First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to Native American youth at the first White House Tribal Youth Gathering. She told hundreds of Native American youths that they are all precious and sacred and that “each of you was put on this earth for a reason”
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Video Here
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Brooke Overturf, of the Navajo Nation from Window Rock, Arizona, listens to First Lady Michelle Obama speak
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Michele Richinick: Michelle Obama to Native American Youth: The Country Needs You
More than 1,000 Native American children gathered Thursday for the first-ever Tribal Youth Gathering at the White House, where first lady Michelle Obama called them precious and sacred members of society. “Each of you was put on this Earth for a reason. Each of you has something that you’re destined to do, whether that’s raising a beautiful family, whether that’s succeeding in a profession or leading your community into a better future,” she said. “You all have a role to play and we need you.” The first lady touched upon the historical struggles of Native Americans: being forced from lands they had lived on for generations, requiring young people to attend boarding schools designed to strip them of their cultural traditions and outlawing their religions and traditional ceremonies. She urged the individuals to learn about their elected officials, and run for local, state or federal office if they aren’t satisfied with their current efforts. “Make no mistake about it, your customs, your values, your discoveries are at the heart of the American story,” she told the crowd. “And yet, as we all know, America hasn’t always treated your people and your heritage with dignity and respect.”
The meeting was part of President Barack Obama’s vow to remove barriers that make it hard for Native American children to succeed. The children came from 230 tribes in 42 states to attend the inaugural summit and meet with the first lady, cabinet officials and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs. They planned to discuss issues ranging from cultural protection and revitalization, to tribal justice and economic opportunity. Along with the meeting on Thursday, the White House announced several commitments aimed at ensuring Native children can thrive. DOI will issue $995,000 to be distributed to 20 tribal colleges and universities, and will award seven tribal applicants a total of $1.45 million in new funding to build their tribal education departments. And in September, there will be a second Native Languages Summit to identify ways to preserve and revitalize Native languages.
More here
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Wearing traditional regalia Little Bear Johnson, a member of the Kickapoo Nation, who is from Shawnee, Oklahoma, dances to a pop song
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The #GenI #NativeYouth Challenge received more than 1,500 inspirational stories from across America: go.wh.gov/PWKjwz
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The First Lady (@FLOTUS) July 09, 20151st Ever WH Native American Youth Conference: 1000+ young ppl - Most inspiring group I will speak w/ all year. #WHTYG http://t.co/pgc87jHKyP
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Cecilia Muñoz (@Cecilia44) July 09, 2015A personal letter from @POTUS #WHTYG #NAJA15 @najavoices http://t.co/eE5v9acQAL
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Paris Burris (@ParisBurris) July 09, 2015****
Gusccavedo Harrison of the Navajo Nation who is from Chinle, Arizona, cheers as First Lady Michelle Obama mentions the Navajo as being among the Nations present as she speaks to Native American youth at the first White House Tribal Youth Gathering
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#NativeYouth are future leaders – let’s knock down barriers and open doors to support their success.SJ #GenI http://t.co/f03Yku3Ick
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Sally Jewell (@SecretaryJewell) July 09, 2015Great to see 1,000+ #NativeYouth from #WHTYG. I encouraged them join our tribal ecoAmbassadors prog & #ActonClimate. http://t.co/wQeMFHALod
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Gina McCarthy (@GinaEPA) July 09, 2015****
Not going to lie at the #WHTYG #GenI @MichelleObama made me almost cry with her hug and speech. ❤️
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malia who? (@malianoheart) July 10, 2015Thank You @SecretaryJewell @SecretaryCastro @GinaEPA for all that you do for Native Youth and Indian Country! #GenI http://t.co/YVMVr3zJEf
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Rory Wheeler (@roarasaurous) July 09, 2015****
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#WHTYG #GenI FLOTUS: vote by vote, eagle feather by eagle feather: countless acts of defiance fueled great movements http://t.co/zJvUbnmEOg
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NCAI (@NCAI1944) July 09, 2015"Make no mistake about it, your customs, values and ways are at the heart of the American story!" - @FLOTUS #WHTYG http://t.co/5E7PittbmP
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Gen-I Challenge (@Gen_Indigenous) July 09, 2015Michelle Obama's words to the tribal youth gathering at the White House are amazing. Giving me chills. #WHTYG
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Aura Bogado (@aurabogado) July 09, 2015****
Shasta Dazen of Whiteriver, Arizona, who is the 53rd Miss Indian Arizona, and Deandra Antonio, right, both of the White Mountain Apache Nation and who serve on the White Mountain Apache youth council, take pictures of First Lady Michelle Obama
The Obama Diary 
Where you at, AMK?
get off my chair, effin’ desi.
