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Marvel Studios spotlights Indigenous antihero in ‘Echo’
Alaqua Cox, Menominee and Mohican Nation, first began her journey as “Maya Lopez” in the TV mini series “Hawkeye” in 2021. It was her first acting gig ever. Now three years later, audiences will see Cox as the main character in Marvel Studios’ “Echo” on Jan. 9.
The mini series “Echo” will follow Lopez being pursued by Wilson Fisk’s criminal empire, which brings her home to Oklahoma where she must confront her own family and legacy. Native actors like Zahn McClarnon will play her father and Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal, