WASHINGTON – Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Tom Udall (D-NM), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, today announced that the Committee has approved S. 257, legislation to provide rental assistance for homeless or at-risk Indian veterans. The bill, which passed the Senate last Congress with the support of the Administration, would authorize a joint tribal housing initiative between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program, among other things. Chairman Hoeven is an original cosponsor of the bill.
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Allows Tribes more options to streamline job training programs
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced today the completion of a historic interagency memorandum of agreement (MOA) between 12 federal agencies for expanded participation by federal agencies in the 477-Demonstration Project (“477-initiative”). The MOA is a key requirement identified in amendments provided under the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017, Public Law 115-93, as signed by President Donald Trump on December 18, 2017. The 477-initiative was initially created by Public Law 102-477, the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992, 25 U.S.C. section 3401 et seq., which allows federally recognized Tribes to integrate employment and training-related, formula-funded federal grants into a single plan with a single budget and single reporting system to improve effectiveness of those services, reduce joblessness in Indian communities, while reducing administrative, reporting, and accounting costs.
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Newest and largest Native philanthropic organization launched website today, seeks public input on priorities
FAYETTEVILLE, AR. – The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) launched its website today and is soliciting public feedback to inform NAAF’s priorities and future funding activities. NAAF plans to begin its first round of grantmaking in 2019. To view the survey and find additional information about NAAF, please visit NativeAmericanAgricultureFund.org.
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Over 9,000 Fentanyl pills and hundreds of pounds of other drugs seized
WASHINGTON - From May 15, 2018 through May 26, 2018, the Department of the Interior (DOI) Opioid Reduction Task Force conducted a Criminal Interdiction Operation in and around Tribal reservations in Arizona, seizing 9,050 Fentanyl pills, 48.2 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.2 pounds of heroin, 863 pounds of marijuana, one-half pound of cocaine, and $30,000 in cash. In total, the drug bust yielded a seizure of 913.5 pounds of illegal narcotics, with a street value of approximately $4,791,417.00, and led to 86 total arrests. The operation in Arizona is the second led by Interior’s Joint Task Force, which Secretary Zinke established to help achieve President Donald Trump's mission to end the opioid epidemic.
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Senators Lead Bipartisan Effort to Include Indian Country Priorities in Farm Bill
WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven (R-ND) and Tom Udall (D-NM), chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, respectively, this week introduced bipartisan legislation to support tribal self-governance, agricultural production in Indian Country, and enhanced agribusiness and rural development opportunities for Native American farmers, ranchers, and communities. The Cultivating Resources, Opportunity, Prosperity and Sustainability (CROPS) for Indian Country Act (S. 2804) would authorize tribes to exercise greater self-governance for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, such as forestry and nutrition, and update several other key USDA authorizations to better serve Tribes.
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Project will bring in $30M in annual revenue and create 200 permanent jobs
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – At a signing ceremony today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke approved the Shawnee Tribe’s application to put 102.98 acres of land in Guymon, Texas County, Oklahoma, into federal Indian trust status for gaming. The Shawnee Tribe proposes to develop a 42,309-square foot gaming facility on the site comprised of a 20,206-square foot gaming floor, a restaurant, retail space, and office spaces for the Shawnee Tribe Gaming Commission. When completed, the project is expected to generate a $30 million annual impact for the local economy, including creating 200 permanent jobs. The federally recognized tribe, landless for well over 160 years, is headquartered in Miami, Okla., and has approximately 2,500 members.
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Company to significantly increase annual philanthropic giving to American Indian/Alaska Native communities over five years, launches company-wide initiative to better serve Indian Country
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced a five-year, $50 million commitment to American Indian/Alaska Native communities to help address their unique economic, social and environmental needs. The company will expand philanthropy programs, work to improve products and services to meet the financial and banking requirements of the American Indian/Alaska Native community, and help create a greater awareness of American Indian/Alaska Native culture, history and contributions.
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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior and retired U.S. Navy SEAL Commander Ryan Zinke participated in the Reading of the Names and the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The secretary read 60 names. The event marks the 35th anniversary of The Wall. It spans 3 days and features over a thousand volunteers reading every name of the fallen who are enshrined on The Wall.
Media use B-roll of the scene and the Secretary reading names can be downloaded here.