FURST.
And out.
Well hello dere!
Dragging this from previous thread…
❤️
… and this
I was so excited when this was released
but this is what happens when AMK is part of your R&D…smh
Thank you for this recap NerdyW. I knew this was going on today but these are the first pics I’ve seen.
You’re welcome.
This is has to be some form of karmic justice….freaking cowards 😆 😆
“Become Trump’s campaign manager”
How would that work? Donald Trump runs as an Independent and Bernie Sanders IS an Independent running as a Democrat…..
why does everyone say the Sanders is running as a democrat…he would have to change his party affiliation to be on the ballot in many states….tired of Sanders …HClinton….and O’Malley running the record of the President as if there is a GOPer in the WH….
Before I forget….great recap, NW! I’m sure all those who are busy during the day truly appreciate your diligence in putting together these threads 🙂
^^^ THIS!
🙂
Thanks so much, LP!
Will this dream turn into a reality….if we thought the GOP was already a clown car full of idiots!!!
uugghh, both are ugly inside out.
I’ve only watched Anderson Cooper on CNN for 10 minutes, so maybe he did cover it, but I doubt it. The Trump rant (which they call an interview) is their new balloon boy, ebola, plane crash, etc., rolled into one.
See my comment right below yours…our own local news can’t cover this….Navajo, Hopi…so many Native Americans here…not a mention.
Sickening. Beyond sickening.
Well, it certainly shows that they aren’t really important enough….not doing this story told those of us paying attention, all we needed to know.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for (which I believe is from the Hopi).
And I’ll borrow and mix up another quote, with good intentions:
There’s an endless supply of (war) paint.
So, we see what happened at the White House today with Generation Indigenous….The largest Native American tribe in America is the Navajo Nation in AZ…NOT ONE LOCAL NEWS OUTLET HERE HAD THIS ON THEIR SITE. Not one!!! This is really, really awful. The state of journalism is a mess. Shame on them.
Jan Brewer really is off her meds. She’s a mess.
Thanks for posting this, NW. I was looking forward to seeing the coverage I knew you would provide.
Thank you, sjterrid.
We all know the state of the media….it is so important to understand that the fate of people of color is not important to them..unless we are acting in a criminal way..this is why your posting of this day is so important…because Native American Lives Matter….I pray that we can keep moving Forward….thank you so much for work that do that keeps us moving Forward!!!
Thank you so much, PF.
Night all.
desis in semis. 😎
Whoa. Not sure if this is real, but …
this has been on my mind since trump made his imbecilic comments: he probably eats in restaurants a lot. who does he think is in the back, cooking his food? sons of the confederacy? whether or not the photo with this tweet is current and actually the staff in phoenix, the point it well made. trump has made enemies, and not just in politics.
So true. (I shouldn’t, but I’m still laughing at your *sons of the confederacy* point!)
Commonly-accepted rule: never annoy the people who prepare and serve your meals
Baron Trump probably brings his own “taster,” he’s so full of himself. Ugh.
Could not agree more JoB – and as I learned during my working life – always be friends with the office cleaning staff.
Do hope things are still going well for your son. I haven’t been around TOD much – but thinking of you this past week.
Thanks so much, 99ts. Things are progressing for him – follow-up doctors’ appts. next week, so appreciate the good thoughts, in the meantime.
I totally agree with this tweet
As do I.
This is fabulous.
No wonder Trump’s losing so much business. Turns out he pretty much owns the country. Or so he thinks. Oh, and, if we could go after racism and poverty and lack of health care, like businesses and state governments are trying to go after Trump, we’d be working toward that “more perfect union,” instead of wasting time with this embarrassment.
Reality ….
The stage is set.
The contrast could not be more stark
VP Biden vs the ABSOLUTE EMBODIMENT of #KLEPTOCRATIC EVIL
RUN JOE RUN
YES WE CAN
good night TOD
WP truly sucks ………….
be back sometime on later in the day on Friday ……………………
THIS SUCKS ……….
period ……….
what happened Bob? I hope you are okay
I hope we hear back from him, global.
THANK YOU NW for this beautiful post. I simply cannot comprehend what we are going to do when the Obamas no longer occupy the WH.
I should just have replied “I agree”. See my post below.
🙂
What an amazing POTUS and FLOTUS – they never cease doing the most wonderful things – thank you NW for this post.
🙂
Good Morning Everybody!
Good Morning Friend! You look down in the dumps! 🙂
#IBLAMEBT
Morning!
http://theobamadiary.com/2015/07/10/early-bird-chat-538/