ICT
It’s Inauguration Day and ICT is on the ground in Washington, D.C. Be sure to follow our coverage from the event and beyond.
5:45 p.m. ET
A fun observation during Trump’s inaugural speech. Every time the camera panned out, the viewer could see statues on both sides of him. Looking far to the left is a statue of Po’pay, the organizer of the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish in 1680. New Mexico gave the statue to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 2005.
How ironic it is for Po’pay to stand tall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center while Trump wants to rename Mount Denali on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
4:40 p.m. ET
In Trump’s 30-minute inaugural speech he said he would change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska to Mount McKinley as part of his first-day executive orders. A move he has been talking about for months.
“A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. And we will restore the name of the great President William McKinley to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs,” he said.
The name change has been a point of contention for four decades.
However, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell made the decision to rename Mount McKinley to Mount Denali in 2015. Former President Barack Obama then said his administration would rename it Mount Denali.
Denali means “high one” in Athabascan, according to the National Park Service.
4:00 p.m. ET
In former President Joe Biden’s last hour and President Donald J. Trump’s first few, the news has been rolling in.
Just before noon Biden granted clemency to Leonard Peltier.
READ MORE:
— Leonard Peltier granted clemency as President Biden leaves office
— ‘Tears of joy’: Indian Country reacts to Leonard Peltier clemency
12:56 p.m. ET
Village People
The participation of The Village People – including the stereotypical Indian in a headdress performer pictured above – at a MAGA style rally Sunday generated consternation within Indigenous circles with some decrying the image of Trump and the band’s controversial Native performer.
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