Media Mentions

News Roundup, Ka Wai Ola, Hawaii

Toves Named a Champion for Change

News Briefs: Kaylah Toves from Oʻahu has been named one of six 2026 Champions for Change – a Native youth leadership initiative of CNAY designed to highlight positive stories of impact from Indigenous communities.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Acoma Pueblo, Kanaka Maoli

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, 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

Interview / Podcast / Radio, Native America Calling

Young ‘Champions’ inspire positive change

Four of the 2026 Champions for Change (Moses Wiseman, Kaylah Toves, Summer Wildbill & McKaylin Peters) interviewed live on air about their ongoing advocacy work.

Moses Wiseman (Yup’ik) always knew he wanted to be a leader. Specifically, one with qualities that Wiseman learned from elders and other community members in the Village of Chefornak. At 24 years old, he is pursuing an MBA in strategic leadership at Alaska Pacific University, while also helping to create a Yup’ik glossary for health care providers. He and five other young, emerging Native leaders from all parts of the country have been selected for this year’s CNAY Champions for Change.

Champions for Change, Fellows, Youth, Acoma Pueblo, Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, Kanaka Maoli, Menominee Indian Tribe, Village of Chefornak, Yup’ik

Video, The Aspen Institute, Washington, DC

WATCH: 2026 Champions for Change Panel Discussion

View the recording of the 2026 Champs' first public speaking engagement as a group.

Champions for Change, Fellows

Newsletter, Knifemaneveryday Substack

First Light Forecast

2026 Champion for Change announcement featured as the “Cultural Highlight” of the day on Dallas Goldtooth's Substack (KnifemanEveryDay). "It’s about trusting the future — trusting the young people who carry both the weight of history and the hope of tomorrow. When Indigenous youth step into leadership roles, they walk with a whole community behind them — ancestors, relatives, traditions, and responsibility. These aren’t symbolic titles. They are calls to action."

Champions for Change, Fellows, Youth