Greetings, relatives.
A lot of news out there. 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:
Over a cup of coffee, more than two decades ago, the idea for a national Native basketball tournament for high school students was born.
GinaMarie Scarpa remembers those days well. Scarpa, along with Phoenix Suns legend Mark West and friend Scott Podleski worked together to create the Native American Basketball Invitational.
Since 2003, the tournament, known by many as NABI, has taken place in the Phoenix Valley each summer, save for a COVID-19 year in 2020 when most things were shut down, and has brought in thousands of Native athletes and plenty of dollars to the area. It has grown in numbers as well in opportunity. And this year marks 20 years. READ MORE. — Dalton Walker, ICT
(Related: North American Indigenous Games officially open)
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The good news is that Native entertainment is back in the spotlight with three productions earning nominations for the Emmy Awards.
The bad news is the glaring omissions — deemed outright “snubs” on social media and beyond — of some of the top films and television programming of the year featuring Indigenous stories.
Scoring big is “Prey,” the “Predator” prequel set in Comanche territory with a Native cast available on Hulu. The film received six nominations: for outstanding television movie; outstanding writing for Patrick Aison and Dan Trachtenberg; outstanding directing for Trachtenberg; outstanding editing; outstanding music composition; and outstanding sound editing. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
Music and laughter filled the Pine Ridge Girl’s School over the week of July 10, as the sixth annual Rock the Rez summer camp allowed a dozen local youths to learn how to express themselves through music.
“Ring around the rosie, ring around the posie, stray kids out for breakfast, Red Bull every morning. Boxing in the bedroom, boxing in the basement, Stray Kids Eating Pancakes, Fry Bread in the evening,” sang Julie Martinez, 17 and Oglala Lakota, to the tune of “Ring around the Rosie” for their band “The Stray Breakfast Kids.”
Rock the Rez is an annual summer camp that allows Indigenous girls, two-spirits, nonbinary youth and transgender youth to learn to express themselves through music. Every day, the camp provides two different creative workshops, musical lessons, a performance from a local Indigenous band and two free meals. Rock the Rez is an adaptation of the Girls Rock programming that aims at empowering youth through music. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
The latest bid by conservationists and tribal leaders to block construction of a huge lithium mine already in the works along the Nevada-Oregon line was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
A three-panel judge of the San Francisco-based appellate court rejected a half-dozen legal arguments the opponents had put forth in their appeal seeking to overturn federal land managers’ approval of one of the projects at the forefront of President Joe Biden’s plans to combat climate change.
The critics have been fighting it in federal court for two years. They claim the open-pit mine, as deep as the length of a football field, will violate multiple environmental laws and destroy lands tribal citizens consider sacred because they say dozens of their ancestors were massacred there in 1865. READ MORE. — Associated Press
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, green energy solutions demand new mining. Some tribes are facing difficult choices. A legendary Lacrosse stick maker has died. Meet a new member of the ICT reporting team based in South Dakota.
Watch:
The Assembly of First Nations — the national representative for First Nations across Canada — has a “predatory culture” that subjects women employees and others to offensive contact, assault and abuse from the chiefs, elders and knowledge keepers in charge, according to a shocking investigative report released at the assembly’s annual meeting.
The report, titled simply, “AFN Resolution 13 Panel Final Report,” was released quietly Wednesday, July 12, without any formal discussion at the AFN’s Annual General Assembly meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The release brought an immediate and often-emotional response from those in attendance and others watching the gathering online. Dozens of traditional healers, helpers and other mental health workers were on site, and many of those who spoke in response to the report were smudged during their testimonies. READ MORE. — Miles Morrisseau, ICT
- Indigenous people celebrate 75 years of voting rights: Arizona has one of the largest Native voting populations in the country, with more than 305,000 of voting age, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
- Filmmaker aims to shed light on missing Tulalip woman: Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis has been missing for 2½ years with no word. She’s the subject of Sabrina Van Tassel’s latest documentary.
- ICT expanding digital news team and business side: In addition to a reporter, the news outlet has hired a new deputy managing editor as well as representatives that will help generate revenue.
- Investigation finds ‘predatory culture’ in Assembly of First Nations: Women say they are routinely abused or assaulted by chiefs, elders and knowledge keepers in the national organization.
- Abenaki filmmaker receives MacDowell Medal: Alanis Obomsawin is being recognized for her work with First Nations people.
- This time it’s different? The rush to mine Indigenous lands.
- College tuition breaks for Native American students spread, but some tribes are left out.
- Alaska Native Medical Center gets ‘deemed status’ removed by federal accrediting agency.
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.