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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke sent a draft report to the president which included his findings and recommendations on national monuments that were under review as a result of the April 26, 2017 executive order. The report summary can be read here. The extensive 120-day review included more than 60 meetings with hundreds of advocates and opponents of monument designations, tours of monuments conducted over air, foot, car, and horseback (including a virtual tour of a marine monument), and a thorough review of more than 2.4 million public comments submitted to the Department on regulations.gov. Additionally, countless more meetings and conversations between senior Interior officials and local, state, Tribal, and non-government stakeholders including multiple Tribal listening sessions.
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WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued the following statement today which was read during the 26th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service at the United States Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The ceremony formally announced the names of three fallen law enforcement officers from the Navajo and Chickasaw Nations as new inscriptions to the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument.
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WASHINGTON – Ring in spring with a visit to a national park during National Park Week, April 15 through 23. Throughout the country, hundreds of programs and events will encourage visitors to explore new places and enjoy new experiences. More information is available at www.nationalparkweek.org.
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February 16, 2017—Mesa, Arizona— Nationally renowned trainers and presenters will kick off the UNITY Midyear Conference on Friday in Tempe, Arizona. Robert Johnston, Choctaw/Muscogee Creek, Juanita Toledo, Jemez Pueblo, Marcus “Emcee One” Guinn, Osage/Potawatomi, and Sleepyeye LaFromboise, Seneca/Dakota/Sac and Fox/Kickapoo/Potawatomi, are set to provide leadership training to more than 350 Native youth and youth advisors from around the country. The UNITY Midyear Conference, with a theme of Creating Balance through Cultural Awareness, takes place at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel and Conference Center in Tempe, Arizona from February 17 - 20. Click here for more info.
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Eureka Productions tag along as a couple supporters from outside the protest visit and report what they saw and heard in early November at Standing Rock during the demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Video by Eureka Productions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zd5qu6lI-FA
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President’s Action Follows Decades-Long Campaigns by Members of Congress, Tribes, Local Conservationists to Protect Areas of Extraordinary Cultural Importance and Natural Beauty
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today joined tribes, members of Congress, state and local officials, and local business and community leaders in applauding the President’s designation of the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah and the Gold Butte National Monument in southeastern Nevada. Representing the best of America’s natural wonders, today’s designations complete what tribes, members of Congress, state and local officials, and local business and community leaders have sought for decades, but Congress failed to take action.
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PAGE, Ariz. – The U.S. Department of the Interior today released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) for Glen Canyon Dam operations. The LTEMP will provide a framework for adaptively managing Glen Canyon Dam over the next 20 years with the goal of creating certainty and predictability for water and power users while protecting environmental and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River ecosystem.
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Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell to Announce Settlements of Tribal Trust Accounting and Management Lawsuits
September 26, 2016
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The White House Summit on The United State of Women
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Maggie Dunne, Founder and CEO of Lakota Children's Enrichment, was a Solutions Seminar Speaker during The White House Summit on The United State of Women. Lakota Children's Enrichment, Inc. is a for purpose nonprofit that empowers youth on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota through opportunities in the arts, education, sports, leadership and mentorship.
lakotachildren.org
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Cierra was nominated through public submissions to attend The White House Summit on The United State of Women. Cierra has witnessed firsthand the power of overcoming struggle to bring about change and help others in her community, especially in the Cherokee Nation. A 17-year-old advocate, Cierra has traveled across Indian Country to educate youth, especially other Native American young women, about sexual assault and address solutions that will empower youth and improve enforcement, transparency, and accountability. As a melanoma cancer survivor, Cierra has also dedicated her time to helping tribal health facilities, and in 2013, was honored as a White House "Champion of Change" for her extraordinary work to promote healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of cancer in native communities. This year, Cierra will host the Charles Head Memorial Native Youth Summit on efforts to put an end to sexual assault, a conversation she brought to the table in her participation at the United State of Women Summit.
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NATV had the opportunity to cover a Bernie Sanders Rally held in DC. Here is a clip from the event.
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Mesa, Arizona (June 10, 2016) – Education institutions, armed forces, businesses, corporations and government agencies have an opportunity to interact with as many as 2,000 American Indian and Alaska Native youth at the National UNITY Conference from July 22-26, 2016 in Oklahoma City. UNITY, which stands for United National Indian Tribal Youth, will host an Education & Career Expo on Monday, July 25, at the Oklahoma City Renaissance Convention Center. The Education & Career Expo promises to be a premier event that will highlight exhibitors and workshops to help youth create strategies that will lead to promising educational and career futures.
