story archive
Stories by Shondiin Silversmith
Posted May 24, 2022, 2:59 pm
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
The Gila River Indian Community will get nearly $1 million to replace old and damaged traffic signs through the community, which tribal leaders say will improve safety for community members who drive the roads every day and those who visit tribal lands.... Read more»
Posted May 19, 2022, 2:00 pm
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
With the help of a grant from the Arizona Department of Education, the Native SOAR program at the University of Arizona hopes to expand its mentoring program and provide more quality services to Indigenous students and Arizona educators, both in person and online.... Read more»
Posted May 17, 2022, 11:30 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
The Gila River Indian Community received a $4.4 million dollar grant from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan to help improve access to and use of broadband internet service among tribal citizens.... Read more»
Posted May 16, 2022, 11:51 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Light Up Navajo III, a mutual aid project that extends service to Navajo homes without electricity - and where local Navajo utility crews work alongside other utility companies - is working to provide utilities a lot of people take for granted.... Read more»
Posted May 12, 2022, 12:35 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
For the first time in history, the Department of Interior investigated the federal Indian boarding school system across the United States, identifying more than 400 schools and over 50 burial sites - with Arizona home to 47 of those schools.... Read more»
Posted May 5, 2022, 8:12 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and events are being held at the local, state and national level to allow people to reflect on the movement and discuss the work that still needs to be done.... Read more»
Posted Apr 22, 2022, 5:38 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
A new federal law aims to improve recruitment and expand operations for the Shadow Wolves, the country’s only Native American tracking unit based on the Tohono O’odham Nation, which shares 62 miles of the Mexican border. ... Read more»
Posted Apr 21, 2022, 4:34 pm
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Gov. Doug Ducey has declared a state of emergency in response to the Tunnel Fire in Coconino County that has currently burned more than 20,000 acres and has 0% containment.... Read more»
Posted Apr 20, 2022, 6:17 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Tribal nations across the country have the opportunity to receive funding as part of the $46 million Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Climate Resilience Program to address the unique impacts climate change has within their communities.... Read more»
Posted Apr 13, 2022, 7:18 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Language barriers, cultural disrespect, outright hostility, extreme physical distances to polling places, lack of accessibility and persistent poverty are just some of the obstacles Native Americans face when it comes to exercising their right to vote.... Read more»
Posted Apr 12, 2022, 7:36 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority is working with utility crews from across the U.S. to extend power lines and bring electricity to the approximately 15,000 families on the Navajo Nation who live without as part of the Light Up Navajo III initiative. ... Read more»
Posted Apr 8, 2022, 9:55 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Indigenous people living on tribal land were the group most likely to be undercounted in the 2020 Census, a significant impact because the data is used in determining federal, state, and local resource allocation, funding distributions, and policy decisions.... Read more»
Posted Apr 5, 2022, 4:12 pm
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Six Arizona counties ended up as part of a report that showcased the top 300 counties nationwide with high poverty and COVID-19 death rates, with Apache County landing at No. 17.... Read more»
Posted Mar 17, 2022, 6:38 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
Tribal leaders and others across the country are applauding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which includes the extension of tribal jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking, child violence, and obstruction of justice.... Read more»
Posted Mar 3, 2022, 6:14 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
A bill that would prohibit the Arizona Board on Geographic and Historic Names from naming any geographic feature, place of historical significance, or specified road using the derogatory term “sq***” has passed the Arizona Senate and is headed to the House.... Read more»
Posted Feb 24, 2022, 9:22 am
Shondiin Silversmith
/Arizona Mirror
The Department of the Interior’s Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force published a list of replacement names for the geographic features with the name “sq***,” which was officially declared a derogatory term last year by Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland.... Read more»