Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance
November 24, 2024
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Community honors the memories and lives of 215 Indigenous children

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
by
jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave
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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)

By GEORGIANA AUSAN
Buffalo’s Fire

LINCOLN, Neb. – A candlelight vigil for the 215 Indigenous children, who were found buried in a mass grave outside the former Kamploops boarding school in Canada, was held on Monday, June 21. The event was hosted by Sacred Fire: Integrity and Truth Project. The group met at the Lincoln Indian Center to gather and pray.

Community members were asked to donate 215 pairs of shoes for the Indigenous children who died at Kamploops. New shoes, for infants to adults, lined the stage at the center. The shoes will be donated to local partners serving mothers, children, and families (including Women are Sacred and St. Monica’s).

“We decided to host a vigil,” said Colette Yellow Robe, a board member for Indian Center Inc. and Stand In For Nebraska. “Originally, when we heard about the 215 children…we wanted to do a vigil to honor their memories and lives. We thought it best to provide a service for the community, so we’re asking for shoe donations.”

Said Yellow Robe: “I think one point to make is it’s important to walk in solidarity in Lincoln and our surrounding communities. We have a lot of different tribal nations and Indigenous nations and lands. It’s important to be mindful that there could be other communities that have had this happen. It’s important that we stand in solidarity and unity.”

Buffalo’s Fire is the digital news site of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a nonprofit organization located on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

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Jodi Rave Spotted Bear
jodi@imfreedomalliance.org https://twitter.com/JodiRave

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.

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