Tribal Projects to End Childhood Hunger (opportunity)

USDA to Consider Tribal Projects to End Childhood Hunger

The USDA has announced new funding opportunities for state agencies and Indian tribal organizations to develop innovative strategies to prevent hunger and food insecurity. The demonstration projects under the new initiative are designed to find solutions so that no child goes hungry.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 provided $40 million to conduct and evaluate demonstration projects aimed at ending childhood hunger, including alternative models for service delivery and benefit levels that promote the reduction or elimination of childhood hunger and food insecurity. Nutritious foods are essential to getting kids off to a healthy start in life, and too many families are unable to provide proper nutrition for their children.

Potential projects could include innovative program delivery models for school meals, after-school snack programs, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program; enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for eligible households with children; and changes to other targeted federal, state or local assistance, including refundable tax credits, emergency housing, employment and training, or family preservation services for households with children who are experiencing food insecurity.

Through these demonstration projects, USDA will target areas or populations where there are currently elevated levels of food insecurity or gaps in nutrition-assistance program coverage. The HHFKA requires that at least one demonstration project be carried out on an Indian reservation in a rural area with a service population having a prevalence of diabetes that exceeds 15 percent.

"With the food access challenges facing many rural tribal areas, we're focused on using this initiative to find better ways to get more nutritious food to the children in those areas in particular," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Approximately $30 million will be awarded for up to five demonstration projects in the form of cooperative agreements between USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and grantees. The remaining funds will be used for independent evaluations of each project.

The Request for Applications is on Grants.gov at this link:http://www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=252785.  Letters of Intent are due on May 1, 2014, and completed applications are due on July 7, 2014. FNS will consider only one application from each state, U.S. territory, Indian tribal organization (ITO), or the District of Columbia. However, FNS will consider applications from both a state and an ITO with different proposed project sites in the same state. For more information, please visithttp://www.fns.usda.gov/demonstration-projects-end-childhood-hunger.

USDA's FNS administers America's nutrition assistance programs including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Together these programs make up the federal nutrition safety net.

U.S. Department of Education Tribal Consultation in MT (event)

 

Save the Date
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Indian Education
and
The White House Initiative on
American Indian and Alaska Native Education

 

would like to invite Tribal Leaders, education professionals, parents, colleagues and interested stakeholders to participate in

  

Tribal Consultation
Friday, April 18, 2014
Missoula, MT
*Tentative Time: 1:00pm - 5:00pm, MST

  

  

Hotel Reservations

  

Holiday Inn Missoula Downtown
200 South Pattee
Missoula, MT 59802
Phone: 406-721-8550
Reservations: 800-315-2621

 
Tribal Consultation Registration

  

Please use following website

 

 

  

 

These sessions are designed to provide stakeholders with an opportunity to engage  with senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Initiative to voice their concerns on issues that affect Indian Education.

   

If you have questions, please contact:  

 

Victor Paternoster
Phone: 509-789-2668 

  

Watch Your Red-skinned Back (racism)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/18/watch-your-red-skinned-back-racist-notes-surface-california-schools-154036?fb_action_ids=283853198446720&fb_action_types=og.likes


'Watch Your Red-skinned Back'--Racist Notes Surface in California Schools

Notes reading "Watch Your Redskinned Back" and "White Pride Bitch" were
left March 4 in the lockers of two Pit River Tribe students at a Northern
California high school where parents have alleged for months there is
systemic, racially charged abuse of their children.

The notes were reported by parents to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office,
and deputies are investigating whether it constitutes a hate crime.
Believing that the atmosphere at Burney Junior-Senior High School has
become too toxic and dangerous, two Pit River parents have already
transferred their children to the neighboring schools 16 miles away in Fall
River Mills.

Additional Story:

These allegations are being made in a region that is not far removed from

the genocide suffered by Northern California tribes during the Gold Rush
era when Indians were hunted by government funded militias, forced into
slavery under California law and later sent to boarding schools to be
converted to Christianity.

"The cowboys and Indians days have never ended (in Northern California),"
Elmore said.

In the Humboldt complaints, parents alleged staff ignored their concerns of
racist bullying until the Indian students reacted out of frustration,
leading to detentions and suspensions while the bullies were relatively
unpunished. This led to a cycle, the complaints allege, of Native students
regularly being disproportionately suspended and being pushed into
continuation schools, where college preparatory classes are unavailable.

Read more at
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/03/18/watch-your-red-skinned-back-racist-notes-surface-california-schools-154036?fb_action_ids=283853198446720&fb_action_types=og.likes
_____________________________________

Yurok Style Justice (community/news)

Tribal judge works for Yurok-style justice


Abby Abinanti metes out a more community-based form of justice for tribal members — starting with the question, 'Who's your mom?'

Abby Abinanti squints at her docket. "The court is going to call — the court is going to put on its glasses," she says dryly, reaching to grab her readers and snatch some candy from a staff member.

