ICT is working to shape the future of journalism and stay connected with readers like you. A crucial part of that effort is understanding our audience. Share your perspective in a brief survey for a chance to win prizes

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. Remember to scroll to the bottom to see what’s popping out to us on social media and what we’re reading.

Also, if you like our daily digest, sign up for The Weekly, our newsletter emailed to you on Thursdays. If you like what we do and want us to keep going, support and donate here.

Okay, here’s what you need to know today:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A group of Southeast Alaska tribes is asking Canada to recognize their right to have a voice in how transboundary lands and waters are treated. They’re asking to be recognized as Participating Indigenous Nations in Canada’s review process for resource development. Under Section 35 of Canada’s Constitution, the government is required to consult with Indigenous peoples on projects impacting their ancestral lands.

At issue is an open pit gold mine in the headwaters of the Unuk river, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. Eskay Creek is one of several proposed and operating mines located on or near major rivers that cross the Canadian-U.S. border in Southeast Alaska. Canadian recognition would give the Alaska tribes rights to be consulted on the Eskay Creek and other mining projects.

The seven tribes are members of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC). Its Executive Director Guy Archibald said the Canadian Supreme Court in R. v. Desautel in 2021 considered whether Aboriginal people located outside Canada can assert Aboriginal rights under the Canadian Constitution. “The court found that those rights extend to people that are no longer residents in Canada who have traditional ties to territory that’s within Canada,” Archibald said.

“So Canada has to respect the territories as they were at the time of European contact. And at the time of European contact (in 1741), the entire Unuk watershed was a recognized territory of the Tèiḵwèidi clan. And seven of our tribes are the successors of the Tèiḵwèidi. There’s a direct line between the clan and the federally recognized tribes,” he said. READ MORE — Joaquin Estus, ICT 

SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.

A bill that would allow Native Americans in South Dakota to register to vote using their tribal identification cards passed the Senate State Affairs Committee unanimously on Wednesday in Pierre.

Tribal citizens can currently use their tribal ID card as proof of identification when they show up to cast a ballot. But current law does not allow them to register to vote with such identification. When registering, potential voters must provide their driver license number, state-issued non-driver ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to register.

The bill would allow the use of tribal IDs by members of federally recognized tribes that enter into an agreement with the secretary of state, who is the top election official in South Dakota.

The bill strikes a balance between tribes “coming to the table on behalf of their members” while still allowing the Secretary of State’s Office to “do their due diligence and safeguard the process,” said Rep. Tyler Tordsen, R-Sioux Falls, in support. Tordsen is a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate. READ MORE. — South Dakota Searchlight

On this week’s political segment, we talk about President Joe Biden saying that if Congress would pass the bipartisan immigration bill, he would shutdown the southern border tomorrow.

Regular contributor, John Tahsuda, talks about how the election has shifted Biden’s tone and put border security as a top issue for this presidential election again.

On Monday, it was reported that three U.S. soldiers were killed by Iran-backed militants at Tower 22, a military outpost, in Jordan during a drone attack. Tahsuda talks about how the Biden administration could respond given the president’s record and about the possibility of the U.S. entering another war in the Middle East. An issue important to Native American communities as they serve at the highest rate of any group.

Next week, we’ll hopefully have a special guest but they have yet to confirm. Stay tuned! WATCH MORE — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT

Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter

With around 20,000 people dying of covid in the United States since the start of October, and tens of thousands more abroad, the covid pandemic clearly isn’t over. However, the crisis response is, since the World Health Organization and the Biden administration ended their declared health emergencies last year.

Let’s not confuse the terms “pandemic” and “emergency.” As Abraar Karan, an infectious disease physician and researcher at Stanford University, said, “The pandemic is over until you are scrunched in bed, feeling terrible.”

Pandemics are defined by neither time nor severity, but rather by large numbers of ongoing infections worldwide. Emergencies are acute and declared to trigger an urgent response. Ending the official emergency shifted the responsibility for curbing covid from leaders to the public. In the United States, it meant, for example, that the government largely stopped covering the cost of covid tests and vaccines.

But the virus is still infecting people; indeed, it is surging right now. READ MORE — KFF Health News

FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK.

  • Oklahoma rejected a summer food program for kids. These tribes opted in
  • Reviving the Samish Tribe’s kelp
  • In Arizona, these young Native American voters seize their political power