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Santa Monica may decide to observe Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the request of a Chicanx student group at Santa Monica High School. The City Council will vote Tuesday to join more than 130 other cities around the country in recognizing the second Monday in October of each year as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The holiday was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations to the United Nations. Last month, the local Santa Monica High School chapter of el Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de...

There’s a long history of U.S. schools failing Indigenous peoples, cultures and histories. In this story, Native parents and educators share examples of how educators and schools still get it wrong—and the steps they can take to fix their mistakes. It’s no secret that American Indians have been subjected to educational policies and practices intended to assimilate us into the dominant culture. Over centuries, these practices have destroyed and eradicated many Indigenous languages and...

By Kaylee Domzalski, Oregon Public Broadcasting, September 14, 2019 Josh Cocker stood among a group of Grand Ronde tribal members and asked for someone to take a healthy risk. Cocker and his co-facilitator, Shalene Joseph, had spent the last two days in a community gymnasium in Grand Ronde, Oregon, leading group exercises meant to start the healing process and deepen the community’s understanding of belonging, interdependency and generosity. On the third day, they introduced the rope...

By Yesenia Amaro and Deepa Bharath, Center for Health Journalism News Collaborative, October 4, 2019 For almost two years, Sylvia Valenzuela relied on the federal Indian Health Service system to get the primary care she needed. But when she had to see an OB-GYN for her prenatal care, she was on her own. What followed, she said, was a nightmare in which she struggled to obtain and keep Medi-Cal coverage, leaving her uninsured for a critical stretch of her pregnancy. Valenzuela says she would...

By Daniela Germano, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, October 1, 2019 An online training program is aiming to educate health-care professionals about biases Indigenous women may experience as highlighted by allegations of recent coerced sterilizations. Dr. Naana Jumah, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and assistant professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, said the idea for the program came in 2011 when she was doing her residency.

The San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery kicks off citywide American Indian Initiative with The Continuous Thread: Celebrating our Interwoven Histories, Identities and Contributions. SAN FRANCISCO, August 2, 2019 - On April 5 and 6, the San Francisco Arts Commission hosted over 150 members of the Bay Area’s Indigenous community to be photographed on top of the empty plinth that, until recently, held the Early Days component of the Pioneer Monument in San Francisco’s Civic Center. The...

By Risa Johnson, Palm Springs Desert Sun, September 30, 2019 Native American students in California's public schools face higher-than-average suspension rates, according to a new report. A joint effort between California State University, San Diego, and the Sacramento Native American Higher Education Collaborative, the report outlines what it calls troubling trends regarding how school administrators discipline students. Racial disparities in school discipline, particularly for African...

WASHINGTON, D.C . – Today, Congressman Andy Biggs introduced the Native American Education Opportunity Act , which establishes a five-year pilot program to allow Tribes to create an education savings account (ESA) for Tribal enrolled students who currently attend Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. The Native American Education Opportunity Program would be funded through Title II of the Every Students Succeeds Act , of which $8,000 would be deposited into a student’s ESA . ESA funds...

California tribes are unique in geography, language, land, air, water and cultural resource issues. The land bases of California tribes range from urban centers to some of the most isolated regions in the country. This report examines current threats to traditional foods and tribal food insecurity due to the rapid culture change of California tribal communities in the past century. It explores some of the natural resources that continue to be utilized for subsistence food as well as the...

Congratulations to the recipients of the Medication Assisted Access Points - Tribal Infrastructure Support grant. Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians - Lake County Greenville Rancheria - Tehama County Indian Child and Preservation Program - Sonoma County K'im:a Medical Center - Humboldt County Round Valley Indian Health Center - Mendocino County Sacramento Nativev American Health Center - Sacramento County Sonoma County Indian Health Project - Sonoma County Tule River Tribe - Tulare County...

By Hannah Wiley, Sacramento Bee, September 27, 2019 Gov. Gavin Newsom at an annual celebration of Native American culture said he wanted greater “truth telling” of California’s indigenous history and a stronger acknowledgment of the state’s genocide of native people. The governor opened his remarks at the 52nd annual Native American Day in Sacramento by describing California’s first governor, Peter Hardeman Burnett , authorizing a “war of extermination” against the state’s indigenous...

When researching the history and origin of the Boy Scouts, the story that likely comes to the surface is regarding Ernest Thompson Seton, an author, and artist that taught young men the ways of Native Americans. Seton started the Woodcraft Indians, and would eventually go on to create the Boy Scouts with the assistance, input, and guidance from author Daniel Carter Beard and British military officer Robert Baden-Powell. Seton, Beard, and Baden-Powell began to garner more support from New...