As chief judge of the Yurok Tribal Court, Abinanti wears no robe. On this day, she's in jeans and cowboy boots, her silver hair spilling down the back of a black down vest. In contrast to her longtime role as a San Francisco Superior Court commissioner, she doesn't perch above those who come before her; she shares a table with them.

"Hi, big guy. How are you doing?" she softly prods a 29-year-old participant in her wellness court, which offers a healing path for nonviolent offenders struggling with substance abuse.
Advertisement

Abinanti has watched Troy Fletcher Jr. battle bipolar disorder and methamphetamine addiction, land in jail and embrace recovery under the tribe's guidance. She's known his grandmother since before he was born.

<http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-yurok-tribal-judge-20140305-dto,0,320867.htmlstory#axzz2v9Z6zCtq>
If the link isn't clickable please copy and past to the address bar of a new blank tab.

NIEA Native Ed Review (EDUCATION)
Native Ed Review
Congressman Cole Introduces Language Immersion Bill
 
Yesterday, Chickasaw Nation citizen and U.S. Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) introduced critical legislation - The Native Language Immersion Student Achievement Act - as a companion bill to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairman Jon Tester's (D-MT) S. 1948. 

 

NIEA President Pam Agoyo quickly applauded the action stating, "NIEA thanks Congressman Cole for his continued leadership in Native education and is excited to see companion legislation for Native language immersion introduced in the House. We are already working with Native education partners to garner support as well as congressional committees to request they act on these bills as soon as possible."

 

The bill is identical to the Senate language and helps eligible entities, such as Native-serving schools, build capacity to provide instruction in a local Native language to support the culture and linguistic traditions of their students.

 

Contact your local congressional member today and ask them to co-sponsor the legislation!
 
Additional Information

 

For more information, please contact Clint J. Bowers, NIEA Policy Associate, at cbowers@niea.org.

 

NIEA continues to highlight important Native women during Women's History Month. This week we illustrate the work of top Native female athletes and their status as role models for thousands of Native youth. Shoni and Jude Schimmel were encouraged early on in their education to pursue their passion in basketball, finally deciding to take their talent to the University of Louisville, located in Kentucky. Shoni attended first with Jude following in her sister's footsteps to become the strong "sixth man off the bench".

 

Shoni and Jude Schimmel have had well-documented basketball careers beginning from their time on the reservation. Their strong Native roots enabled them to play on the biggest stage in college basketball. Shoni and Jude helped the Louisville Cardinals reach the national championship game last season with Shoni finishing as the school's second all-time leading scorer. Recently, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City highlighted an award-winning documentary, "Off the Rez," following Shoni's illustrious basketball career and illustrating the importance of youth-focused extracurricular activities for Native Youth.
  
9th Annual Young Native Writers Essay Contest
 
NIEA and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) are partnering with the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation to announce the call for essays in its 9th Annual Young Native Writers Essay Contest. For 2014, students are being asked to write about one or more of the cultural images, symbols or art forms that have been historically developed by their community (American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian) to communicate a particular message, value, or serve a specific purpose.

 

Additional Information
Essays are to be 1,200 words or less and should cover the following:
  • Describe the image(s), symbol(s), or art forms selected;
  • Explain how it was originally developed or used by the community;
  • Reflect on the student's own experience about it, including thoughts and feelings; and
  • Suggest why or how it is still relevant today.
 
Application Deadline: April 22, 2014
Registration: Click HERE
Contest Information: Click HERE

 
Tribal Consultation Meetings

  

The Department of Education, through the Office of Indian Education and the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, will conduct their next meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 in Norman, Oklahoma. The purpose of the consultation session is to invite tribal leaders, education professionals, parents, colleagues, and interested stakeholders to an opportunity to engage with senior White House and agency officials.
 
Additional Information
When: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Where: Norman, OK
Registration: Click HERE

 

HHS Administration for Children and Families Webinars

As part of President Obama's Early Education Plan, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will support states and communities in expanding high quality early learning to infants and toddlers through the Early Head Start - Child Care Partnerships. Through these partnerships, Early Head Start grantees will partner with center-based and family childcare providers who agree to meet Early Head Start Program Performance Standards and provide comprehensive, full-day, full year high-quality services to infants and toddlers from low-income families.

The next session,Early Head Start - Child Care Partnerships: Getting Started,will provide an overview of Establishing Partnerships, Implementing Management Systems, Understanding Policies and Requirements, Facilitating Ongoing Communication, and Doing Sustainability Planning.

 
Additional Information
Title: Early Head Start - Child Care Partnerships: Getting Started
When: Friday, March 14, 2014 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Registration: Click HERE.

 

To see additional webinar opportunities from ACF, please click HERE.

Indigenous Language Institute Conference

The Indigenous Language Institute/Consortium of Indigenous Language Organizations (CILO) will host a three-day workshop focused onlanguage immersion planning and methodology for family, educators, and community members working with early childhood/Head Start age groups where Native language is the main language of activity. The workshops will provide hands-on experience on how to prepare long-range plans for language and culture transmission (curriculum), daily plans of activities, and material development.

