2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNITY hosted its first-ever Virtual Conference. During the year, to engage and empower Native youth during a time of adversity, UNITY hosted as many as 50 virtual events.

2021

UNITY celebrated its 45th Anniversary in Dallas, Texas with the return of an in-person national conference, which drew 845 attendees, a significant decrease from UNITY’s pre-pandemic numbers of 2,300 in 2019.

The 2020-21 NUC Executive Committee presented a resolution before the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) outlining the I Will Live initiative, which aims to bring further attention to the American Indian and Alaska Native suicide epidemic amid the Global COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Committee actively participated in the NCAI resolutions process during the NCAI Convention, which was held virtually in October 2021. The resolution passed unanimously.

2022

The U.S. Department of the Interior hosted a Tribal Climate Youth Listening Session where UNITY Earth Ambassadors shared their perspectives on the impact of climate change on their tribes. They also presented their environmental platforms aimed at addressing the effects of climate change.

ED Mary Kim Titla receives Bank of America and the Neighborhood Builders Racial Equality Award, along with a $200,000 grant for UNITY. The award is presented to five nonprofit leaders annually from around the country.