Help ICT make strides in 2024. Our goal is to raise $150,000 by the end of the year with generous contributions from funding partners and collaborators like you. We’re thankful for your support, and we’re thriving because of it. DONATE TODAY!
Greetings, relatives:
As we enter the final month of 2023, take a moment to catch up on the news that made headlines in November across Indian Country.
The National Congress of American Indians elected a new president.
A new report recommends urgent action needed on missing and murdered Indigenous people, human trafficking.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has been conducting her “Road to Healing” tour for more than a year, meeting with Indigenous survivors of U.S. boarding schools. Her tour came to an end with the final stop in Montana in November.
For the second time in U.S. history, a citizen of the Chinook Indian Nation will serve as a United States ambassador.
The ICT organization has brought in four new people, continuing the growth and outreach of the company.
Be sure to watch our daily newscast, “ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez.” Replays of each show can be found there.
Here are ICT stories you should read up on and share in your network.
NEWS
Mark Macarro: We need a strong presence inside the Beltway: New National Congress of American Indians president shares thoughts with ICT’s Mark Trahant.
Is it time to move beyond land acknowledgements?: Native nonprofit leaders call for making reparations to tribes and returning tribal homelands.
Indigenous-serving college fighting for survival: Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma is seeking help to prevent its auction on Dec. 14.
Tribe builds thriving olive oil business: Demand grows for Séka Hills oils from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.
ICT adds four hires to the organization: The business development team and the Pacific Northwest bureau are growing.
Sun shines on tribal colleges with $3M solar investment: Grants from US Department of Energy will expand clean energy use and help train students.
Tribal sovereignty still a fight in Maine: The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act undermines tribal sovereignty and treats Wabanaki Nations as municipalities that are subject to state law. The nations often have to work with the state government to implement federal Indian policies.
LEST WE FORGET: Angel De Cora: Ho-Chunk artist and illustrator drew national attention before dying in the Spanish Flu pandemic.
NCAI vote to exclude state recognized nations fails: Proposed constitutional amendments to exclude state recognized tribes from voting membership of the National Congress of American Indians failed.
Pueblo, Ojibwe band among Robert Wood Johnson Foundation winners: Nine communities, including Zuni Pueblo and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, were selected to receive this year’s Culture of Health prize of $250,000. The award celebrates communities collaborating to knock down barriers that have created unequal health and wellbeing opportunities.
Multi-talented Matika Wilbur shares curriculum tid-bits: Native work must fill in the gaps, dynamic education keynote speaker tells Native educators.
Indigenous leadership in Nature Conservancy hope to build tribal support: The nonprofit environmental organization has more than a million members.
WASHINGTON DC BUREAU
Senate votes to make Chinook citizen a US ambassador: Roger Nyhus says he is ‘eager to serve and do some good’ in the Eastern Caribbean.
Where the 2024 presidential candidates stand on Indigenous issues: ‘I see Trump-Biden 2.0 in 2024, and I don’t think that makes anybody happy, but I think that’s where we are.’
A look at the nearly two-year ‘Road to Healing’: Since 2022, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has made 12 visits, where dozens of survivors and descendants of the US boarding schools have told their harrowing stories and how it’s impacted to this day.
More historic wins during 2023 election: 92 Indigenous candidates from 18 states ran for local office in this year’s election.
Indigenous youth engage with federal officials: Over 100 youth from across the nation and even internally attended the 2023 White House Tribal Youth Forum.
Report: Urgent action needed on missing and murdered Indigenous people, human trafficking: New 210-page report was generated by a 37-member commission and offers more than 300 recommendations. Now, federal agencies have 90 days to respond.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BUREAU
Portland students headed back to school after historic strike: Notably, the tentative contract gets rid of mandatory minimum suspensions, which contribute to disproportionate rates of suspension for Native and Black students.
Native American heritage celebrated during NBA game: Hundreds of Indigenous community members came together in celebration of Native American Heritage Month during the Portland Trail Blazers versus Oklahoma City Thunder game.
UnThanksgiving organizers want to rethink colonial holidays: During a time of year that can be hard for many, especially Indigenous people, community members in Portland are organizing alternatives to ‘Thanksgiving’ and ‘Black Friday.’
Transforming the economy around people: New report calls for rethinking measures, framework of economic activity.
Will Portland’s teacher strike change a policy that harms Native students?: One of the policies at issue in negotiations between teachers and Oregon’s largest school district contributes to disproportionate rates of suspension for Native and Black students. Both sides say they want to change the policy. Will they?
Native solidarity with Indigenous Palestinians helps delay US warship: Protesters including Coast Salish water warriors called for a ceasefire and the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine at the Port of Tacoma. Together, they delayed a cargo ship bound for Israel believed to be loaded with weapons.
ALASKA BUREAU
Conservation group supports formation of new Alaska Native corporations: ‘This is a long overdue shift in The Wilderness Society’s position and is a significant step toward correcting injustices against Alaska Native communities.’