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“Access to a job in the summer and beyond can make all the difference to a young person – especially those who don’t have access to many resources and opportunities.”
- President Barack Obama
A young person’s first job brings more than just a steady paycheck – the experience teaches young people life and work skills that serve them long after the job is done. Summer is a critical time for young people to get access to first jobs that can provide important skills, experiences and networks for their future. At the same time, summer opportunities have been shown to divert youth from criminal involvement and reduce overall violence in communities. That is why, in February, the White House launched the Summer Opportunity Project to increase the number of young Americans participating in evidence-based summer opportunity programs, decrease the percentage of youth experiencing violence over the summer, and—more broadly—make sure that young Americans have the support they need to get their first job. This work builds on the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force recommendation strengthening the case for summer youth employment and launching a cross-sector campaign to reduce summer learning loss and increase the number of job and internship opportunities for all young people.
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Water challenges are facing communities and regions across the United States, impacting millions of lives and costing billions of dollars in damages. These challenges are particularly problematic in predominantly poor, minority, or rural communities, where water inequality can go hand-in-hand with socioeconomic inequality. Recent events, including record-breaking drought in the West, severe flooding in the Southeast, and the water-quality crisis in Flint, MI, have elevated a national dialogue on the state of our Nation’s water resources and infrastructure. This dialogue is increasingly important as a growing population and changing climate continue to exacerbate water challenges. Accordingly, we must work together to build a sustainable water future—one in which everyone has access to the safe, clean, and affordable water they need, when and where they need it.
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Click here to visit the Museum's website.
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“ABC News Special: President Obama’s State of the Union Address and the Republican Response”
Live Stream
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Today, the White House Council on Women and Girls in collaboration with the Anna Julia Cooper Center at Wake Forest University will host a daylong forum on Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color, which will focus on empowering and increasing opportunity for women and girls of color and their peers. The forum will bring together a range of stakeholders from the academic, private, government and philanthropic sectors to discuss ways that we can break down barriers to success and create more ladders of opportunity for all Americans, including women and girls of color. Forum participants will highlight a range of issues, including economic development, healthcare, criminal justice, vulnerability to violence, hip-hop, and images of women in the media. Today, the Council on Women and Girls will release a progress report, “Advancing Equity for Women and Girls of Color,” as a follow up to the 2014 report, and announce independent commitments to close opportunity gaps faced by women and girls, including women and girls of color.
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Click Here to watch the Opening Remarks by Valerie Jarrett
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Click Here to watch the Armchair Session with President Obama.
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Click Here to watch the Opening Remarks by Secretary Jewell.
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Washington tribal leaders call on Congress and federal agencies to honor treaty rights
Washington, D.C.—At the 7th Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference, Northwest tribes stood in solidarity to protect treaty rights. Tribal leaders gathered from many nations—representing thousands of tribal members from the shores of Lummi, Tulalip, Swinomish, and Quinault, to the rivers and mountains of Yakama, Hoopa Valley, and Spokane— to oppose the nation’s largest coal terminal being built on Lummi’s sacred burial grounds, Xwe'chieXen, known as Cherry Point, in the Salish Sea.
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UNITY announces its #IwillLive initiative during National Suicide Prevention Week and call for moment of silence on
World Suicide Prevention Day
September 4, 2015 – Mesa, Arizona— United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY) is encouraging all Native youth to participate in its #IwillLive campaign during the National Suicide Prevention Week, September 7-13, 2015. Earlier this year, the National UNITY Council (NUC), comprising of Native youth representatives from across the United States, passed the National Suicide Prevention Initiative resolution, later renamed the "I Will Live" Initiative, in an effort to further bring attention to the suicide epidemic among Native youth in Indian Country, and to save lives.
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The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are hosting teams of superintendents, principals, and teachers from across the country today for “Rethink Discipline,” a day-long conference at the White House on creating positive school climates and implementing effective discipline practices. The conference seeks to advance the national conversation about reducing the overuse of unnecessary out of school suspensions and expulsions and replacing these practices with positive alternatives that keep students in school and engaged in learning, but also ensure accountability.
