Louisiana
Louisiana Teen’s Stroke-Detecting Invention Recognized in National STEM Contest
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Ever since 14-year-old Naya Ellis can remember, science has been her favorite subject and she has wanted to help others by working in the medical field. She recalls taking care of her mother when she was about 7 years old, helping change her bandages during her battle with breast cancer. Now, the ninth-grader has combined her love of science and her desire to support others by designing a watch that detects signs of a stroke in adults. She was named a champion in the National STEM Challenge for her invention last month.
Naya, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School in New Orleans, was inspired to create the watch through a program called STEM NOLA, where K-12 students learn and participate in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math projects. The organization offers an eight-month-long STEM fellowship to low-income high school students of color who show an interest in solving real-world problems and gives them training, career and networking opportunities.
She signed up for the fellowship because she wanted to keep herself busy. Little did she know the opportunities the program would allow her.
The organization also hosts STEM Saturday, a free weekend program where K-12 students can create inventions. When Naya attended her first STEM Saturday in October, she thought designing a watch that detects seizures would be a great idea. But the following weekend — the last weekend to complete her project — she changed her plan entirely and instead created a watch for stroke detection, since her grandmother had suffered a stroke. She named her invention WingItt, a fitting title for an idea that sprouted at the last second.
The watch works by detecting nerve impulses and heartbeats. Naya says that many stroke victims may develop noticeable signs such as a droopy face or strange taste in their mouth, but she wanted to create something that can detect internal symptoms. As she researched, she found that strokes were more common in people 55 and older than in younger people, so she wanted to cater to this demographic. As she works out the kinks in her prototype, she wants to ensure that it is detecting only strokes and not picking up on other issues, such as those involving the heart.
A huge priority for Naya is making sure her watch is affordable for older adults who may not have the money for expensive technology, like iPhones and Apple Watches, that have health-monitoring features.
“I want to do something I’m interested in, that will also change the world,” she says.
Naya’s invention could well be on its way to doing just that, as she is one of 126 students out of over 2,500 nationwide to be selected as champions in the National STEM Challenge. The competition for grades 6 to 12, presented by the U.S. Department of Education and EXPLR, will host its inaugural festival next month in Washington, D.C., where the champions will showcase their creations. The students are also receiving two months of coding training and four months of master classes with STEM experts like astronauts and sports statisticians.
“I never thought that I would win,” Naya says. She says she looks forward to presenting her watch and seeing the other inventions at the festival.
Naya thinks younger students who may have an interest in science should give STEM a try because it has given her experiences she never thought she would have. She says students in her area specifically should give STEM NOLA a chance because it has allowed her to go to new places and learn new things.
As a freshman, Naya still has plenty of time to do more in the world of STEM. Her other plans include playing softball and getting a college scholarship, and longer-term, becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist.
“I love the fact that you’re bringing new life into the world, that’s the coolest thing ever to me. I’m a woman helping women. It can’t get any better than that!”
Disclosure: The Walton Family Foundation and Overdeck Family Foundation provide financial support to the National STEM Challenge and The 74.
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At a small play area inside a newly renovated building on Canal Street in New Orleans, De Jon Muwwakkil watched her daughter work a pulley elevator on a dollhouse and tuck a stuffed panda behind a miniature cupboard — “his new home,” the child announced.
For Muwwakkil, who completed outpatient substance use treatment through Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana, moments like that show what recovery could like when women don’t have to choose between getting help and caring for their children.
“Having my child in the program with me was the pinnacle, the top-notch service I needed,” she said.
Many women in New Orleans have never been able to consistently stay with their children throughout treatment. But on Tuesday, Nov. 25, VOASELA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Canal Pointe, New Orleans’ only family-centered residential treatment and recovery facility for pregnant women and mothers with children. The site, a former auto dealership across from University Medical Center, has been transformed into a 31-room center where families will live together for about 90 days while the parent goes through treatment.
“This is an opportunity,” Muwwakkil said. “It keeps women and children safe, away from the triggers, away from the bad actors in the streets, away from the bad substances, the traumatic experiences of someone’s life.”
Keeping families together
A small library inside Canal Pointe is stocked with local children’s books, and the facility also includes a teaching kitchen, play areas, community areas for families, and private rooms equipped with cribs and trundle beds so mothers and children can stay together. Outpatient services are already operating, and residential admissions are expected to begin in December or January.
Medication-assisted treatment will be provided on site through DePaul Community Health Centers. The first week for new residents is typically a blur of medical appointments, group therapy, individual counseling and case management, staff said.
