My work this week? Final Preparation for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Northern Plains Course.

The 29th annual Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) takes place January 22-26, 2024, virtually. With the increase in various viruses spreading, that virtual part is smart news. I am working on the final touches in my presentations for Course 8: “Researching Along the Northern Plains” that is coordinated by Gary Ball-Kilbourne. The syllabus material […]

Native American recognition in a movie and at the Golden Globes, Lily Gladstone!

Have you had the opportunity to watch the movie, Killers of the Flower Moon? It is based on a true story about the discovery of oil on Osage Nation Land in Oklahoma. Members of the Osage Nation were being murdered, many involved in supposedly trying to solve the murders were not honest, and finally the […]

Native American Heritage Month should be observed every day

November was designated as Native American Heritage Month. I was not able to fit in a blog post about it because I was doing some Native American research for a client. I am doing the post now because too many people in the U.S. and elsewhere ignore the Indigenous heritage of our lands on which […]

October 9, 2023, Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been so designated by 17 states, and several cities, but not all. The federal government needs to officially designate this. President Biden did issue an official Presidential Proclamation in 2021, but Congress needs to up the recognition. My home state (and where I still reside) has officially recognized today as such […]

Interior Department and NEH to Preserve Federal Indian Boarding School Oral History and Records 

This will not be an easy project and I am sure that is already evident to those involved. Some who will be working on this were the students themselves or had older family members who attended these schools. The reading of the painful comments of boarding and day school superintendents, teachers, and others about the […]

1 more Native American research free webinar for this November

I’ve been working this week on new things for my next Native American research webinar for this National Native American Heritage month. The fun part of creating a new PowerPoint is finding the coolest examples. It also includes some basics that apply no matter the tribe. This last free 2022 webinar on Native American research […]

November is Native American Heritage Month

November is National Native American Heritage Month. It has been celebrated by Presidential Proclamation for 30+ years and should have been for many more years. This year’s proclamation by President Biden lays out the many reasons this is so necessary. Not everyone is aware of the importance, and our schools generally fail in educating students […]

Indigenous Peoples Day in 2022. We still aren’t learning from the past.

How many states recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in the United States each October? I had that question this early morning. According to an October 2022 article in the AzMirror, the states that observe the holiday or a similar recognition are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North […]

Native American Research? FREE two-part webinar series

Over the past 25 years, I have worked extensively with Native American Tribes, law firms, and individuals in the area of Native American research in the United States. Among the various titles and positions I have held as an independent contractor are consultant to an enrollment committee, Enrollment Committee Chair, creator of enrollment documents, creator […]

Native American Research: Update on Indian School Records Collaboration

Minnesota Public Radio posted today “The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Minnesota-based Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition have signed an agreement to collaborate in the search for records of Indian boarding schools.” The article next states an online archive of the records will be started late in 2022. Apparently the Coalition had […]