With over 500 recognized tribes in North America, learning about the culture of others can be fun. Check out this section regularly to read about Native American people and events in the news.

Culture Exchange Highlight

Athlete Profile: Angel Goodrich
To sports fans, Angel Goodrich is one of the leading point guards in women’s college basketball. But to the people in her hometown of Tahlequah, OK, Goodrich is an inspiration to Native youth. A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Goodrich is a senior at the University of Kansas and is one of the starting players for the women’s basketball team.

How to Make a Medicine Wheel
The medicine wheel is a symbol shared by many American Indian tribes. It is meant to be hung in the home to help bring health. To Natives, health is more than a matter of physical well-being. Good health means that all aspects of the world are in balance. The symbol is generally the same for all tribes and brings together the four directions in a circle with the colors of red, white, yellow, and black to represent the directions.

Animated videos tell stories from North American tribes
Native Americans have many special traditions. One of them is storytelling. To honor this tradition, some tribes and other Native individuals have put together animated videos of their creation stories and other tales important to their history. A news site called Indian Country Today posted these videos to share these stories.

Native youth in California featured in “We Are Indian” YouTube video
The California Indian Museum has a message: the state’s Native youth are proud. They are proud of their history, proud of their culture, and proud of their families. Most importantly, they are proud of who they are. The museum shared this message in a video posted on YouTube. The video is titled “We Are Indian.”

Native American women March in Inaugural Parade
About 2,800 groups applied to be part of the Inaugural parade on Monday. The president's inaugural committee chose 60, including one with deep roots in this land. They often perform to a sound of pageantry centuries old. They are the first Native American Women Warrior color guard: all veterans, all proud of their ancestry and the nation they serve.

Cibola Student Makes Mark at D.C. conference
To get a glimpse of leadership, and history, Jesse-Manuel Begay is in Washington, D.C., right now to take part in a youth conference that includes a spot at the upcoming presidential inauguration.


Featured Links

College Horizons
College Horizons is a nonprofit organization that supports the higher education of Native American students by providing college and graduate admissions workshops to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students/participants from across the nation.

PowWows.com
PowWows.com features information and resources that allow you to explore Native American life, culture and history.

SAY Magazine
SAY Magazine is dedicated to recognizing American Indian achievements.

Creek Class (best viewed in cable or broadband)
The Fort Gibson Oklahoma Schools Professional Development Center offers free on line Creek language class.

Professional Development Center (PDC) (best viewed in cable or broadband)
The PDC provides parents, teachers and students with solutions and ideas to educate today's students for tomorrow's needs in a multi-cultural world.

Traditional Information about the Cherokee Nation
A great resource for insight on Cherokee beliefs as well as good old fashioned bedtime stories.

Ulukau
The Hawaiian electronic library sponsored by Hale Kuamo'o, College of Hawaiian Language and the Native Hawaiian Library includes a Hawaiian dictionary, newspapers and other Native language sources.