Jackie Kellett, VOASELA’s assistant vice president of integrated and behavioral health and a licensed clinical social worker, said treating mothers alongside their children is essential. Child care barriers often stop women from seeking help, but they don’t have to choose between getting help and their children at Canal Point. With everyone able to stay together, Kellett pointed out the facility would also be able to offer services to anyone in the family who needs it. She often has seen multigenerational substance use.
“I’ve worked with clients where sometimes their first substance use was with their parents, when they were as young as 9 doing heroin,” Kellett said. “It’s really important to break that cycle.”
A growing crisis
Louisiana continues to see high overdose rates among pregnant and postpartum women. Accidental overdose is the leading cause of death among pregnant women in the state. In the most recent report, 28 women died of overdose in a single year.
Nick Albares, who helped oversee the project’s development, said the $8-million-plus facility was funded through a mix of tax credits, federal and private grants, and philanthropy. It will cost roughly $2 million annually to operate. Medicaid is expected to cover about a month of treatment per participant, supplemented by TANF dollars. But outside support will remain critical.
No one will be turned away because of an inability to pay, Albares said. “But it’s not a program that is sustainable on its own.”
“It’s going to take everyone to make it work,” said Voris Vigee, CEO and president of VOASELA.
The facility will accept women from across Louisiana.
VOASELA leaders emphasized the project’s goal of providing long-term stability for families navigating both addiction and poverty. The organization expects Canal Pointe to serve 150 to 200 mothers and children each year.
The organization is accepting donations of hygiene items, cleaning supplies and new clothing for residents.
The 2025 Louisiana high school girls basketball season continued on Tuesday, and High School On SI has a list of all the final scores from tonight’s slate of action.
Abbeville 45, Westgate 42
Albany 56, Mandeville 49
Alexandria 45, Northwest 36
Archbishop Chapelle 58, Thibodaux 36
Baker 41, Tara 35
Basile 50, Gueydan 32
Ben Franklin 40, Kenner Discovery Health Science 32
Benton 55, Woodlawn – Shrev. 24
Berwick 50, Northside Christian 20
Bolton Academy 40, Westminster Christian – Lafayette 9
Bossier 59, Magnolia School of Excellence 22
Broadmoor 45, Central – B.R. 39
C.E. Byrd 30, Red River 28
Caldwell Parish 41, Delta Charter 17
Calvary Baptist 53, Loyola Prep 33
Calvin 60, Doyline 6
Castor 64, Converse 45
Central Catholic 56, Comeaux 34
Central Lafourche 51, Morgan City 15
Chalmette 44, St. Mary’s Academy 18
Choudrant 61, Weston 29
D’Arbonne Woods Charter 40, Lincoln Preparatory School 20
David Thibodaux 34, South Cameron 27
Delhi Charter 57, Forest 40
Denham Springs 62, Edna Karr 26
Destrehan 67, McDonogh #35 32
Dodson 42, Grace Christian 9
Dominican 36, Archbishop Hannan 27
Downsville 28, Georgetown 26
Doyle 71, Maurepas 22
Dunham 44, Central Private 31
Dutchtown 60, East Iberville 17
E.D. White 39, Acad. of Sacred Heart – N.O. 34
East Ascension 41, East St. John 34
Eunice 40, Crowley 23
Evans 53, Pickering 41
Fairview 76, Glenmora 32
Florien 53, Hicks 47
Fontainebleau 38, Loranger 26
Franklinton 42, Academy of Our Lady 5
Franklin Parish 54, Ferriday 32
GEO Next Generation 46, Glen Oaks 44
Grand Lake 44, Kaplan 27
Green Oaks 43, Evangel Christian 21
Hackberry 59, DeQuincy 11
Hammond 60, Jewel Sumner 13
Hanson Memorial 47, Delcambre 33
Hathaway 79, Welsh 25
Haynes Academy 66, Fisher 24
Hornbeck 51, Montgomery 14
Independence 47, Kentwood 27
Iota 51, Port Barre 11
John Curtis Christian 52, Natchitoches Central 42
Johnson Bayou 38, Sabine Pass – TX – UIL 13
LaGrange 63, Beau Chene 18
Lake Charles College Prep 47, Port Allen 0
LaSalle 33, Monterey 24
Liberty 65, West Jefferson 4
Live Oak 50, Plaquemine 47
Mangham 64, General Trass 11
McKinley 49, Collegiate Baton Rouge 33
Merryville 70, East Beauregard 33
Midland 84, Lacassine 50
Minden 61, Lakeside 15
Mt. Hermon 55, Bogalusa 29
Negreet 51, Ebarb 33
Neville 67, Bastrop 40
North Vermilion 59, St. Thomas More 40
Northshore 53, Belle Chasse 32
