For the first time, federal legislation has set aside the day after Thanksgiving — for this year only — to honor the contributions American Indians have made to the United States.
November 28, 2008
All posts by: Raven SiJohn
October 2, 2008
QUESTION:
I have been searching for information on the significance of Lakota jewelry in the past. I am a teacher and during watching a film on Lewis & Clark, which included some references to the Lakota, some students were very interested in the pictures of the beautiful bear claw necklaces, etc. They wanted to know what the jewelry really meant. So far, I’ve had no luck with internet searches. Can you help?
~Submitted by Jewell S.
September 20, 2008
Leonard Peltier is eligible for a parole hearing in December 2008, after more than thirty-three years in prison. There are several things you can do to help insure this hearing has a positive outcome.
September 5, 2008
A 200-acre wooded site west of Tisch Mills guards its secrets well. Maybe that’s what its original inhabitants intended.But for historian Bruce Vandervest and several other investigators, the site, confirmed to be a sacred Native American burial ground, continues to draw them back in their determination to find out more: a Viking ship also may be part of the find.
September 5, 2008
In response to a message about my movement to change the name of Minnesota’s Rum River, a message that was sent to Gene Amondson, the 2008 Presidential nominee for the National Prohibition Party, I received a supportive call from him. We talked about the work we are doing to bring back Prohibition as well as establish dry states, counties and cities, etc. In respect to keeping him updated on the progress of my Rum River name-change movement and associated movement to bring back Prohibition, Amondson told me to call him whenever I would like to. Amondson is an international speaker and he has been on the John Stewart Daily Show once and on the Oprah show twice.
August 22, 2008
AUTHOR: Wilma Mankiller Now, as the campaign has narrowed to a general election, my hope for the future of this country and its policies toward tribal governments and individuals only grows. I know we have an advocate in Sen. Barack Obama, who unveiled his First Americans platform while the campaign was still in its infancy […]
August 20, 2008
AUTHOR: Roxana Hegeman The self-proclaimed leader of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was found guilty Wednesday of defrauding immigrants by falsely telling them tribal membership would make them U.S. citizens.
August 20, 2008
AUTHOR: Roxana Hegeman The self-proclaimed leader of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was found guilty Wednesday of defrauding immigrants by falsely telling them tribal membership would make them U.S. citizens.
August 19, 2008
AUTHOR: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today McCain entered the presidential campaign with considerable standing in Indian country – not bad for a Republican on overwhelmingly Democratic turf. But even prior to the rapprochement with Reed, a number of announcements and positions had compromised his support in some quarters and led to a re-evaluation in […]
July 26, 2008
QUESTION: My sister taught school on the reservation in Pine Ridge (Porcupine) about 20 years ago. She will be 50 this year. I am looking to buy her turquoise jewelry. I’d like to know it’s authentic and made by the Indians. She would hold this as being very special. I understand that some jewelry has […]
Crow Tribe wants to exploit coal
123 ViewsJuly 17, 2008
AUTHOR: Mathew Brown They tried casinos on the Crow reservation. The one designed to bring in the biggest crowds, Res-a-Vegas, went broke within a year and has been converted to a fireworks stand. But now the Crow are convinced a really big jackpot lies below the surface: coal.
July 9, 2008
Truth and reconciliation commissions seek to uncover facts and distinguish truth from lies. The process allows for acknowledgement, appropriate public mourning, forgiveness and healing. And if the US House of Representatives passes their version of Brownback’s apology bill and President Bush signs it Congress should then be pressed to launch a national Truth and Reconciliation […]
July 2, 2008
QUESTION: When did it become legal in Arizona for Native Americans to buy alcohol and to vote?~Submitted by Mel H.
Alcohol Prohibition timeline
136 ViewsJuly 2, 2008
The 1933 appeal of prohibition did not apply to native americans. They continued under prohibition laws until 1953, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower Indian prohibition was repealed country-wide. Indian reservations, however, remained dry unless they opted to permit the possession and sale of alcohol on the reservation. Many reservations remain “dry” today.
July 1, 2008
In an article published in the Star Tribune, Minnesota’s best-selling state-wide daily newspaper, Jeffrey Kolnick proposed that Minnesota “take a leadership role in the nation in dealing with the legacy of the genocide of indigenous peoples in the Americas”.