Cancer conference brings essential resources to rez
By Shondiin Silversmith
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, June 12, 2014
The AzMN will be hosting its annual conference on June 14 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock.
The conference is open to patients, caregivers, family, friends and health care providers who want to learn more about cancer as well as ways to get the best treatment. Continental breakfast and a box lunch will be provided to registered conference goers. Entertainment and raffles will also be offered throughout the day.
“This is the seventh year that my husband, a cancer survivor, and I have raised funds and brought together top cancer resources for the Navajo people,” said Barbara Kavanagh, founder and CEO of AzMN in a press release. “We try in our free cancer education programs to show patients and families that they are not alone...there is help and hope."
This year’s conference theme is “Prevention, Early Detection, and Screening Saves Lives!”
“Early awareness through doctor’s exams and tests provide the patient with significantly more options for successful treatment,” Kavanagh said, adding that conference will feature presentations from major cancer hospitals and specialists, research and advocacy organizations.
A few of those organizations include the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and University of New Mexico.
Organizations partner to bring awareness to Natives Community on healthcare
Navajo Times
ALBUQUERQUE – Sacred Wind Communications announced its partnership with Native Resource Development/Quality Home Care to help spread awareness and expand healthcare options for Native Americans in New Mexico.
Beginning on July 1, New Mexico’s Personal Care Options program, more commonly know as Medicaid, will require each care provider to use the new Electronic Visit Verification system to report their daily work hours. The EVV is part of the State of New Mexico Human Services Department Centennial Care Program.
“We’re urging all customers and clients to subscribe to a landline as a lifeline service and to a cell phone for all of the other important communication needs we each have while on-the-go or while unable to get to a landline,” said John Badal, CEO of Sacred Wind Communications. “By making sure that a loved one can call if they need help, we can all work to have healthier communities."
Native Resource Development/Quality Home Care provides personal care services to those Native American communities who need to remain in the comfort of their own homes. For their Medicaid clients, things will significantly change in how care providers will be required to report their work hours.
“A landline will be a cost-effective method of ensuring that care providers comply with the new Medicaid reporting requirements after July 1, 2014, so we urge all concerned individuals to contact us to hear about their options,” continued Badal.
Information: call 877-722-3393.
Interior seeks grant proposals for tribal energy, mineral resources
Navajo Times
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn announced recently that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development is soliciting grant proposals from federally recognized tribes for projects that promote the assessment and development of energy and mineral resources on Indian trust lands.
IEED has $11 million available in fiscal year 2014 for grants, which is a historic level of investment that will support tribes seeking to put their energy and mineral assets to work for their communities.
“The IEED Energy and Mineral Development Program is another example of how Indian Affairs is working to assist tribes in realizing and maximizing the potential of their energy and mineral resources,” said Washburn. “This solicitation will provide tribal communities owning energy and mineral resources the opportunity and financial support to conduct projects that will evaluate, find and document their energy and mineral assets, and bring those assets to market."
All natural resources produced on Indian trust lands had an estimated economic impact of $12.08 billion, with over 85 percent of this impact derived from energy and mineral development on tribal lands, according to the Department of the Interior’s Economic Contributions report issued in July 2012.
The report also noted that out of an estimated 126,000 natural resources-related jobs on tribal lands in Fiscal Year 2011, 88.7 percent were directly associated with energy and mineral development. Energy and mineral resources generated more than $970 million in royalty revenue paid to Indian mineral owners in 2013. Income from energy and minerals is by far the largest source of revenue generated from Indian trust lands.
IEED’s Division of Energy and Mineral Development, through its Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP), annually solicits proposals from federally recognized tribes for energy and mineral development projects that assess, locate and inventory energy and mineral resources, or perform feasibility or market studies which are used to promote the use and development of energy and mineral resources on Indian lands.
Energy and mineral resources may include either conventional such as oil, natural gas or coal, or renewable energy resources such as biomass, geothermal or hydroelectric. Mineral resources include industrial minerals such as sand and gravel; precious minerals such as gold, silver and platinum; base minerals including lead, copper and zinc; and ferrous metal minerals such as iron, tungsten and chromium.
EMDP is funded under the non-recurring appropriation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget and is based on available funds. It is an annual program, and uses a competitive evaluation process to select several proposed projects to receive an award. Since 1982, the EMDP has invested about $90 million in developing energy and mineral resource information on Indian lands. These funds have defined more than $800 billion of potential energy and mineral resources.
The Department published a solicitation on the Grants.gov website on June 9, 2014. Proposals must be submitted no later than 75 calendar days from the announcement date. The Grants.gov website posting contains all of the guidelines for writing a proposal and instructions for submitting a completed proposal to the DEMD office.
Agency DNA rep meetings
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK – The annual Agency DNA Chapter Representative meetings are as follows: June 16, Tuba City Agency, Tuba City DNA; June 17, Shiprock Agency, Shiprock DNA; June 18, Fort Defiance Agency, Window Rock DNA; June 19, Crownpoint Agency, Crownpoint DNA; and June 20, Chinle Agency, Chinle DNA. Meetings will begin at 9 a.m.
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