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Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland recently visited the homelands of the White Mountain Apache nation located in, what is now known as, Arizona. Though the culture and language, they experienced that day predate this country and the government they now represent.
“To think that a hundred years ago, this same government agency that the secretary leads, and that I lead, were actively harming kids, inflicting trauma on kids, for doing the same things we were there to celebrate,” Newland told ICT. “It’s complex, but it felt really good that we’re at a place now where a Cabinet secretary, on behalf of the president, can sit there, and celebrate these young Native kids speaking their language, wearing their clothes, singing their songs, dancing their dances, serving their traditional foods. It is inspiring.”
To go even further back one hundred years. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was in stark contrast in 1824 when federal Indian policy was rooted in war, blood, and death. It’s not surprising that the bureau was first planted in the War Department before being rooted permanently in the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1849. READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
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Indian Country mourns as Lily Gladstone falls short
Emma Stone broke a lot of hearts on Sunday when she beat out Lily Gladstone for the best actress academy at the 96th Academy Awards.
Gladstone, Siksikaitsitapii and Nimíipuu, was nominated for their role as Mollie Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The Martin Scorsese film depicts the Osage Reign of Terror, which involved a series of 1920s murders of Osage people by non-Natives who killed them for their oil headrights. READ MORE. — ICT
A case now before the Minnesota Court of Appeals revives debate over the nation’s 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act and a local version of the law — alleging that the legal statutes protecting Indigenous children, families and tribes racially discriminate against white foster parents.
Legal scholars familiar with the case describe it as the most significant challenge to ICWA since it was upheld last summer by a 7-2 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court. But the broad outlines are not unfamiliar to the countless defenders of the 45-year-old law ensuring that tribal children receive every opportunity to remain close to kin.
The appeal of a lower court ruling out of Martin County was filed by a couple who fostered Native American twins after their birth in 2022. In accordance with the federal ICWA law, the siblings — who are descendants of Red Lake Nation citizens — were eventually moved to the home of a relative who is also caring for their older sister. They have lived together, close to tribal kin, for the past year. READ MORE — The Imprint
The first woman president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and a former vice-chair of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, has died.
Veronica Homer, Mohave, was also a co-founding board member of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations, a former Miss Indian Arizona, and held national and regional positions for the U.S. Department of Interior. She died on March 5 at age 80.
NCAI President Mark Macarro, of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, in a prepared statement, highlighted her role as both a “trailblazer and a relentless advocate for the unity and strength of all Tribal Nations.”
Macarro said, “At just 34, Homer broke historic barriers as the first woman to helm NCAI, setting new precedents with her visionary leadership and championing self-determination. Her lifelong dedication to serving her community and her advocacy on issues such as the federal recognition process, the restoration of traditional lands, and the protection of tribal sovereignty demonstrated her deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing tribal communities. READ MORE— Joaqlin Estus, ICT
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On Monday’s ICT Newscast, Lily Gladstone came shy of winning an Oscar award for her role in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ ICT’s reporting team was on the red carpet and inside the theater in Los Angeles. It’s Women’s History Month. Meet a chef from Oklahoma.
Watch:
South Dakota will soon have a council devoted to the welfare of Native American children.
Gov. Kristi Noem signed House Bill 1232 this week, which creates the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council. It will bring together people from the Department of Social Services, South Dakota’s nine tribes, the Legislature, and the field of child welfare for annual conversations.
The group’s work will include finding solutions to the disproportionate number of Native American children in the foster care system. A South Dakota Searchlight and Argus Leader investigation last year found that Native children accounted for nearly 74% of the foster care system, despite accounting for only 13% of the state’s overall child population. READ MORE — South Dakota Searchlight.
Two women embraced each other on the north side of Rapid City surrounded by around 30 community members as they opened the city’s first Indigenous-led LGBTQIA+ center, Uniting Resilience, on Thursday, Feb. 29.
For 19 years, the Oglala Lakota lesbian couple has fought for the right to be together. The two have experienced discrimination, homophobia and barriers to expressing themselves, Monique “Muffie” Mosseau said. Now, they’re hoping to stop other Two-Spirit couples from facing these challenges.
“I met my wife in 2005. We were together for three months before the gay bashing started. Felipa was fired from her job and I had to leave mine,” Mousseau said. “There were no resources for us here in the Midwest.” READ MORE— Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
- Emma Stone wins Oscar, beats LIly Gladstone: In a race many considered to close to call, it was Emma Stone capturing best actress at the 96th Academy Awards.
- Culture and conservation thrive as Great Lakes tribes bring back wild rice: ‘Wild rice is very important to us because of the teachings.’
- Some states profit from land owned within reservations: Tribal climate action plans are being stymied by state-owned land within reservation borders.
- Marvel’s ‘Echo’ actor is a ‘big sci-fi nerd’: ‘I think they have shown me a lot of Indigenous representation in their work, being both deaf and Indigenous, and having both of those representations started my journey on it.’
- Indigenous athletes compete in Arctic Winter Games: The 2024 Arctic Winter Games will take place in Mat-Su Valley, Alaska, from March 10 to 16.
- More than half of American Indian youth may have abnormal or high cholesterol.
- See Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough in Hulu’s Crime Drama Under the Bridge.
- After fierce testimony, lawmakers pump the brakes on White Earth Forest land return bill
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.