Northside 53, Jennings 42
Northwood – Shrev. 61, Many 38
Oak Grove 54, West Monroe 43
Oakdale 55, Leesville 27
Opelousas Catholic 42, Ascension Episcopal 24
Ouachita Christian 61, Harrisonburg 11
Parkway 48, Carroll 29
Pine 58, Varnado 16
Pineville 48, DeRidder 27
Pitkin 51, Claiborne Christian 9
Plain Dealing 44, North Caddo 39
Plainview 54, Elizabeth 40
Providence Classical Academy 50, Glenbrook 4
Quitman 48, Jonesboro-Hodge 46
Rapides 40, North Central 31
Reeves 75, Kinder 59
Richwood 61, Delhi 24
Rosepine 57, Pleasant Hill 53
St. Amant 70, Assumption 20
St. John 43, Capitol 17
St. Joseph’s – Plaucheville 40, Northwood – Lena 31
St. Joseph’s Academy 65, St. Michael the Archangel 31
St. Martinville 46, Jeanerette 39
St. Scholastica 31, Northlake Christian 27
Salmen 57, Booker T. Washington – N.O. 20
Sam Houston 65, Lake Arthur 50
Scotlandville 47, Family Christian 12
Simpson 71, Oak Hill 62
Singer 40, Stanley 32
Slaughter Community Charter 38, Belaire 10
Slidell 65, Terrebonne 54
South Lafourche 27, Mt. Carmel 22
Southern Lab 67, Ponchatoula 44
Southwood 57, Booker T. Washington – Shr. 52
Sterlington 64, Haughton 49
Teurlings Catholic 47, Acadiana Renaissance Charter 13
Tioga 67, Avoyelles 35
University Lab 71, Brusly 19
Vandebilt Catholic 34, West St. Mary 18
Vermilion Catholic 49, Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy 23
Vidalia 55, Madison 20
Ville Platte 57, Avoyelles Public Charter 11
Walker 38, H.L. Bourgeois 34
West Feliciana 66, Rayne 45
West Ouachita 63, Beekman Charter 11
West St. John 40, Frederick A Douglass 14
Westlake 63, Jena 34
White Castle 60, Donaldsonville 47
Winnfield 67, Lakeview 53
Woodlawn – B.R. 66, Istrouma 36
Wossman 61, Ouachita Parish 44
Zachary 55, Madison Prep 49
Zwolle 57, Anacoco 48
Cherokee author hopes her novels spark curiosity about Native history
Cherokee author Vanessa Lillie hopes her suspense novels inspire readers to explore and learn about Native American history.
In the U.S., there are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes and Alaska Native entities, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
As for Louisiana, the state is home to more federally recognized Indigenous tribes than any other state in the South.
This isn’t including state recognized tribes, which Louisiana also has a significant number of.
Louisiana has the most federally recognized Native American tribes in the South
Louisiana has four federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Chitimacha, Coushatta, Jena Band of Choctaw Indians and the Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe of Louisiana, according to the American Library Association.
In the case of federally recognized tribes, they have a sovereign, government-to-government relationship, which grants the tribes inherent rights, self-government, as well as eligibility for certain federal benefits and services, says the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Louisiana among states with the most state-recognized Native American tribes
The state of Louisiana recognizes 11 Indigenous tribes, in addition to the four federally recognized tribes. Louisiana’s state-recognized Indigenous tribes, not including the four federally recognized tribes, are:
- Bayou Lafourche Band
- Grand Caillou/Dulac Band
- Jean Charles Choctaw Nation
- Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe
- United Houma Nation
- Four Winds Cherokee
- Clifton Choctaw
- Louisiana Band of Choctaw
- Addai Caddo
- Choctaw-Apache
- Natchitoches Tribe
When it comes to state-recognized Native American tribes, they lack a federal relationship with the U.S. government and its associated benefits. Therefore, state-level acknowledgement does not guarantee federal funding and the tribes remain subject to state law, according to Native Nations Institute.
Why are there so many Indigenous tribes in Louisiana?
Louisiana has a number of recognized Native American tribes predominantly because of its historical background as a diverse ancestral homeland with an abundance of natural resources, which served as a refuge for various groups, including those that were displaced by European settlement, according to Louisiana State Museums.
Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com
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