Christine Graef

Breaking New Ground For Homeless Native Veterans

American Indian and Alaska Natives are more at-risk for homelessness than others veterans, and a recent change to legislation is expanding a successful housing voucher program to directly serve tribal communities for the first time.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
homeless

WASHINGTON --- Like many U.S. military veterans, American Indian and Alaska Natives struggle with homelessness and a lack of support services following their time in the military -- especially if they were hoping to settle down on tribal lands. On Jan. 30, however, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that

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Native Communities Feel The Heat Of Climate Change In The Southwest

Hopi officials’ moves to impound Navajo-owned sheep goes beyond a mere tribal dispute over grazing land to reveal how acutely climate change is impacting Native traditions and ways of life in the American Southwest.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
A coal-burning facility at the Navajo Generating Station, as seen from Lake Powell in Page, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

This Sept. 4, 2011, file photo shows the main plant facility at the Navajo Generating Station, as seen from Lake Powell in Page, Ariz.  Photo: Ross D. Franklin/AP PINON, Arizona --- Sheep have been an integral part of the lives of generations of Diné, providing food and wool to those living in relative isolation atop the Black Mesa in the

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Native Youth Ambassadors Carry Their Hope For The Future To The White House

Young people represent 40 percent of tribal citizens in the U.S. MintPress spoke to some of the first-ever White House Youth Ambassadors, a group of 36 young Native Americans chosen based on the active roles they’re taking to serve their communities.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
Native Youth Ambassadors

Native Youth Ambassadors with IHS Director Yvette Roubideaux and N7 General Manager Sam McCracken, December, 2014. Photo credit: Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians WASHINGTON --- Native youth across the country are actively serving their communities and establishing plans for a bright future. When federal officials tour Indian Country this

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Natives, Irish Find Common Ground Through History Of Being Colonized, Oppressed

Even with an ocean between them, people of Irish descent, Native Americans and First Nations find that they share a history of oppression, as well as a desire to reclaim their heritage by bringing their languages back to life and passing them down to future generations.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
Gaeltacht

People display the flags of Ireland and Canada  while posing with the sign for the Gaeltacht Cheanada, in Ontario, Canada (Photo: Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada Face Book page) TAMWORTH, Ontario --- With their roots stretching back to a land oppressed by colonization, many Irish in North America are finding more in common with the native people

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Genetically Engineered Trees: An Environmental Savior Or A Dangerous Money-Making Scheme?

Genetic engineering can yield a range of consequences: It can repopulate an entire seaboard with native trees, or it can displace indigenous people and disrupt natural ecosystems.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
STRAUSS

QUALLA BOUNDARY, N.C. --- Organizations against genetically engineered (GE) trees are working across four continents to call for an end to the scientific manipulation that they say damages the environment, infringes upon the rights of indigenous people, and has negative consequences for the health of people, flora and fauna. The Eastern Band of

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Bakken Region Tribes Fight Back Against Human Trafficking

The Bakken oil boom is bringing man camps of strangers into the region’s small, isolated tribal communities, which are seeing rises in drug addiction, sexual assault and prostitution. These communities are uniting to protect their communities and help victims through healing.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
prostitutes

POPLAR, Montana --- Over 200 people gathered in Bismarck, North Dakota, last week for the first summit hosted by FUSE -- Force to end Human Sexual Exploitation, a coalition formed earlier this year in response to a growing concern statewide: human trafficking. During the two-day summit, speakers from various agencies -- including women’s

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Experimental Green Energy Project Threatens Local Ecosystem

An experimental tidal power project could generate clean energy without leaving behind a major footprint for 120-plus years, yet residents are worried about what effect it will have on the local fishing industry that’s sustained the community for generations.

Christine Graef
By Christine Graef
Tidal Power

PEMBROKE, Maine --- Halcyon Tidal Power has chosen the Pennamaquan Estuary in Maine as the site of a first-of-its-kind project to harness the power of ocean tides. The project could bring long-term job opportunities and green energy to towns in the immediate coastal area, but residents are concerned about how it could affect the local fishery

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