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In a moment that shocked and saddened First Nations and allies across Canada, Grand Chief Cathy Merrick died abruptly Friday, Sept. 6, after collapsing outside a Winnipeg courthouse during a press conference.
Merrick – who became the first woman elected as grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs in 2022 – was a history-maker who worked tirelessly and fearlessly to defend the rights of her people and those most vulnerable.
She had been speaking to reporters about the acquittal of a corrections officer in the death of a First Nations inmate and another case when she collapsed.
“It is with profound sadness that we confirm the sudden passing of our beloved Grand Chief Cathy Merrick,” the assembly said in a statement. “After experiencing a medical emergency outside the courthouse earlier today, she was rushed to the hospital, where her passing was confirmed, marking the beginning of her final journey home.” READ MORE.— Miles Morrisseau, ICT
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For this week’s edition of the ICT Newscast, a look at a critical issue facing American Indian and Alaska Native communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Native American youth experience suicide rates more than twice the national average. Behind these statistics are stories of loss, resilience and hope.
The Toronto International Film Festival 2024 opened with an unprecedented 15 Indigenous films in the line-up, including the eagerly anticipated “Rez Ball” based on the true story of a Navajo boys basketball team and the thrillers “Seeds” and “The Beguiling.”
The festival, celebrating its 49th year, has become one of the top film festivals in the world and a launching pad for big studio projects, Oscar contenders, independent darlings and everything in-between.
The 11-day festival, which kicked off Sept. 5 and runs through Sept. 15, has become more inclusive for Indigenous creatives in recent years with the addition of two Indigenous programmers.
“We’re getting a front row seat in seeing how some Indigenous storyteller’s careers are developing,” said Kerry Swanson, Michipicoten First Nation, who is chief executive of the Indigenous Screen Office told ICT from her home in Toronto. READ MORE. — Miles Morrisseau, ICT
After taking home the U.S. Directing Award from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, “Sugarcane” co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie are touring Indian Country and hosting showings.
“We thought it was important to get the film to the community for whom the story really belongs,” Kassie said. “The idea of the Rez Tour is to bring it to those places and give Native communities an opportunity to present the film in a way that felt good to them.”
Work on “Sugarcane” began for the filmmakers three years ago when Canadian journalists NoiseCat and Kassie set out to make a documentary following the 2021 push in Canada to identify unmarked graves at residential schools. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
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The scenes outside compared to inside the United Center couldn’t have been more different on Thursday night, the final day of the Democratic National Convention. Uncommitted delegates, some of whom are Palestinian, were in tears and holding each other. After days of advocacy at the convention, it was final, their request to have a Palestinian-American address the convention to talk about the death, hunger and violence happening in Gaza was denied.
The 30 uncommitted delegates were there to represent the hundreds of thousands of voters who cast their ballots as a protest to show the Democratic Party they did not agree with the Biden administration’s stance on the Israel-Gaza War.
Simultaneously, the vast majority of the Democratic delegates were inside the convention celebrating and cheering. The momentum of the speakers was building in preparation for Vice President Kamala Harris to officially become the first Black woman, the first South Asian person, and the first woman of color to become the presidential nominee of a major political party. READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
A Native American tribe in South Dakota will receive a nearly $8 million grant from a federal program that the state government declined to apply for.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe has been selected to receive a $7.88 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. The tribe will use the money to install electric-vehicle charging stations, purchase electric buses for transit routes and purchase and operate a heavy-duty EV garbage truck.
States and major cities were also eligible for grants. South Dakota and Sioux Falls chose not to apply. A Sioux Falls official said at the time that the grants “have numerous requirements that would ultimately take away the focus from the city’s current and planned sustainability efforts.” A spokesman for Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration said more federal spending would make inflation worse and said the federal dollars would come with “strings attached.”
Rapid City obtained a $1 million planning grant but was not awarded an implementation grant.
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s grant is from the latest phase of nearly $5 billion in total awards by the program. The grants are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in 2022.
Grants for tribes and territories were awarded following a review of 110 applications that requested a total of more than $1.3 billion. — South Dakota Searchlight
- Anishinaabe author invites children to honor ancestral Native land in new book: The children’s book is part of a larger children’s series ‘Race to the Truth’ that emphasizes the importance of talking about race with children.
- Indigenous fire practitioner sees beyond the destruction from historic Park Fire: California’s latest wildfire serves as a stark reminder of the regenerative promise of Indigenous cultural burning, practitioners say.
- Debate persists over rights denied to millions from US territories: ‘You’ve got to work, pay your taxes and be quiet.’
- Native Americans continue to fight barriers to voting: The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 recognized Native Americans as US citizens, yet for decades after, states blocked Indigenous people from voting. Today, experts warn that some states are once again restricting Native Americans’ access to voting and to democracy.
- Apache trout no longer ‘threatened’ thanks to work of tribe, partners: ‘Preserving the Apache trout, our state fish, is a testament to what is possible when leaders work together toward a common goal.’
- Addressing Alzheimer’s in American Indian communities.
- Next director named for Bureau of Indian Affairs
- Southern Ute Indian Tribe selected to receive $4,908,604 to cut climate pollution from oil and gas production sources.
- NOAA reaches key milestone in designation of Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.
We want your tips, but we also want your feedback. What should we be covering that we’re not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. dalton@ictnews.org.
