Oki, relatives.
Thanks for stopping by Indian Country Today’s digital platform. If you like our daily digest, sign up for The Weekly, our newsletter emailed to you. 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:
July 1 is Canada Day
In Canada, the start of July usually means a celebration. Not so, for many.
Six Yukon communities have announced they will not be celebrating Canada Day in light of the recent residential school gravesite discoveries across the country.
Within the last few days, Dawson City, Carmacks, Haines Junction, Mayo, Watson Lake and Teslin have posted on Facebook they will not be going ahead with Canada Day celebrations due to the findings as well as the fact the territory is grappling with a COVID-19 outbreak… Read more.
Several First Nations and municipalities in B.C. are opting not to mark the occasion at all, according to CBC Indigenous.
https://twitter.com/CreesonCTV/status/1410668068813082628
—
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.
—
Supreme Court upholds Arizona voting restrictions
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld voting restrictions in Arizona in a decision that could make it harder to challenge other voting measures put in place by Republican lawmakers following last year’s elections.
The court, by a 6-3 vote, reversed a lower court ruling in deciding that Arizona’s limits on who can return early ballots for another person and refusal to count ballots cast in the wrong precinct are not racially discriminatory.

The federal appeals court in San Francisco had held that the measures disproportionately affected Black, Hispanic and Native American voters in violation of the landmark Voting Rights Act… READ more.
Tribe renovates entertainment center
A newly renovated entertainment center will open Friday at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in California. It is owned and operated by the Tachi-Yokut Tribe, a tribal nation of the present day San Joaquin valley.
When the space first opened in 2018, the casino’s general manager Michael Olujic, says it was designed in a way that provided operational challenges like rooms that didn’t have an open concept floor plan or a pool hall that didn’t serve food.
The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity to remodel the space while it was still closed down.
The state of the art Coyote Entertainment Center now features family friendly activities including more movie theaters, a 30-lane bowling alley, a new e-gaming area and an updated arcade.
The casino resort’s general manager says all of the renovations were done by the tribe and cost about 400 thousand dollars to complete.
The casino resort is located in Lemoore, California which is about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
—
Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter
—
Her powwow voice
Deanna Rae StandingCloud, Red Lake Nation, from Minneapolis, is one of the few female powwow emcees in a typically male-dominated field. Now that powwows and other social gatherings are coming back after a months-long pandemic, StandingCloud wants her voice to be heard, too.
StandingCloud and others like Kwe Blomgren want powwow decision makers to know that they are available to emcee your powwow… READ more.
—
FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK.
—
Update on First Nations hockey star
Veteran NHL goalie Carey Price is four wins away from hoisting hockey’s ultimate prize.

The Ulkatcho First Nations star from Anahim Lake, British Columbia, has led the Montréal Canadiens to its first Stanley Cup Final in nearly 30 years.
Montreal is down 0-2 to defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The series shifts to Canada on Friday…READ more.
ICT’s top story for June. #ICYMI
US boarding schools to be investigated
The U.S. Department of Interior will formally investigate the impact of federal Indian boarding schools, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced in June.
The new “Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative” will result in a detailed report compiled by the Interior and will include historical records of boarding school locations, burial sites and enrollment logs of children’s names and tribal affiliations… READ more.
From social media:
Other top stories:
- 182 unmarked graves found at third former residential school:Graves are located near the site of a former residential school located on Ktunaxa Nation territory in British Columbia.
- Sex trafficking sting nets 2 more Enbridge workers: The arrests mark the second time this year that Enbridge Line 3 workers have been accused of sex trafficking.
- Man sentenced for killing Navajo police officer:Officer Houston James Largo was shot March 11, 2017, on a dark road in western New Mexico.
- Mi’kmaw lobster harvester wants answers:Matt Cope, of Nova Scotia, Canada, wants lobsters seized by federal Fisheries Department accounted for.
- Watch: Her vision for Native education: Santa Fe Indian School’s first female superintendent joins the show.
What we’re reading:
- ‘Greener pastures:’ How a South Dakota Native American tribe defied odds and re-started their cannabis industry.
- Washington tribes want to be at the table for green energy planning.
- Cherokee Nation becomes first tribe to self-govern tribal transportation.
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. Email dwalker@indiancountrytoday.com.


