Two bills now in the U.S. Congress would require issuance of medals to recognize the dedication and valor of Native American code talkers in World Wars I and II. The Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2007 was introduced in the House of Representatives: H. R. 4544 and the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008 was introduced in the Senate: S. 2681. Each bill already has several sponsors. Contact your representatives and senators to support this legislation.

NativeWeb has moved to a new and improved web server. As part of our upgrades to content and materials, which we call NativeWeb 2.0, we maintain several new ideas for our community of participants and viewers:

• NativeWiki - you've heard of Wikipedia? NativeWeb is exploring ways to make our site more interactive, so you can contribute original sites and materials.
• Blogs - you've heard of them, you may even write one. We'd like to offer space for native and indigenous peoples to post blogs on our site.
• Never saw what you wanted on our website? How about participating in a poll to tell us what you want?
• An announcement list with occasional messages of interest to Native peoples:

Historic Milestone for Indigenous Peoples Worldwide as UN Adopts Rights Declaration

New York, 13 September 2007 - Marking an historic achievement for the more than 370 million indigenous peoples worldwide, the General Assembly today adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the result of more than two decades of consultation and dialogue among governments and indigenous peoples from all regions.
"Today, by adopting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples we are making further progress to improve the situation of indigenous peoples around the world," stated General Assembly President Haya Al Khalifa.
"We are also taking another major step forward towards the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warmly welcomed the adoption, calling it "a triumph for indigenous peoples around the world."
The vote was 143 in favour, 4 against and 11 abstensions. The Declaration was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly, with 143 countries voting in support, 4 voting against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and 11 abstaining (Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa, Ukraine).

For more information, see The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.