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Creators of the popular video "Baby Shark," whose "doo doo doo" song was played at the World Series in October and has been a viral hit with toddlers around the world, have released a Navajo version of the tune. "Łóó' Hashkéii Awéé," which loosely means Navajo Baby Shark, is the 20th language version of Baby Shark, SmartStudy marketing manager Kevin Yoon said in an email. The project was launched after Navajo Nation Museum director Manuelito Wheeler reached out to SmartStudy in September...

An Indigenous Peoples’ History offers a needed, yet often unheard perspective on United States history. An Indigenous Peoples’ History consistently poses questions that counteract misinformation about Native communities, specifically stories that are usually taught in elementary school. This lends itself to fantastic conversations on whose history is taught in school, and offers students a chance to recognize whose curriculum they’re expected to learn for standardized tests. And unlike many...

By Kelly Smith, Star Tribune, December 2, 2019 After bouncing from shelter to shelter for four years, 19-year-old Shataye finally has a place of her own to lay her head and help to get back on her feet. Beaming with joy, she recently moved into a St. Paul apartment, one of 42 units at Mino Oski Ain Dah Yung, a new $13.6 million building that means “good new home” in Ojibwe. Two nonprofits, the Ain Dah Yung Center in St. Paul and Project for Pride in Living in Minneapolis, unveiled the...

MINNEAPOLIS—ON THE heels of the National Indian Education Association's conference held in Minneapolis earlier this fall and just in time for Native American Heritage Month , the nearby Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community announced a $5 million philanthropic campaign to fund resources, curriculum, and training on Native American heritage for teachers and administrators across Minnesota , according to the Star Tribune . "We're hoping we can move the needle in the narrative in Minnesota and...

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...

Click HERE to learn more. Description The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Centers for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), are accepting applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Tribal Behavioral Health Grant Program (Short Title: Native Connections). The purpose of this program is to prevent suicide and substance misuse, reduce the impact of trauma, and promote mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)...

Much of the Thanksgiving story focuses on a peaceful, cross-cultural exchange between the "Pilgrims and Indians." While it's true that the Wampanoag and the planters shared in a harvest celebration, within fifty years, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people. For some Native Americans, Thanksgiving is no cause for celebration, but rather serves as a reminder of colonization's devastating impact on Indigenous peoples. In this activity, students will explore the perspectives of two...

This article is by Orly Morgan, board member AlterNATIVE Education, Columbia College Class of 2017. Summer is known as a time for students to rest and relax after months of classes; but for AlterNATIVE Education , summer means business. The team is quickly preparing to train facilitators, book flights and put the finishing touches on curriculum that it will teach to Native American students on 10 different reservation communities around the country AlterNATIVE Education is a not-for-profit...

In 2011, the National Congress of American Indians passed a formal resolution advocating for the second Monday of October to be renamed Indigenous Peoples Day. A changing tide in cities and states have followed suit since then. In 2018 alone, 46 cities adopted the name in lieu of Columbus Day. Indian Country Today created an interactive map showing all of the cities and states that have passed legislation recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day as a holiday. Other sites not included are counties,...

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...