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NATIONAL & LOCAL INVOLVEMENT
Coalition of the Chicago American Indian Community
The American Indian Center has been a member of the Coalition of the Chicago American Indian Community (CCAIC) since its inception. The CCAIC builds networks between American Indian organizations in the Chicago metropolitan area and work to address urban Indian issues. On Friday, April 15, 2005 the AIC hosted the 7th Generation Celebration in conjunction with the CCAIC. The afternoon and evening featured various educational and cultural activities, including a youth panel discussion. The highlight of the evening was the address given by Joe Shirley, Jr., the President of the Navajo Nation who discussed “Bridging and Strengthening Generations.”
California Indian Manpower Consortium, Inc.
The primary purpose of the Consortium is to offer training, employment, and other activities designed to meet the employment and training needs of the client population. Another purpose is to promote community self-help programs and provide direct services to assist the eligible American Indian population.
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) selected the American Indian Center to participate in the creation of the Our Lives, Contemporary Life and Identities, an exhibit documenting the lives of American Indians in the 21st century. For over three years, Chicago co-curators Jayne Blacker (Menominee), Mavis Neconish (Menominee), Ansel Deon (Dine’/Lakota), Cyndee Fox-Starr (Odawa/Omaha), Rita Hodge (Dine’), Joe Podlasek (Ojibwe), Susan Power (Dakota), Dave Spencer (Chata/Dine’), Cynthia Soto (Lakota), and Patricia Xerikos (Ojibwe) worked on the design development, media concept, and production, in order to produce an exhibit which showcased the Chicago urban Indian community. On Tuesday, September 21, 2004 community members celebrated with over 30,000 tribal officials, community leaders and spectators as they marched in the Native Nations Procession to celebrate the grand opening of NMAI. Community members were also able to preview the Our Lives exhibit. While in Washington, D.C., AIC staff and community members visited the United States House of Representatives and were presented with a special congressional recognition for the AIC. A documentary of the opening and the AIC’s part in the opening was produced by Tom Orland Productions.
National Urban Indian Family Coalition
As one of 18 member organizations of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC), staff of the AIC traveled to Phoenix, AZ in February 2004, to attend the National Urban Indian Family Coalition Summit. NUIFC strives to address issues affecting American Indians living in urban areas by documenting needs, developing strategies, and building networks. The AIC is a member of the NUIFC for good reason. Considering urban areas in the US, Chicago has the 3rd largest American Indian population; 32,000 American Indians reside in Chicago, and 73, 000 in the state of Illinois.