Greetings, relatives.
A lot of news out there on this Election Day. Thanks for stopping by ICT’s digital platform.Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you.
Okay, here’s what you need to know today:
Where the 2024 presidential candidates stand on Indigenous issues
Marianne Williamson, a 2020 presidential hopeful, promised before an auditorium of Indigenous leaders, elders and voters that under her administration the White House would formally apologize and atone for the horrific treatment of Native Americans by the federal government, alluding to genocidal policies enacted by the United States.
In 2019, Williamson was one of 11 presidential candidates who attended the historic Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City.
Williamson is one of three Democratic candidates running for president of the United States in 2024. She’s also in the race against incumbent President Joe Biden and Cenk Uygur, co-founder and host of The Young Turks, a progressive news program.
The 2024 presidential election also has two Independent candidates, political activist Cornel West, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and an environmental attorney.
There are 9 Republican candidates. READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
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Wilma Mankiller was the first woman to serve as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, a fierce advocate for Indigenous communities, and a winner of the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.
Now Mankiller, who died in 2010, is getting her own doll. Mattel, the Barbie doll maker, unveiled its latest incarnation on Tuesday, Nov. 7, with Mankiller as the first real-life Native woman to be featured in the Barbie “Inspiring Women” series.
To sculpt a doll that is a genuine reflection of her likeness, the company worked closely with Mankiller’s family and friends, including her longtime husband Charlie Soap and her friend Kristina Kiehl, producer of the documentary, “Cherokee Word for Water,” as well as the Mankiller estate and the Cherokee Nation. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
After recent years of record or near-record runs and harvests, Bristol Bay sockeye salmon numbers are expected to return to more average levels next year, according to state biologists.
The 2024 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run is expected to total 39 million fish, with a predicted range between about 25 million and 53 million fish, according to a preliminary forecast released Friday by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
That is 35% lower than the average over the past 10 years but 6% higher than the long-term average for Bristol Bay, the department said in its forecast.
Bristol Bay is site of the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs, and recent years’ returns have been especially large. Last year’s sockeye salmon return hit a record of 79 million fish, and the 2022 harvest of 60.1 million sockeye salmon was also a record, according to the department. This year’s run totaled 54.5 million, the eighth largest on record, according to the department. READ MORE. — Yereth Rosen, Alaska Beacon
Before the second round of The Native American Open golf tournament, Emmett “Shkeme” Garcia of the Santa Ana Pueblo led the crowd in a Keres blessing.
“On behalf of this current tribal chief and the humble people of the homeland of Tamaya,” he said, first in Keres and then in an English translation, “we pray you watch your words, be mindful of the homeland, remember you came carrying your ancestors and family and friends. Be safe, be strong and be blessed on this special day in this special place. Have a great day and go hard.”
Then Chairman Jay Garcia offered an acknowledgement of the Twin Warriors — Masewi and U’yuyehwee — who long ago showed the Tamaya the path to the upper world along the banks of the Rio Grande River.
With that, a slate of Indigenous golfers headed to their carts after final hugs and good luck wishes from family and friends. Game on. READ MORE. — Mark Wagner, Special to ICT
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, voters across the country are heading to the polls. ICT’s political correspondent shares the major races and previews the presidential election — less than one year away. Plus, Indigenous film and books for the fall,
Watch:
Navajo Police Officer Antwan Gray has been first on the scene of a massive car wreck. He’s seen strangers open fire around a group of children. And he’s tried to de-escalate rising domestic tensions before they end in violence.
Sometimes his hands shake and adrenaline rushes through him.
But he knows it’s an important job. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
- Judges toss lawsuit targeting subdistricts for tribal nations: The North Dakota subdistricts include the Fort Berthold and Turtle Mountain reservations.
- Reconnection and reconciliation, seeking a way back: Born of History: A Tulalip youth’s journey to Indigenize child welfare.
- Tribes ask feds to review chemical killing salmon: The Yurok tribe in California and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Puyallup tribes in Washington want the rubber preservative 6PPD banned because it kills salmon as they return to their natal streams to spawn.
- University of Montana’s Indigenous First Year Experience program: ‘The program overall is set up to help students feel like they belong.’
- Walking while Native a dangerous endeavor: Tribes are seeking solutions to higher rates of pedestrian fatalities among Indigenous people.
- Baaaad dog: Rez goat roams community with his family pack.
- Anawak quits Iqaluit city council, citing weekend crash.
- Seminole teacher and Cherokee citizen Jack Tinsley reaches 57th year of teaching.
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.
