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WASHINGTON — Across much of the country, experts fear rising COVID-19 infections this summer could foreshadow a more significant surge of the virus yet to come as temperatures cool off.

“We’re kind of in the midst of a rapid run of covid cases throughout Indian Country,” said Dean Seneca, who identifies as Seneca. He is founder and CEO of Seneca Scientific Solutions+, a public health and urban and regional planning company.

“We’ve had a slow incline in COVID-19 cases since the very beginning of May, end of April,” he said. According to Seneca, infections seemed to stabilize and even decline before skyrocketing, starting in the middle of June. READ MORE. — Kadin Mills, ICT

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STYLE: Smart design, activism bring the thunder

Despite multiple surgeries and personal and health setbacks, Brandi Lee Sawyer, Cherokee, has persevered and designed a unique leather handbag shaped like a teepee that Native stars are lining up to carry and that also helps advance the MMIW cause.

BEAUTY: Acorn oil a hit at market

N8iV Beauty, founded by show host and entrepreneur Ruth-Ann Thorn, Rincon Band of Luiseño/Payómkawichum Indians, was a prominent figure at the first Native Fashion Week in Santa Fe back in May, and is a sponsor of the fashion show on Sunday at the Santa Fe Indian Market, hosted by the Southwestern Association of Indian Arts. That is sure to be the reason models get their glow on.

ART: From the Great North to the Pueblo lined streets

Two major art shows are opening in Santa Fe this week.

In the heart of the city is Arctic Highways: Unbounded Indigenous People, Aug. 16 to March 2, 2025, at the Museum of Contemporary Native Art, which features 12 Indigenous artists from Sápmi (a cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people) and North America, sharing stories of those who live on different continents yet regard themselves as kindred spirits. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, ICT

RAPID CITY, S.D. – A South Dakota superintendent has been fired after an Office of Civil Rights report revealed racist comments aimed at Native American students.

Nicole Swigart, superintendent of Rapid City Area Schools, was terminated by a school board vote of 6 to 1 on Tuesday, Aug. 13.

The situation stems from racist remarks attributed to Swigart during a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT

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My love for journalism is as old as I can remember. I drew a crayon newspaper when I was about eight years old, “The Sun.” And as a teenager I remember buying a copy of each of the newspapers in the stands, plugging dimes in a machine so I could skim through what was the same and what was different in each edition. In high school we started an “alternative paper” in class, “The Press Gang,” and I later discovered the power of a press pass, using the school’s Chronicle as an entry ticket into concerts and other venues. READ MORE.— Mark Trahant, ICT

WASHINGTON — People living in Hawai‘i cast their ballots in the primary election on Aug. 10. The Hawai‘i primary has the second highest number of Indigenous candidates running for office this year, behind Arizona. There are 29 Native Hawaiians running for offices in Hawai‘i, from city council to the state Senate and Office of Hawaiian Affairs, according to a database managed by ICT and Advance Native Political Leadership.

The number of Indigenous candidates tracked by ICT who are running for public office has increased since the number was previously reported. Of the 29 candidates running for office in 2024, there are only two non-incumbents, Carol Lee Kamekona and John Pele, who are running for seats on the Maui County Council. Both are Native Hawaiian. READ MORE. — Kadin Mills, ICT

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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.