 
Additional Information
When: Monday,April 14 through Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Where: Albuquerque, NM
Agenda: Click HERE.
Registration: Click HERE.
Project Learning Tree Grant Opportunities

Project Learning Tree's (PLT) GreenSchools! Program inspires students to take personal responsibility for improving the environment at their school, home, and in their community. Students, teachers, and school staff members receive tools, training, and resources for student-led Green Teams to create healthier schools-and to save schools' money! PLT GreenSchools! Program helps improve academic performance, critical thinking skills, and the ability for students to grow as leaders in their schools and communities. The grant opportunities are often student led or focused and provide an opportunity for students to acquire funding for a conservation project or local initiative.

 

Additional Information
Application: Click HERE
Deadline: September 30, 2014

 

For additional information please contact James McGirt at jmcgirt@plt.org.
You Shop.  Amazon Gives to NIEA.

 

By shopping on Amazon Smile, you can help NIEA advocate on behalf of Native students. 
It's very simple:
  • Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice (choose NIEA).
  • AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know.  Same products, same prices, same service.
  • Support NIEA by starting your shopping at: Amazon Gives to NIEA.
Passionate about advancing Native Education?  Work for NIEA! 
 
NIEA Communications and Outreach Manager
The NIEA Communication and Outreach Manager position is responsible for developing and implementing an effective multi-media contact strategy for a variety of audiences, including membership and donors. This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with Native communities, Native organizations, and help lead the way in promoting Native education on a tribal, local, state, and national level.    

 

To learn more about this position, click the following link:  Work for NIEA.   Position based in Washington, DC. 

 

Not Your Tonto (cultural appropriation)

#NotYourTonto goes VIRAL during Oscars http://bit.ly/NotYourTonto

A ‘Twitter Storm’, targeting the Academy Award nomination for Disney’s “The Lone Ranger” went viral on Sunday during the Oscars. The film was controversially nominated by the Academy for “Achievement in Make up & Hair Styling”.

Critics of the film took to social media and put the Academy on blast, saying nominating “The Lone Ranger” for best make up was not only racist and inappropriate, but considered ‘Redface’ and highly offensive to the indigenous community.

‘Ranger’ received harsh criticism after casting non-native celebrity “Johnny Depp” to play the role of ‘Tonto’. Depp is seen throughout the film with full white face paint and wearing a black crow on the top of his head. Make up used on Depp in this production was offensive to many indigenous people of the United States as it does not represent a true indigenous nation, yet makes the claim that ‘Tonto’ is an indigenous person with special powers.

Disney in particular was under heavy target during the social media frenzy. In early 2013 Disney re-released the animated version of “Peter Pan” in a digitally remastered 60th anniversary edition on Blu Ray and DVD; just a few months prior to the premiere of “The Lone Ranger”. Peter Pan is well known for racist depictions of Native Americans including use of the word “squ*w” to describe the lone female character, Tiger Lily.

Arguably, some say releasing the animated classic before “The Lone Ranger” was a tactical move by Disney to remind audiences of how far they have come in representing indigenous people in film. However, it backfired, and “The Lone Ranger” was an epic flop, reportedly losing $190 million at the box office.

In 1995 Disney also famously produced an animated version of the story of Pocahontas which was littered with gross historical inaccuracies; including a romance between an adult Pocahontas and John Smith. The Pocahontas franchise includes two animated films both containing half truths.

According to trendsmap.com use of the hashtag #NotYourTonto went viral in Toronto, Montreal, New York City, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver and various other major areas in the United States and Canada.

One of the organizers for the social media campaign, Jacqueline Keeler, Navajo and Yankton Dakota of the Kinyaa’aanii/Kiyaa’aanii The Towering House Clan spoke with the Two Row Times. “Nominating The Lone Ranger for an award for what is basically Redface in this day and age just demonstrates how native people are still marginalized and stereotyped.” said Keeler. “I think Johnny Depp is actually a very well meaning person but he is just caught up in the thrall of romantic Native American stereotypes.”

Keeler says there is a larger part of the story contributing to why Native American representation in the media is consistently presented to North American audiences littered with inaccuracies. “There are many reasons why Canadians and Americans, because of the whole settler-colonial story, don’t understand us. They have these ridiculous ideas and they play out in the media in the way they celebrate.” said Keeler. “I think that we look at people who are our peers and we assume they are able to understand and able to represent us in a way that seems reasonable. But when they actually do things you find out there are working under a completely different kind of social programming, then you find out that there is this huge gulf. What I would like to do is cross that gulf.”

Keeler is part of a large and widespread social movement to eradicate native mascotry from the face of modern media. Using the hashtag #notyourmascot they have launched a few social media campaigns and plans are underway to protest the stadiums who will be hosting the Washington Redsk*ns in the upcoming season.

- See more at: http://www.tworowtimes.com/arts-and-culture/notyourtonto-goes-viral-during-oscars/?fb_action_ids=10152247878383446&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B1393974044206285%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.likes%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D#sthash.JsyGhv19.dpuf