UNITY 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEARBOOK TIMELINE
1970
1976 — UNITY established: UNITY was founded by J.R. Cook, Cherokee, in Weatherford, OK, and conducted its first national conference in Oklahoma City. J.R. served as Executive Director without a salary for about 7 years. J.R.’s mother, the late Golda Cook, supported UNITY during the early years.
1978 — UNITY Moves Headquarters: The UNITY headquarters was moved from Weatherford, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City. Vivian Payne contributed the use of her former home, rent-free, for UNITY to use as its headquarters.
1978 — Andy Payne Memorial Foot Races: UNITY conducted the first annual Andy Payne Memorial Foot Races in honor of the late Andy Payne, Cherokee, who, in 1928, won the Trans-American Footrace from Los Angeles to New York City.
1979 — First White House Native youth gathering in Washington, DC: UNITY, NIAA and the Department of Labor co-sponsored a conference in Washington, D.C. at George Washington University. During the event the youth assembled on the south lawn of the White House where President Jimmy Carter and his son Chip met with about 300 Native students.
1980
1980 — New Breed of American Indians: Paul Harvey broadcasted a story about UNITY on his national radio program entitled, ‘A New Breed of American Indians’ that recognized UNITY for its work with Native youth.
1980 — Willie Nelson: Willie Nelson, a nationally recognized entertainer, held a benefit concert to raise funds that helped UNITY through a time of financial need. Music scholarships were offered to UNITY youth following the concert.
1980 — Declaration of Independence: UNITY youth gathered in Billings, Montana and adopted a Declaration of Independence that asserted their right to express their concerns and goals regarding the health and welfare of Native people.
1980s — Council of Eagles: UNITY Created the Council of Eagles which was made up of selected Na- tive youth who served as UNITY ambassadors. The first Council of Eagles included Mary Kim Titla, Vivian Juan Saunders, Rose Abrahamson, Arvo Mikkanen, and Darrell Mease.
1980 — Wayne Newton: Wayne Newton, Las Vegas icon and well-known singer and entertainer, donated an Arabian stallion, “WN Alegria,” to UNITY.
1980s — 2000 Campaign: UNITY first received federal funding in the late 80s for a program entitled the American Indian/Alaska Native Youth 2000 Campaign. The program resulted in the Healing Generation’s Journey to the Year 2000, a publication that set forth twelve strategies for addressing Native youths’ issues of greatest concern.
1981–UNITY conducts National Hotshot Basketball Championships: The Championships were patterned after the Pepsi Cola/NBA Hotshot contest. The project encouraged UNITY youth to sponsor local hotshot contests, report the results, and compete to become the national champion from among the winners of the local competitions.
1982 — Call for a Youth Council Network: To promote the creation of a national youth council, UNITY issued a call for the creation of local youth councils.
1985 — First Youth Council established: The Wind River Reservation Youth Council became the first youth council to be established.
1985 — Senate Hearing: Seven Native youth testified before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. about issues affecting Indian Country.
1990
1990s — UNITY Basketball: In the 1990s UNITY sponsored basketball teams that won two National Indian Athletic Association (N.I.A.A.) championships. The Atlanta Hawks teamed up with UNITY to promote “Success on and off the court.” NBA players and coaches visited Indian communities in Wyoming, Florida, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
1990s — Earth Ambassadors: In 1990, thanks to a grant from the Administration for Native Americans, UNITY established the Earth Ambassadors program to promote environmental stewardship.
1992 — National UNITY Council and Executive Committee: The National UNITY Council, which elected its first Executive Committee in 1992, was formally established at the National UNITY Conference in St. Paul, MN.
1993 — War on Drugs and Alcohol Abuse: The UNITY Council of Trustees declared war on alcohol abuse. By taking this action, UNITY committed its resources to the war effort to defeat alcohol abuse. A related nationally distributed poster featured actor Wes Studi, and UNITY youth leaders LoVina Louie, Justin Deegan, and Temet Aguilar.
1994 — UNITY Fire: The UNITY Fire was introduced at the 1994 National UNITY conference in San Diego, California. Within the first days, the UNITY Fire faced extinguishment from the local fire department, were it not for the UNITY conference participants standing guard around the fire.
1996 — Senate hearing: Four Native Youth testified at hearings conducted by the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. concerning issues affecting Indian Country.
2000
2001 — Celebrate Fitness: Members of nine Indian youth councils designed and implemented Celebrate Fitness! projects as part of a youth-led program of activities designed to promote healthy life- styles among Native Americans (2001-2004).
2002 — NUCEC outreach to Alaska Native Youth for creation of youth councils (Tlinget and Haida Tribes)
2003 — Dan Terrio/Kristy Dayson (Co-Presidents) invited to give “State of UNITY Youth” address before Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Washington, DC
2006 — First Lady’s Luncheon: Four UNITY youths were invited to attend a charity luncheon benefiting UNITY and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush in Washington D.C. The luncheon was themed, “The First Americans.” During the luncheon Tony and Karl Duncan performed Hoop Dances. UNITY Executive Committee members Juanita Toledo and Joshua Tso presented gifts to Mrs. Bush on behalf of the UNITY organization.
2006 — Strengthening Native Families: UNITY conducted a project to combat social issues affecting Indian Country by strengthening Native families.
2006 — Celebrate Native Fitness: Building upon the successful ‘Celebrate Fitness’ project, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported Celebrate Native Health with grants that allowed 13 youth councils to promote efforts within their communities to lower the barriers to healthy eating and physical activity and thereby reduce childhood obesity at community and tribal levels. (2005- 2009)
2008 — NUCEC (Vincent Toya, Jemez) gifted UNITY an Eagle Staff, used in the Opening Day Grand Entries
2010
2013 — New Executive Director: UNITY founder, JR Cook, stepped down as Executive Director and was succeeded by Mary Kim Titla, San Carlos Apache.
2013: — UNITY moves its headquarters to Arizona: UNITY Moved its headquarters from Oklahoma City to Mesa, Arizona.
2014 — UNITY and the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) partnered on the Today’s Native Leaders initiative, a four-year project designed to offer regional and national trainings and learning opportunities for American Indian youth to increase positive outcomes in their schools, communities, and family environments. Trainings were held in Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, Washington, California, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
2014 — UNITY introduced its first 25 Under 25 Youth Leaders class at the National Conference in Portland, Oregon. The 25 Under 25 Native Youth Leadership Awards honors, recognizes, and celebrates the achievements of Native youth between the ages of 14 and 25 who embody UNITY’s core mission and are committed to developing their spiritual, mental, physical and social well-being. New classes are selected in even years.
2014 – UNITY expanded its news network in 2014 with the production of mini-newscasts. With help from Phoenix TV stations and the ASU Cronkite School of Journalism, UNITY hosted Communication Boot Camps, which allow Native youth to explore the world of journalism and inspire them to produce videos about issues or activities important to them.
Multi-media mentors help youth produce UNITY News segments, which are shown during the conferences.
2015 — First Lady Michelle Obama: First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to 1,300 Native youth at the White House Tribal Youth Gathering in Washington D.C. UNITY co-sponsored the event.
2015 — Revival of the Earth Ambassadors program: UNITY reinstituted the Earth Ambassadors program thanks to a matching grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Thirteen youth were selected from among dozens of applications. The 12 members of the NUC Executive Committee became honorary members. Subsequent Ambassador classes are to be selected during odd calendar years.
2016 — The UNITY Wellness Warriors Project. Funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation over three years (2016-2019), the new program increased the awareness of the need for and benefits of adopting a lifestyle that incorporates a culturally relevant and measurable personal wellness plan that will lead to transformational change among Native American and Alaskan Native youth, while positively impacting their communities.
2019 – The Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative, a three-year project funded by the US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), aimed to support and enhance Native youth engagement, coordination, and action related to public safety issues, with a focus on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention in Indian country.
I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
2020
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.
2021 – 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.
2022 – 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.
