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:
An audience of hundreds sang happy birthday in several Indigenous languages to keynote speaker Ilskyalas Delores Churchill, Haida, at the 40th Elders and Youth Conference on Monday. She turns 94 later this month.
The 2023 Elders and Youth conference features presentations and workshops on the theme: Woosht Guganéix, which means “Let it be that we heal each other” in Tlingit. Workshops this year will include sessions on culture, language and how to process traditional foods such as herring roe and venison.
The conference is held at the Dena’ina Convention Center in Anchorage and precedes the annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention (Oct. 19-21), which draws thousands of people to the same center to discuss policy and issues. The week is full of meetings, receptions, arts and crafts fairs, and traditional dance performances.
Churchill gave one of two keynote addresses scheduled for Elders and Youth. Tuesday the audience will hear from model and Indigenous activist Quannah Chasinghorse, who is Han Gwich’in and Lakota. READ MORE. — Joaqlin Estus, ICT
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The medicine game has reached the Olympics.
Lacrosse, along with four other sports, has been named an Olympic sport by the International Olympic Committee in Mumbai, India on Monday. The new additions will debut in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will be the sixth time lacrosse has been part of the Olympics, but the first time as a medal sport since 1908, according to USA Lacrosse.
The Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse Organization has been working for years to have the sport included in the Olympics. The game of lacrosse originates with the Haudenosaunee people and is the most revered tradition, regarding it a “medicine game” that can heal an individual, family or community. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT
In a cornflower blue dress shirt with applique floral designs and a gray snapback with the phrase “Land Back” stitched on the front, Gabe Sheoships walked through the forest paths at Tryon Creek. Along the way, he talked about the first foods and medicines that line the bark chip trail — elderberry, thimbleberry, salmonberry, nettles.
“We’re trying to shift the narrative that forest areas should be just recreation,” Sheoships said. “Groups have come out to harvest nettle and also pulled cedar and gathered different ferns for weaving. So I think there’s a strong history here that we’re hoping to reconnect to.”
Sheoships, Cayuse and Walla Walla, is the executive director at Friends of Tryon Creek and has been a community leader for decades. In part because of his work expanding community access to the park and integrating Indigenous narratives at Tryon Creek, this Wednesday, Oct. 18, he is being recognized as a recipient of a 2023 Indigenous Leadership Award through Ecotrust. READ MORE. — Nika Bartoo-Smith, ICT + Underscore News
This is tricky territory … but here goes anyway. I am writing about this weekend’s National Native American Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Oklahoma City. I was one of six inductees this year (and, so, yes, a personal pronoun warning because I am writing about myself.)
I am doing that because there is a bigger story; the importance of foundational stories about ourselves that include a narrative of excellence. The National Native American Hall of Fame celebrates what’s been done and in doing so, calls attention to our collective efforts toward a better future.
This idea is something I have explored often. I wrote this in 2018:
“What is “The Canon of Indian Country?” READ MORE.— Mark Trahant, ICT
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona opens its fourth casino. Washington is the latest state to undertake an exploration of its traumatic boarding school history. A short film streaming on Disney Plus features a Northern Cheyenne Two Spirit teen.
Watch:
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cherokee Nation have entered into a “historic agreement” that officials said could serve as a “roadmap” for how rural America can work with tribes to increase care for veterans.
Through the partnership, the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System plans to open a new 1,300-square-foot clinic inside the tribe’s existing Vinita Health Center, according to a press release.
The clinic, which will serve both non-Native and Indigenous veterans, is expected to open early next year. It will be located about an hour northeast of Tulsa.
“By having a VA clinic positioned in the corner of our state and tribal reservation, we know that we are helping ensure that need is met and will make it easier for many veterans,” Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement. READ MORE. — Oklahoma Voice
- ‘The American Buffalo’ traces fall and rise of a ‘sacred relationship’: Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns examines the dark history and ongoing recovery of the buffalo in a new series for PBS.
- State report reveals Colorado boarding schools’ troubled past: The report by History Colorado identified at least 31 student graves at Fort Lewis Indian Boarding School and 37 students and others at Grand Junction Boarding School.
- Tribe protests decision not to prosecute Border agents for fatal shooting: The Tohono O’odham Nation called the decision ‘a travesty of justice.’
- Australia looks to lift Indigenous living standards after referendum loss: Every state and mainland territory apart from Australian Capital Territory voted against a proposal to enshrine in the constitution an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
- Panelists share insight from ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ filming: Dozens of tribal citizens worked as staff members and extras as the film was being shot.
- “For the People”, a comedy set in Minneapolis’ Native community, to debut at Guthrie Theater.
- Cherokee couple shares bounty grown from CN heirloom seeds.
- Meet our new team working to strengthen coverage of Native communities.
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.
