share of fish on their ancient waterways and, by implication and serious struggle, the effort to ensure the survival of steelhead and salmon,” says an editorial that ran on IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com on March 1, 2004. 

Today, we mourn his passing. He was 83...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

ICTMN Staff. "Tribal Rights Legend and Leader Billy Frank Jr. Walks On." Indian Country Today Media Network. May 5, 2014. Article. (https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/tribal-rights..., accessed May 5, 2014)

Preserving Culture: 6 Early Childhood Language Immersion Programs

Author
Year

Language immersion schools have proved to be enormously beneficial for young learners’ academics. To quote Dr. Janine Pease-Pretty on Top, Crow, founding president of Little Big Horn College, “Solid data from the Navajo, Blackfeet and Assiniboine immersion schools experience indicates that the language immersion students experience greater success in school, measured by consistent improvement on local and national measures of achievement.” Early childhood language immersion programs must be adapted to the cultural and financial resources available. Here are some examples of how educators have done that...

Indigenous and 21st Century Nationalisms

Producer
Indian Country Today
Year

Indigenous Peoples live within the boundaries of nation-states but usually do not conform to the cultural, political, economic institutions and identities of their host states. Most contemporary democratic nation states are created by agreement through adoption of a constitution, which spells out fundamental laws and values...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Champagne, Duane. "Indigenous and 21st Century Nationalisms." Indian Country Today Media Network. March 15, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/indigenous-and-21st-century-nationalisms, accessed July 24, 2023)

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Increases Minimum Wage to $10.25

Year

As the economy recovers from what is being called the worst recession since the Great Depression, rural economies are still feeling the effects. The greater economy is rebounding, but a large amount of the jobs that were lost due to the housing bubble and subsequent global financial debacle are just not returning...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Media Release. "Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Increases Minimum Wage to $10.25." Native American Times. March 12, 2014. Article. (http://nativetimes.com/index.php/news/tribal/9671-leech-lake-band-of-oji..., accessed March 24, 2014)

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times: The Seven Teachings

Year

"We are invited once again to revisit the time-honored teachings, and to embrace the old ways in order to renew our connection to the Sacred Teachings. We need this old knowledge in our lives to live in these modern times of technology."

So began a PowerPoint presentation by Chi-Ma'iingan/Great Wolf (Larry Stillday)–aided by his wife Violet–at the 8th Annual Drug and Gang Summit held at Seven Clans Casino and Event Center on February 11 to 13, 2014...

Resource Type
Citation

Meuers, Michael. "Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times: The Seven Teachings." Indian Country Today Media Network. March 19, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/ancient-wisdom-for-modern-times-the-seven-teachings, accessed March 2, 2023)

Iroquois women enjoyed equality long before 1492

Year

Normal perceptions regarding Women’s History Month revolve around the struggle for women’s political equality in the United States. Yet, many citizens in the U.S. would not suspect that within some American Indian culture, long before Columbus ventured across the Atlantic Ocean, native women enjoyed an equality only dreamed of by the women of European descent. One prominent American Indian tribe which genuinely manifested an attitude of respect and trust toward women existed within the “Iroquois League,” later known as the “Iroquois Confederation.”...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Jamison, Dennis. "Iroquois women enjoyed equality long before 1492." Communities Digital News. March 4, 2014. Article. (http://www.commdiginews.com/history-and-holidays/iroquois-women-enjoyed-..., accessed March 10, 2014)

Sleeping Language Waking Up Thanks to Wampanoag Reclamation Project

Producer
Indian Country Today
Year

It’s been more than 300 years since Wampanoag was the primary spoken language in Cape Cod. But, if Wampanoag tribal members keep their current pace, that may not be true for much longer.

Tribal members have been signing up for classes with the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project while families and students have been attending summer language camps. Now plans are underway for the Wampanoag Language Public Charter School, expected to open in August 2015 to serve kindergarten through third grade...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Rose, Christina. "Sleeping Language Waking Up Thanks to Wampanoag Reclamation Project." Indian Country Today Media Network. February 25, 2014. Article. (https://ictnews.org/archive/sleeping-language-waking-up-thanks-to-wampanoag-reclamation-project, accessed November 13, 2023)

Preserving Indigenous Democracy

Year

When Europeans first came to the Americas they took note of the democratic processes they observed in most indigenous nations. Indigenous political relations were usually decentralized, consensus based, and inclusive. Indigenous democracies may not seem remarkable by contemporary standards, but when Europeans arrived their governments were not democratic. Most of Europe was characterized by centralized absolutist states dominated by class structures, where the majority of people did not participate in the political process. Wars of independence, starting with the United States in 1775 and then throughout Latin and South America during the early 1800s, enabled creation of democratic states after overthrowing European colonial governments. The new democratic American states engaged market economies, and retained class structure, albeit within a nation of individual citizens...

Resource Type
Citation

Champagne, Duane. "Preserving Indigenous Democracy." Indian Country Today Media Network. February 17, 2014. Article. (https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/preserving-...), accessed February 18, 2014)

Building better homes in Indian Country

Year

There's no other house like it on the Oglala Sioux's 2 million-acre Pine Ridge Reservation: Its walls are insulated by 18-inch strawbales rather than plastic sheeting, and its radiant-floor heating is much cheaper than the typical propane or electric. A frost-protected shallow foundation inhibits mold and is more energy-efficient than the damp basements common here.

Surrounded by South Dakota's open prairie, the rectangular home with its red-metal roof is one of four prototypes the local nonprofit Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation is building with South Dakota college students and the University of Colorado Boulder's Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative. Others will feature compressed-earth blocks, structural insulated panels made of plywood-faced foam, or standard wood framing...

Native Nations
Resource Type
Citation

Seltenrich, Nate. "Building better homes in Indian Country." High Country News. January 20, 2014. Article. (http://www.hcn.org/issues/46.1/building-better-homes-in-indian-country, accessed March 14, 2023)