Alaska Natives file brief with Supreme Court over Pebble Mine: Proposed project puts states’ rights, economic impact on environmental permitting at stake.
MOUNTAIN BUREAU
Lakota tribe issues State of Emergency due to high rates of violence: While awaiting the results of a lawsuit against the United States, the Oglala Sioux Tribe continues to face high rates of violence.
Indigenous playwright teaches all audiences about MMIW: Original script, Indigenous actors create awareness of trafficked women and a mother’s own investigation.
Finding Karson: Over 200 community members gathered to find a missing 3-year-old. Intuition brought his uncle to him.
Salish Kootenai College’s recipe for high graduation rate: President credits a flexible, student-centered team in leading 35 accredited tribal colleges across the nation with 64 percent graduation rate.
Lakota woman opens Pine Ridge children’s shelter: A new children’s shelter opened its doors in August for the Pine Ridge Reservation community.
Former school employees sue tribal officials over banishment: Two former Dupree, S.D., educators have filed a lawsuit over their banishment from the Cheyenne River reservation.
Cheyenne River Youth Project celebrates 35 years: Established in 1988, the Cheyenne River Youth Project provides youth with a safe space for learning.
University of Montana’s Indigenous First Year Experience program: ‘The program overall is set up to help students feel like they belong.’
Remembering Elouise Cobell: Blackfeet trailblazer led a nearly 13-year-long fight for fairness and accountability from the federal government. Soon, the National Women’s Hall of Fame will induct her posthumously.
Walking while Native a dangerous endeavor: Tribes are seeking solutions to higher rates of pedestrian fatalities among Indigenous people.
ENTERTAINMENT
INDIGENOUS A&E: An artist doctor, a new cultural museum and new music.
Prados Beauty inspired by color and culture: Indigenous-owned cosmetics company joins with visual artists as products go national.
Indigenous DC is ‘an aspirational and political love letter’: Book review: ‘Indigenous DC: Native Peoples and the Nation’s Capital’ authored by Elizabeth Rule (Georgetown University Press, 2023).
‘Boil Alert’ film explores right to clean water: Stylish new documentary follows one woman’s search across First Nations.
Indigenous artist collective forms in southern Arizona: The collective known as Hekiu is a collaborative partnership between citizens of various tribal communities that neighbor Tempe through public art projects made possible through grant.
Indigenous skin care company a family affair: Bison Star Naturals in New Mexico uses unique scents, organic ingredients.
INDIGENOUS A&E: Violinist soars with TV series, new books, and ‘Manahatta’ theater.
A Barbie named Mankiller: Groundbreaking Cherokee chief is now featured in Mattel’s ‘Inspiring Women’ collection.
‘Navajo Police: Class 57’: Policing their own: New HBO documentary series offers inside look at Navajo training academy.
SPORTS
Native youth drive renewed interest in golf: Junior golfers Maddison Long and Zachary BlueEyes will tee off in a showcase tournament in Las Vegas.
Native American Open draws top golfers: Skyesong Alexis and Eric Frazier card top honors at Santa Ana Pueblo tournament.
VETERANS DAY
Army medic, traditional practitioner, veteran pays it forward: Teaching good energy in sweat lodges, prayer and sweetgrass lessons fits his personality.
Honoring Native veterans: Native veterans share a glimpse of their experiences in the military and their life since with ICT.
Oglala Lakota elder reflects on military service: Korean War combat veteran discusses his service, managing PTSD and healing through Lakota valuesOglala Lakota elder reflects on military service.
Code Talkers integral to victory: On this Veteran’s Day edition of the ICT Newscast, we look at the Choctaw Code Talkers from World War I and World War II. A new traveling exhibit explains the backstory behind the 1924 American Indian Citizenship Act.
GLOBAL INDIGENOUS NEWS
GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: UNESCO site targeted for evictions.
GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: Honor, oppression and opposition.
GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: Fighting for their rights.
GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: Protecting forests, rivers and people.
WATCH: ICT NEWSCASTS
A bountiful Indigenous harvest: It’s harvest season. It takes months to grow and seconds to eat. We speak to the winner of the best red chile in New Mexico. Can’t decide? It’s Christmas — the season of red and green chile. Plus, pine nut gathering in Idaho.
Storytelling through art and words: Artist John Isaiah Pepion about his ledger art. Poet and founder of NDN Girls Book Club, Kinsale Drake, joins us in our studio for an exclusive reading. And for the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Indigenous music makers talk about the next 50 years.
Making strides in the hall of fame: What’s cooking in Oklahoma City—a new cookbook from a Pottawattami chef. Richard Trudell gives us a look into the Native American Hall of Fame. Plus, NASA engineer Aaron Yazzie has been inducted into Stanford University’s Multicultural Hall of Fame.
Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT’s free newsletter.