JT Shining Oneside shared stories about her Ojibwe and Anishinaabe inheritance during the Native American Heritage Month Celebration on Nov. 15. She spoke about the coming-of-age and traditional birth ceremonies. (Photo credit/ Adrianna Adame)
If you know any Native youths who have something to say about their tribal community, have them put on paper for an essay contest. They could be awarded a $2,500 scholarship with a few perks. Check out the information and send in the essay in time to meet the May 10 deadline. Read on dear readers, read on:
Mariah Oney, Helena Cross, Craig Merrick,Robert Boling and Kelsey Proctor 2009 YNW winners
The Young Native Writers Essay Contest is a writing contest for Native American high school students and is designed to encourage young Native Americans to think about the critical issues impacting their tribal communities today. The voices that emerge from this program honor the legacy of every Native American who has ever lived. Add your words to the thousands submitted through this project – all writers receive a Certificate of Honor for their submissions.
The Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation’s goal of promoting education and creating new opportunities for youth has inspired this essay contest. Partnering with Holland & Knight in this endeavor is the National Museum of the American Indian.
Here are some of the guidelines:
High school students responding to this year’s writing contest should write an essay of no more than 1,200 words that addresses the following prompt:
“Describe a crucial issue confronting your tribal community today. Explain how you hope to help your tribal community respond to this challenge and improve its future.”
See contest rules below for complete details and submission requirements. If this is your first essay contest experience, please click on Writing Tips to the right.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION: In preparation for writing, students should draw from their own personal knowledge and research information from a variety of sources. Primary and secondary source material could include: historical and reference material, interviews, personal experiences, oral testimonies, official documents, diaries, letters, autobiographies, newspapers, academic journals, films and television movies, CD-ROM, and Internet sources.
ELIGIBILITY
The 2010 Young Native Writers Essay Contest is open to Native American high school students currently enrolled in grades 9-12 only. All students participating in Young Native Writers Essay Contest should have a significant and current relationship with a Native American tribal community.
PRIZES
The following prizes will be awarded to winning essayists:
Five (5) First-Place Winners will each receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., (tentatively scheduled for July 20-24, 2010) to visit the National Museum of the American Indian, and other prominent sites.
The winners will be accompanied by the teachers who inspired their entries into the contest. First-Place Winners will receive a special award for display at home or school. In addition, each First-Place Winner will receive a scholarship of $2,500 to be paid directly to the college or university of his or her choice.
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Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
