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PORTLAND, Ore.—As lights flashed and music filled the Oregon Convention Center on July 2, Native models strutted down a runway with confidence and attitude. Thousands of youth sat in the audience, dressed in traditional clothes from their nations and their finest attire, and cheered for their peers onstage.

Youth from Native nations all across Turtle Island gathered in Portland, Oregon the first week of July for this year’s UNITY conference. United National Indian Tribal Youth, is one of the largest Native youth leadership gatherings across the country meant to inspire and empower the next generations of Native leaders. This year, over 2,800 youth attended the gathering, making it the biggest one to date. READ MORE. — Nika Bartoo-Smith, ICT

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In Warm Springs, Ore. as the sunlight peeked through the clouds on a hot Saturday afternoon in June, the sounds of jingle cones and brass bells blended with the rhythmic downbeats of the drum. Dancers filled the powwow circle for the grand entry of the 55th Annual Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days Powwow and celebration which took place June 27-30, 2024. Hundreds of families gather every year from near and far to participate in the powwow, traditional parade, rodeo, endurance horse races, stick game and more.

The first Pi-Ume-Sha celebration took place in 1969 as a way to honor Native veterans, says 71-year-old Warm Springs elder, Louise Katchia who has been helping organize the event for the past five decades. This year was the first time she was able to watch her grandkids run around and have fun from the sideline since retiring last year. She has now passed the baton onto her nieces and younger relatives to continue the legacy. READ MORE. — Underscore Native News

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EXHIBITS: Buffalo awaken in ledger art

The searing Ken Burns PBS documentary “The American Buffalo” made a deep dive into the North American history of the buffalo, its significance to Indigenous people, and the efforts to bring the buffalo back from near extinction.

ART: Deities become radio tower art

Nani Chacon, a Diné and Chicana artist, has been awarded a Creative Capital Award for her clever site-specific public art sculpture on the Navajo Nation called “Our Gods Walk Among Us.”

FILM: New info from ‘Thunderheart’

The cult classic film “Thunderheart,” based loosely on the Leonard Peltier story of FBI agents infiltrating reservations and starring Graham Greene, Val Kilmer and John Trudell – who cut his hair into a Mohawk style to reference the Mohawks fighting the Canadian government – has a new release with previously unknown information from an unlikely source. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman

Leaders of tribal nations highlighted efforts to bolster their communities and strengthen their sovereignty at an annual summit this week.

Frank Jamerson, vice chair of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said the tribe has made progress building relationships with other government agencies.

“We’re now able to take those steps forward so we can start showing the United States government that we as Native Americans can start taking care of ourselves,” Jamerson said.

During the event, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday at the Bismarck Event Center, the five tribes that share geography with North Dakota were invited to provide updates on projects and programs and to speak to accomplishments and challenges in their communities. READ MORE. — North Dakota Monitor

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