Media Mentions

Newsletter, Knifemaneveryday Substack

First Light Forecast

NNO x CNAY Essay Contest featured as the “Cultural Highlight” of the day on Dallas Goldtooth's Substack (KnifemanEveryDay). "This might be one of the most important things happening right now — and it’s easy to overlook. Because this isn’t just a contest. It’s a shift."

Democracy is Indigenous, Partners

Press Release, Native News Online

Native News Online Launches “America 250: A Republic Built on Native Land”

One component of the initiative will include a National Native Youth Essay Contest. Native News Online, in collaboration with the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute, is inviting Native youth to share their perspectives on the complex history of 1776 and challenge how America views its 250th anniversary.

Democracy is Indigenous

Article / Press Release, Native News Online

Rising Leaders: CNAY Unveils 2026 Fellows Cohort

CNAY has announced the 2026 Fellows. The co-hort of two dozen aspiring Native leaders, ages 18-24, will convene on Cahuilla land in Palm Springs, Calif., later this month.

The Fellows’ shared curriculum focuses on sovereignty and self-determination. Designed for Native youth who aspire to serve their Tribal Nations as future leaders, decision-makers, and Nation builders, sessions will focus on building a practical understanding of sovereignty not just as a concept, but as it operates in real life – legally, financially, and institutionally.

Brave Heart Fellowship, California Native Youth Collective, Remembering Our Sisters, Fellows

Article, Native News Online

Cheyenne River Youth Project Creates Leadership Pathway for Local Teens

Cowins is not the only young adult following the YEI pathway from internships to leadership roles. A fellow trainee from his cohort, Wambli Gleska Quintana, was selected from a nationwide pool of applicants to join the 2024 Champions for Change team — created by the Center for Native American Youth, a policy program of the Aspen Institute — and also won a prestigious Gates Scholarship.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Cheyenne River Sioux

Interview / Podcast, Native News Online

Language as a Lifeline: Moses Wiseman on Normalizing Yup’ik

Next on Native Bidaské, host Levi Rickert sits down with Moses Wiseman, a 24-year-old visionary recently named a 2026 Champion for Change by the Aspen Institute. As the Director of the Alaska Native Languages Program at the Alaska Institute for Justice, Wiseman is proving that language revitalization belongs in the ER just as much as it belongs in the classroom.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Village of Chefornak

Article / Interview, Native News Online

Cornell University told her Ōlelo Hawaiʻi did not meet language requirements to graduate. She pushed back, and won.

Kaylah Toves took her own advice and stood up for herself. The senior at Cornell University faced pushback when she recently petitioned the institution to accept Ōlelo Hawaiʻi as her second language required to graduate.

“I made sure to petition for why I believe I deserve to have Ōlelo recognized as my language proficiency here on campus. It ended up working, even though my advisors had told me otherwise,” she told [Cultivating Culture].

Champions for Change, Fellows, Acoma Pueblo, Kanaka Oiwi

Article / Interview, Alaska Pacific University, Alaska

From Chefornak to Capitol Hill: Moses Marr’aq Wiseman’s Journey of Advocacy

At 24 years old, Moses Marr’aq Wiseman is already a powerful voice for language access and cultural revitalization... He was recently selected as a Champion for Change through CNAY, a national initiative highlighting young Native leaders across the country. As part of the program, he traveled to Washington, DC, where he met with policymakers, participated in advocacy training and attended the 2026 State of Indian Nations address hosted by the National Congress of American Indians.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Village of Chefornak

Article / Interview, Tribal Business News

IN SERVICE | Tracy Canard Goodluck on sovereignty, water policy and elevating Native youth leadership

Tracy Canard Goodluck... has built her career around public service rooted in tribal sovereignty and community responsibility. In Haudenosaunee tradition, leadership carries an obligation to future generations — a principle that has shaped her work across education and federal Indian policy.

Today, Goodluck serves as executive director of [CNAY], as the organization approaches its 15th year supporting Native youth leadership and civic engagement.

leadership, Staff, Mvskoke Creek, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

Article / Interview, Native News Online, Alaska

Q&A: The Yup’ik Language Expert Helping Ease Hospital Visits for Alaska Natives

Moses Wiseman spoke his Yup’ik language before he learned English. As a college freshman, he entered the field of Alaska Native language revitalization with a bit of an inherited purpose.

“I know I qualified very heavily for this because I spoke my Native tongue. I knew how to write it, I knew how to understand it. I know how to comprehend it,” Wiseman said in an interview with Cultivating Culture.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Village of Chefornak, Yup’ik

Article, Confederated Umatilla Journal, Oregon

Confederated Umatilla Journal

“I am very excited to be part of the 2026 CNAY Champions for Change cohort and grateful for the platform and opportunity to advocate for an issue I have been passionate about for several years: financial literacy on reservations,” Wildbill said. “Through this opportunity, I hope to continue sharing my research and work with tribes to highlight the importance of this issue.”

Champions for Change, Fellows, Youth, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation