Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 8, 1 August 2009 — Writing competition seeks native insight [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Writing competition seeks native insight

By ī. Ilihia Giansan Publicatians Editur The Native Insight Competition is seeking the mana'o of Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives and Native Americans on the economy, and in so doing, the competition will offer an eeonomie stimulus of its own - a total of $60,000 in prize money. "I believe this is a unique and creative opportunity for our community to provide wisdom and contribute to our country's recovery in a time when information is sorely lacking," said Tim Iohnson, the Washington, D.C„ bureau chief for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "Ideas about eonservation, self-sustaining eonununities, living in harmony with nature, and sharing, among others, whieh are an inherent part of the fabric of the Native Hawaiian eommunity, are ideas whose time has eome again."

The "Native Insight Competition: Thoughts on Recession, Recovery and Opportunity" is open to natives of all ages, and students are strongly encouraged to participate. An essay may be written by an individual or a team, all of whom must have a significant relationship with their native eommunity. The 500- to l,600-word essay must address one of these three writing prompts: • How ean the native eommunity best participate in the process of eeonomie renewal? What unique contributions ean we make to help

jump-start the U.S. and international economies? • Are you confident that eeonomie growth will be restarted in 2009/2010? Describe your views on how the eeonomie recovery will take plaee. • How must our economy change to fully recover from this eeonomie crisis? What additional steps do President Obama and the Congress need to take to make these changes happen? How ean native Americans step up to help make these necessary changes and build sustainable economies? The national competition will select six winners. A total of $60,000 will be distributed among three Alaska Native winners and three Native Hawaiian/Lower 48 American Indian winners. Eaeh winner will receive $10,000 and opportunities for their essays to be published. Essays may be written in English

or in the writer's native language, provided an English translation is included. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 15. Online submission is strongly encouraged, but submissions by mail, fax or e-mail are allowed. All submissions must be accompanied by an official entry form. Winners will be announced Oct. 22, and all winners will be recognized at the 2009 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 22-24. "The world has mueh to learn from our community, and this eompetition provides a forum," Iohnson said. "This is a rare opportunity with the potential to have a great impact, so I encourage everyone in the Native Hawaiian community to participate." The Native Insight Competition is a project of the Alaska Federation of Natives in partnership with the National Congress of Ameriean Indians, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. ■

How to enter Deadline: Sept. 15 Submissions accepted: online, by mail, e-mail or fax • Online submission is strongly encouraged. All online submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. (Alaska time) on Sept. 15. • Mailed submissions must be postmarked no laterthan Sept. 15, and ean be mailed to: ATTN: Native lnsight Competition, Alaska Federation of Natives, 1577 C Street, Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99501 E-mail: compete@ nativeinsight.org Fax: 907-276-7989 Questions? 907-274-3611 For rules and to download an entryform, visit nativeinsight.org. Entryforms are required and may also be requested by mail.

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Tim Johnson, 0HA's Washington, D.C. bureau chief, encourages Native Hawaiians to take advantage of this "unique and creative opportunity for our community to provide wisdom." - Photo: Lizo Simon