Friday, September 6, 2024

National Native News

Photo: Crazy Horse Memorial. (Jim Bowen via Wikipedia CC)

The Indian University at Crazy Horse has a new program designed for targeted healthcare.

Namely – culturally sensitive Native treatment.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene has more.

The Wichozani health and wellness program aims to create culturally competent healthcare workers in a career field that already lacks in Indigenous representation.

Julissa Fillmore is the university’s outreach coordinator.

“We have partnered again with Black Hills State University and Crazy Horse Memorial to come out with the new spring program called the Wichozani health and wellness certificate program. Wichozani is the Lakota word for health and wellness, which is what the certificate program is all about. Some of the classes we’ll be offering is ethno-botany of the northern plains, Native food systems, as well as Native American public health.”

Fillmore says this will be one of only a few programs of its kind in the entire country.

“I definitely think that having the cultural sensitivity as well as knowledge of specific issues that face Indigenous communities is a really helpful skillset we hope to provide students.”

Angel Lee is director of the Indian University of North America.

She says this class roster was a collaborative effort alongside Black Hills State University.

“The goal is to provide a comprehensive course framework for students to earn a certificate that gives them an idea of the issues that face contemporary Native Americans in healthcare.”

The 12-credit program begins in the Spring 2025 semester, and the application is open through November 1

(Courtesy Bayfield School District / Facebook)

A Wisconsin school district is launching an Ojibwe Language Immersion Program for kindergarten students this fall.

As Danielle Kaeding reports, school officials have been working with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to support language revitalization efforts.

Around a dozen families had submitted papers to enroll their kids in the program prior to the beginning of the school year.

Bayfield School District Administrator Beth Manidoo Makwa Paap says the district of roughly 420 students is unique because the vast majority of students are members of the tribe.

“I can’t understate how significant this is not only for our community in our area, but for our children and their future.”

Binesiikwe Washington is the tribe’s education division administrator.

She says historic federal policies and Indian boarding schools forced many Native Americans to abandon their language and lifeways.

“Turning back to teaching our students through our language and our cultural lens, I think, it will and it has had a very positive impact on our communities.”

She says students will learn all the same subjects like reading and math in the Ojibwe language.

The Office of Army Cemeteries says it is honoring the requests of family members and tribes to return home the remains of 11 Native American students from the Carlisle Barracks Main Post Cemetery in Pennsylvania.

This week, the process of disinterring the remains began.

The students are from tribes in Montana, South Dakota, California, and Oklahoma.

They died between 1880 and 1910 while attending the government operated Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Over the next few weeks, families and tribes of the students are likely to travel to Carlisle to accept the remains.

The event “Reconciliation through Art” is taking place September 30 in Almonte, Ontario, Canada.

The day-long event is bringing together Indigenous artists, performers, and knowledge keepers from across the province.

Organizers say it’s an opportunity for visitors to celebrate and support Indigenous artists, while also building relationships in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation.

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily and stay up-to-date on the 2024 Native Vote. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.