Greater Prairie Chicken photo by Fi Rust/Painet Inc

Dana Tiger was 24 when she first picked up a paint brush.

"I remember the very day it happened. The voice inside me said ‘pick up the paint brush and do what you know.'" That day, Tiger made a commitment to paint everyday for a year.

It was that day that Tiger began her career as a painter; and it was the day that saved her life.

His impact as a Native American, however, reaches far beyond the Maxwell Field end zones.

He has changed lives.

It's called Rezball—an amped-up style of hoops created on Reservations and showcased in a huge all-native tourney. But when the games are done, the stars are left wondering: how long will they get to shine?

Lakota poet, scholar and educator Dr. Geraldine Mendoza Gutwein was awarded one of only 10 National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching Development Fellowships this year.

The NEH awarded the $21,000 fellowship to Dr. Mendoza Gutwein so she could devote time to “Toward an Understanding of Teaching Native American Literature from a Multidisciplinary Approach,”

Jason Pretty Boy, an Idaho State University political science student and a coordinator of the ISU College of Business Native American Business Administration (NABA) Program, has been awarded a First Nations Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development (LEAD) Program Fellowship for 2009-10.

Lexie LaMere, a teenage member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, was at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last summer, passing out campaign literature and buttons. Then, she eagerly watched President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January. And later that month, she became one of the few Native Americans to graduate from the Senate Page Program.

Cornell University made a progressive move when they built the first Native-themed residence hall, Akwe:kon, pronounced "a-gway-go," nearly 20 years ago. It was built to honor the Haudenosaunee people, also known as the Six Nations of Iroquois, and a collaborative effort between the university and the American Indian Program.

Aronhiaies Herne, a 23-year-old teacher and cultural program coordinator from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, has been selected as one of 11 aboriginal youths that will have the job of a lifetime over the next few months – running with the Olympic Flame as its guide and protector to ensure it keeps burning bright on its cross-Canada journey.

For Channing Concho, a petite, pretty woman of 23, music is part of her DNA. Her father was a drummer, and both parents exposed her to a variety of music at an early age. But it wasn’t until high school that she and two of her friends formed a band, and her true passion developed.

No amount of grass, berries, clover and honey can satisfy the rapidly expanding belly of the main character in "Bear Wants More," much to the delight of 4-year-old Kooper Page.

She grabbed the children's book as soon as it entered her home in St. Ignatius, and squirreled it away for herself.

Jerica Holiday's grandmother, a Kayenta, Ariz., resident, speaks only Navajo. Jerica, 10, grew up speaking English and struggles to communicate with her grandmother. In two short generations, a native language nearly was lost.

"I don't know that much," said Jerica, a fourth-grade student at Kirtland Elementary School. "I know my clans and the numbers, but that's all."

An Inupiaq mom from Anchorage has picked up one of America's most prestigious literary awards. Poet Joan Kane, 32, was among 10 writers to receive a $50,000 Whiting Writers' Award at a ceremony in New York City on Wednesday night, October 28.

Comedian JR Redwater is so confident in what an upcoming comedy special on cable television will do for his career, he’s taping his stand-up show Friday night in Dakota Magic Casino so he’ll be ready to take his career to the next level. Redwater and six other American Indian comedians will be featured in “Goin’ Native: The American Indian Comedy Slam,” set to premiere Dec. 31 on Showtime

Archie Thompson learned the Yurok language as a boy living on his grandmother's ranch.

"She didn't speak English, and I used to make fun of her all the time, but that's how I learned. She spoke to me every day," Thompson said. "I learned (Yurok) as I went along. She'd teach me as I went."

For Thompson, the Yurok language is infused with memories of the sprawling Klamath ranch and the many Yuroks he met there.

Service members at Contingency Operating Location Adder, Iraq, attended a National Native American Heritage Month observance Nov. 14 at Memorial Hall to honor the tradition and culture of Native Americans.

Task Force Volunteer, with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which includes the 1115th and 720th Transportation Companies from New Mexico, two units with strong Native American contingencies, hosted the event.

Famed Hopi artist Michael Kabotie died Oct. 23 in Flagstaff, Ariz., from complications due to the H1N1 flu. He was 67. According to his daughter, Meg Adakai, Kabotie had been ill weeks prior to his death.

Nikishna Polequaptewa has recently received two new honors to add to a growing list. At only 27, that list is impressive, but it hasn't gone to his head. He continues to work towards his life-long goal of helping other Native American students rise up to reach their own dreams.

The appearance of three bald eagles at the cutting of the Capitol Christmas Tree awed and amazed those that witnessed the magnificent birds circling over the site of the celebration.

Pure/Pour/A Priori