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Filling a void left by organizations to bring together climate issues, democracy, fighting racism and the arts, IllumiNative burst onto the scene five years ago with projects and partnerships.
Headed up by founder and executive director Crystal Echo Hawk, Pawnee, the organization’s next phase of ambitious growth and expansion includes podcasts, gatherings at major cultural events, and new organizations.
“It’s hard to believe,” Echo Hawk told ICT recently. “But we just celebrated our fifth anniversary since I founded IllumiNative and we published our seminal research Native Truth project. It’s exceeded all my wildest dreams. It was me and one other person when we started and now, we have almost 25 staff members. It’s incredible to look back on all the work that we’ve been able to be a part of and some really big moments, I think, for Indian Country.”
Among the plans in the year ahead are creation of a new nonprofit to expand the organization’s reach by looking at the realm of media entertainment and how they can make a difference in popular culture, she said. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
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A Fairbanks Superior Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order against a shop outside Denali National Park and Preserve in Interior Alaska for allegedly making false claims it was selling Alaska Native-made products and that profits would go to help a Native village.
“My office will not tolerate false claims that products were made by Alaska Natives or that proceeds from sales will be used for charitable purposes,” said Attorney General Treg Taylor. “We will not allow businesses that lie to consumers to gain an unfair competitive advantage over the many excellent stores that sell legitimate Alaskan Made or Alaska Native products.”
According to the state, the owner of a shop called “The Himalayan,” imported clothing and jewelry from foreign countries but told consumers the products were made by Alaska Natives in Yakutat, in southeast Alaska. The state alleges the owner Sunil Thapa further claimed the shop was a nonprofit organization and profits would go to the “Yakutat Village Council.”
In a statement, the state said it also asked that the defendants be fined up to $25,000 for every unfair or deceptive act they committed.
Denali National Park and Preserve is one of Alaska’s top tourist attractions. The National Park Service’s website said the park hosted 230,000 visitors in 2021. — ICT
All good things must come to an end, but an audible groan was heard across Indian Country when “Reservation Dogs” creators Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi announced that Season 3, which starts Aug. 2 on Hulu, would be the last.
The show has been showered with awards — the 2022 American Film Institute Awards, a Peabody, a Gotham Award and two Independent Spirit Awards, despite the veritable snub from the Emmy Awards this year.
The last season had already been written and shot when the Screen Writers Guild went on strike in the spring, so the third and final season has faced no delays from the combined writers and actors strikes.
Harjo, Seminole and Muscogee Creek of Oklahoma, took to Instagram with a statement about the show’s final season, promising more things to come. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
It’s the centennial of the Navajo Nation Council and the 24 delegates have convened for another summer to vote on 28 legislative bills, ranging from virtual meeting attendance for delegates to infrastructure update.
“There are things that are very traditional today, or very historical,” said Lloyd Lee, professor of Native American studies at the University of New Mexico. “They’re also very modern and Western. So in that sense you kind of kind of have to step back and say, ‘Okay, from an analytical standpoint, is that what we want? Is that sort of the future of how Navajo governing is supposed to be?’”
The Navajo Nation government has evolved steadily, but radically, over the last 100 years. The government, which is now a three-tiered system of checks and balances, looks nothing like it did when Chee Dodge and U.S. military officials first created a central Navajo government. READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
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Coming up on the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, we honor Nikki Ducheneaux, the talented and accomplished Native lawyer. Plus, the Mayo Clinic helps make organ transplants more accessible on the Navajo Nation and IllumiNative celebrates its five anniversary.
Watch;
Michael John had an idea in the kitchen.
He worked as a chef for 15 years and always talked about the concept of a southwest-style barbecue sauce. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Arizona restaurant where John was working closed and he was out of a job.
Although the unfortunate circumstance opened a window for John. He had time to try what he had been thinking. He began making sauces and giving it to friends and family to try.
“I started it, made the first batch of it and it came out great. The second batch, it was perfect. So, then I started coming up with the logos, the labels, all of that, and then it started growing,” the Navajo Nation citizen said. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT
- Oklahoma governor’s feud with tribes continues: Many of the state’s most powerful tribes attempted to use their political influence to prevent Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt from winning a second term last year.
- No children found in dig near former boarding school: The Genoa Indian Industrial School was part of a national system of more than 400 boarding schools that attempted to assimilate Indigenous people into White culture by separating children from their families.
- Wounded Knee ‘killing fields’ one step closer to return to tribes: A bill presented on July 19 seeks to return 40 acres of land via restricted fee status.
- ‘Rez Dogs,’ other Native programs ‘snubbed’ by Emmy Awards: ‘Prey’ earns six nominations but ‘Reservation Dogs,’ ‘The English’ get token nods.
- Native medical center faces termination of Medicare reimbursement: Questions raised over governance, emergency services at Alaska Native Medical Center.
- Anishinabe nation in Manitoba prepares to excavate 14 anomalies.
- A Scientist Said Her Research Could Help With Repatriation. Instead, It Destroyed Native Remains.
- Comic-Con 2023: Indigenous panelists seek to dispel myths through visual storytelling.
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.
