Media Mentions

Interview / Video, Native News Online

Next on Native Bidaské: Zianne Richardson Reflects on America250 Through a Native Lens

2026 Champion for Change Zianne Richardson was interviewed by the editor of NNO for his weekly livestream series, focused on the semiquincentennial.

America 250, Champions for Change, Fellows, Haliwa-Saponi

Press Release, Native News Online

Native News Online and CNAY Announce Winners of America 250-Themed National Native American Youth Essay Contest

As sponsors of this contest through our DII work, CNAY’s perspective on the winning essays was prominently featured in this release, including a quote from Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives Christina Kracher.

America 250, Partners, Kanaka Maoli, Navajo, Seminole Nation of Oklahoma

Article / Interview, Washington Post, Washington, DC

Three words in the Declaration of Independence paint a cruel picture of Natives

McKaylin Peters [2026 Champion for Change] still recalls when she first heard the words merciless Indian savages. “I was upset. It just rolled off her tongue very easily,” recalled Peters. “It seemed like no one else was shocked except for us, the Indigenous students in the classroom. We were like, ‘Did she really just say that?’”

It wasn’t until [Tracy Canard Goodluck] was a student at Dartmouth College, she said, that she fully understood the context of the description. She was angry, but the new knowledge also awakened in her a passion for educating others about Indigenous history and mistreatment. “It shouldn’t just be about White history,” she said. “It should be about all history — the good, the bad and the ugly.”

Champions for Change, Fellows, Staff, Menominee Indian Tribe, Mvskoke Creek, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

Article, UNITY

Congratulations to the 2026 class of changemakers, visionaries, and future leaders!

CNAY Fellow Reg Macarro and Champion for Change Summer Wildbill were both profiled as 2026 UNITY 25 Under 25 Native Youth Leaders, each citing their work with CNAY.

California Native Youth Collective, Champions for Change, Fellows, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pechanga Band of Indians

Article / Interview, Flinn Foundation, Arizona

Flinn Scholar appointed to Navajo youth council: ‘We all want to see action in our communities’

Kaya Dickson is part of a new generation of leaders shaping change as a founding member of the Navajo Nation Youth Advisory Council.

"At our [CNAY Fellowship] convening, one of the guest speakers from the Navajo Nation mentioned, “Think globally, act locally.” Take all the knowledge you gain from every experience outside the home and bring it back to our communities to empower the next generation."

Remembering Our Sisters, Fellows, Navajo

Article / Interview, AP News

Native Americans mark the US 250th with pride, pain and patriotism

Ensuring Native youth have a voice in that future is a driving force for Tracy Canard Goodluck, executive director of CNAY. A member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and of Mvskoke Creek heritage, Goodluck said the power of those voices rang loud and clear in essays submitted for a recent competition focused on the 250th. They touched on sovereignty, self-determination and maintaining a connection with land and culture.

“They know who they are, where they come from, their identity, their culture, their history, and we need to create pathways for them to be able to share that with everyone.”

America 250, Democracy is Indigenous, Staff, Mvskoke Creek, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin

Press Release, The Aspen Institute, Colorado

2026 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellows

CNAY’s YAB President, Katie Lynch, was announced as part of the 2026 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow cohort, a group of emerging health leaders selected for their innovative work, inspired accomplishments and ability to transform ideas into action.

Champions for Change, Youth Advisory Board, Board, Fellows, Staff, Youth

Article, Yale University, Connecticut, Hawaii

Twelve seniors receive Yale College’s top student prizes

Joshua Ching of Ezra Stiles College graduates cum laude with distinction in both his majors: Ethnicity, Race, and Migration and Political Science. He has been a steadfast advocate for Pasifika and Indigenous communities at Yale, advancing cultural representation, education, and dialogue across campus.

Beyond Yale, Joshua has supported Native youth through the Center for Native American Youth [2025 Champion for Change, 2026 YAB Vice President] and contributed to legal access initiatives in Hawai‘i.

Champions for Change, Youth Advisory Board, Fellows, Youth, Kanaka Maoli, Kanaka Oiwi

Article / Interview, Underscore Native News, New York, Oregon

Umatilla NYU Student Building Financial Literacy App

Summer Wildbill is tackling financial literacy, starting with an app she is developing with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Nixyáawii Community Financial Services. She hopes other Native youth can use it to feel empowered when it comes to their own finances.

Though still in undergrad, her career thus far has focused on economic development — through a study abroad program in Argentina, an internship with the United Nations and as a 2026 Champion for Change through the Center for Native American Youth, focusing her project on financial literacy. She was also a 2024 Remembering our Sisters Fellow.

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

Article, Native Americans in Philanthropy, California

Native Youth Grantmakers at NAPCON26

At the Interwoven Futures Breakfast (co-hosted by FreshTracks, Center for Native American Youth, and Native Americans in Philanthropy), the Native Youth Grantmakers, NYG Alumni, and Indigenous Tomorrows Fund Youth Advisory Committee Members were featured as guest speakers. They shared real world examples of how philanthropy can support Native youth in dreaming, building, and shaping their futures.

Partners, Staff, Youth