“Creating and sustaining safe, supportive schools is absolutely essential to ensuring students can engage in the rich learning experiences they need for success in college, work and life –that’s why rethinking school discipline is critical to boosting student achievement and improving school outcomes. Today’s conference shows that there are leaders across the country who are committed to doing this work. We are proud to stand as partners with these educators to say that we have to continue to do better for all of our students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
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The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Kansas and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding during the period of May 4 to June 21, 2015.
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WASHINGTON – Following extensive environmental and economic analyses and robust tribal and public outreach, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor today approved the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) and Navajo Mine Energy Project in northwestern New Mexico, under a plan that would minimize and mitigate the project’s projected environmental impacts while maintaining the substantial economic benefits of coal mining and energy production for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and local communities.
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"And Michelle and I believe we’ve got a special obligation to make sure that tribal youth have every opportunity to achieve their potential not just for the benefit of themselves and their communities, but for our entire nation; that all of you young people have a chance to succeed not by leaving your communities, but by coming back and investing in your communities, and that you have a whole range of options that can lift us all up. And so we are really excited about what you’re doing, and we’re really excited about some of the work that’s going to be done not just here but all across the country. That’s why I’m here today."
For a full transcript of remarks clik here.
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NATV Is Awaiting Remarks From President Obama Where He Will Announce ConnectHome: Coming Together to Ensure Digital Opportunity for All American at Chocktaw Nation.
Paris Burris is awaiting the Presidents remarks on the Connect Home Initiative at Choctaw Nation.
Paris was one of the student fellows at the Native American Journalists Association conference this past weekend. She is the special projects editor of the University of Oklahoma newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily. Burris hopes to become a traveling journalist.
"NATV is so proud and excited to have her working with us.", says NATV Executive Producer Robert Cohencious.
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WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, July 15, the President will travel to Durant High School in Durant, OK, where he will deliver remarks on expanding economic opportunity for communities across the country, including the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Following his remarks, the President will depart Durant and travel to the Oklahoma City area, where he will remain overnight. On Thursday, July 16, the President will visit the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution outside of Oklahoma City, marking the first visit by a sitting President to a federal prison. While there, he will meet with law enforcement officials and inmates and conduct an interview for a Vice documentary that will air in the fall about the realities of our criminal justice system.
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WASHINGTON – The First Lady will deliver remarks at the first-ever Tribal Youth Gathering. The event will take place at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. This event – cohosted by UNITY Inc., the largest Native youth organization in the country – focuses on creating a national dialogue around wellness, education, and opportunity for tribal youth. In her remarks, Mrs. Obama will speak to American Indian and Alaska Native youth from across the country about her Reach Higher initiative, the value of education, and the importance of pursuing their dreams. As part of the President’s Generation Indigenous Initiative, the First Lady participated in a convening on Creating Opportunity for Native Youth. Additionally, as part of her effort to help build a healthier future for our next generation, Let’s Move! in Indian Countryhas partnered with 421 partners that represent community and tribal programs.
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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit Baltimore on Monday, June 15, for a series of events focused on engaging the community in keeping children safe, healthy and involved in continuous learning during the summer.
First, Megan Smith, U.S. chief technology officer, and Roberto Rodriguez, deputy assistant to the President for education, will join Duncan in a visit to Liberty Elementary School where Duncan will commend the students and staff on the academic strides that the school has made in recent years and encourage other schools to invest in spaces where students are free to use their ingenuity and creativity. They will tour the school library’s innovative “makerspace” and the Liberty Rec and Tech Center. Following the tour, they will participate in a “National Week of Making” roundtable to discuss the importance of engaging students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and digital making. The National Week of Making, which the White House and community members across the nation are celebrating from June 12 to 18, is focused on STEM and on fostering a culture of invention, innovation and imagination..
Duncan will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to visit Native American Lifelines, a nonprofit organization that engages the community in providing American Indian and Alaska Natives residing in the Baltimore area and surrounding counties with resources they need to live healthy lives. Duncan will meet with staff and stakeholders from the Baltimore Summer Food Program, and discuss nutrition and the importance of students staying safe, healthy and involved in meaningful summer enrichment activities. He also will recognize the hard work of urban centers such as Native American Lifelines in helping to provide support for health care, education and workforce development.
In the afternoon, there will be a roundtable with Duncan, Vilsack, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, and community leaders at Enoch Pratt Free Library, Pennsylvania Avenue Branch. The community roundtable will focus on the importance of community engagement in helping to keep children and young adults safe, healthy and engaged in academic enrichment during the summer and beyond
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