A Legacy 50 Years in the Making: UNITY Celebrates Its Golden Anniversary Mesa, AZ — United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY), the nation’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to Native youth leadership development, today announced two inspiring keynote speakers for its 2026 National Conference, taking place this summer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NBA athlete Lindy […]
The National UNITY Council has taken a unified stand through its resolution, “Restore the Balance: Healing Trauma & Ending Violence in Native Communities,” reflecting the voices of Native youth nationwide and outlining a path rooted in healing, cultural strength, and action. Adopted at the 2026 UNITY Midyear Conference, the resolution highlights urgent challenges facing Native youth, including […]
Happy Earth Month! As communities around the world come together to recognize Earth Day, Native youth are stepping forward with powerful voices, rooted in tradition and driven by purpose. The United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY) Earth Ambassadors invite you to be part of this important movement during the upcoming UNITY Earth Day Webinar: […]
The Phoenix Indian Center, in partnership with Generation Vote, NARF, and AzNativeVote, is bringing together Native youth from the Phoenix metro area and Tribal communities across Arizona for a virtual conversation on Native voting issues. This interactive Zoom session will feature a youth panel sharing their perspectives on Native Vote topics, followed by small-group breakout […]
SEPTEMBER 14, 2016 – MESA, AZ – More than 40 Native youth and adults gathered last Saturday at the UNITY headquarters in Mesa, Arizona for a special evening that coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day. The UNITY Fire gathering, led by Sheldon Smith, Navajo, and Ron Interpreter, Navajo, offered prayers and explained the importance of […]
Shoshone Paiute tribal youth leaders in Nevada hosted and participated in a Prayer Fire to address a rash of recent suicides in their tribal community. Marco Ovando, a member of the UNITY 25 Under 25 Leaders and members of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Youth Council teamed up to address three suicides within a two-week period along […]
The National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) will now have a “UNITY” Fire burning at its conferences for spiritual and community building purposes. NICOA liked the idea of the UNITY Fire so much they invited UNITY youth and others to take part in a ceremonial lighting of the fire to kick off its conference earlier […]
Thanks to funding provided by Freeport McMoran Inc., UNITY youth leaders, advisors and elders were able to experience the UNITY Fire ceremony and learn about fire keeping duties at the UNITY Midyear Conference held last February in Tempe, Arizona. The UNITY Fire program began in the 1990s at the National UNITY Conference. A Seneca elder, […]
Nearly all our ceremonial ways are centered around the use of air, water, plant life, animal life, and the use of fire. For this reason, a member of the 1995 Executive Committee of the National UNITY Council by the name of SleepyEye LaFromboise (Seneca/Dakota) asked one of his grandfathers, Warren Skye (Seneca) pictured, how UNITY […]
Photo: The late Grandpa Warren Skye, former Conference Elder, Fire Keeper Nearly all our ceremonial ways are centered around the use of air, water, pant life, animal life, and the use of fire. For this reason, a member of the 1995 Executive Committee of the National UNITY Council by the name of SleepyEye LaFromboise, Seneca/Dakota, […]
