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.
Okay, here’s what you need to know today:
It has been about a year and a half since Earl Old Person, the Blackfeet Chief, passed away at age 92 from cancer. The tribal leader, politician, and language holder left behind a lifetime legacy that beckoned for recognition from Montana leaders.
Montana lawmakers seemed to have recognized Old Person’s legacy. Although it took some work, the Legislature passed a bill to rename a section of Montana Highway 89 on the Blackfeet reservation after the late Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person. The bill is currently on the Governor’s desk waiting for a signature, which would make the name change legally official.
Sen. Susan Webber, Democrat and a Blackfeet citizen, sponsored the bill and said she believes the Governor will sign the bill. She said the motivation behind bringing the bill forward came from the community Old Person served.
“It’s an honor to be asked by your tribe to do something for them and so that implies that, you know, 17,000-plus members of the Blackfeet tribe had requested that,” Webber said. READ MORE. — JoVonne Wagner, ICT and MTFP
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.
A BNSF train leaving a Western Washington oil refinery with diesel fuel derailed shortly after midnight on March 16 on the Swinomish Reservation about 80 miles north of Seattle.
It was one of three BNSF derailments in three days and occurred just days before the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and BNSF Railway prepare to go to trial over the company’s apparent violation of a right-of-way and easement agreement on the tribe’s lands.
The BNSF derailments come amid renewed national attention to rail safety after a toxic derailment last month in East Palestine, Ohio, and other derailments in Michigan, Alabama and elsewhere.
No injuries were reported and no fuel is believed to have entered an adjacent bay that is a habitat for salmon, forage fish, shellfish, seals, otters, shorebirds and bald eagles. Authorities believe up to 3,100 gallons of fuel spilled into a berm on the landside of the tracks. READ MORE. — Richard Arlin Walker, Special to ICT
Buckle up. Get your reading glasses. This will take a minute.
Most government budgets are straightforward. Leaders, program managers and citizens discuss and set priorities about what’s important. Then a budget is drafted. And then enacted. Over the next year, progress is measured against that budget (as well as spending, usually a metric of under or over budget lines).
That’s not the federal government’s budget. This is not a literal budget, but a philosophical one. This is a message about what the government considers important, using projected spending to set the standard. It’s important to Indigenous communities because it shows that this administration values and honors the commitments made by the president and the United States (something that is not a given in a federal budget). READ MORE.— Mark Trahant, ICT
For the second consecutive year, Montana State University has made it to the NCAA basketball tournament, where the 14th-seeded Bobcats will take on the third-seeded Kansas State Wildcats on Friday, March 17.
A key factor in the Bobcat’s success is star guard RaeQuan Battle, Tulalip, the lone Native male and one of seven players and two coaches on college basketball’s biggest stage, March Madness.
Battle will be in the spotlight in the men’s division along with Indigenous head coach Kelvin Sampson, Lumbee, who leads the top-seeded University of Houston Cougars. Sampson’s son, Kellen, is an assistant coach for the Houston program and his daughter, Lauren, is director for basketball operations.
And at least seven Indigenous women are also playing in the tournament, including Alissa Pili, Inupiaq/Native Hawaiian, from the University of Utah, and Lily Wahinekapu Lefotu, also Native Hawaiian, from the University of Hawaii, who are playing Friday, March 17. READ MORE.— Kolby KickingWoman and Dan Ninham, ICT
Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter
On the Monday edition of the ICT Newscast, a leader of the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama is being honored. An expert tells us about the state of broadband access in Indian Country. Plus, we learn about an effort to build a skin boat to heal a community.
Watch:
The latest: Florida tribal artists shine at new museum exhibition, generational fiber art in South Carolina and family drama onstage in Biloxi
ART: Seminole, Miccosukee, and other artists ‘reclaim home’
Beading, rickrack and paintings are among The Ringling Museum of Art’s new exhibition of contemporary art by living Florida tribal artists with ancestral, historical, and present-day connections to the Sunshine State. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK.
- Alaska Indigenous language council seeks name change: It’s one of a few changes the council is asking of the Legislature to help update its scope.
- Despite gains, anti-Native bias beliefs still plague hoops: ‘I would say if you were to do a survey on the reservations, 90 to 95 percent of the results would say there is at least to an extent some racial prejudice in Montana high school basketball games.’
- Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes resist efforts to deny rights: History of deception and coercion threatened tribal rights to hunt and fish in the Great Lakes and inland territory.
- Brazil president meets with Indigenous Amazon, pledges lands: In his first trip to Indigenous land, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supported creating new tribal territories.
- Willow oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift: While some Indigenous Alaskans say the oil project will boost the economy, others say it’s not worth the climate damage it might cause.
- Annual Denver powwow brings prayer, dance and songs: “you go in with good thoughts, and prayers, and you just dance your heart out.”
- Opioids are devastating Cherokee families. The tribe has a $100 million plan to heal.
- An Indigenous Affairs reporter reviews ‘Alaska Daily.’
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.
