Tag Archives: indigenous people

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day began as a movement in 1992 to honor the more than 1,000 Indigenous cultures within the United States.

It hit me the other day: With my mother’s death, I am now the senior woman in my family. In Native cultures, that is a massive deal. Aunties are all-powerful, they are the wise women, the matriarchs who carry traditions forward.

Catnip Connections may be a new company, but for Freddie Katelnikoff the beadwork they make stems from childhood and their company’s crafts allow them to share their Alutiiq heritage with everyone.

For generations, Indigenous people have been asking for objects taken during colonization of their traditional homelands to be returned. Some of the objects are sacred, but also many items are human remains.

“Are you willing to kind of jump off a cliff and say yes to God?” Norman asked his wife, Diane, as they sat in their driveway with their three children. Everyone prayed and said they obeyed the call to the mission field. Norman’s friend served in Native American ministry and encouraged the Norman’s to live on a reservation during the summer of 1984, followed by a months-long, cross-cultural training with North America Indigenous Ministries.

November is Native American Heritage month, and it is astounding how many stereotypical and wrong ideas are out there about America’s indigenous people. For starters: We are still here.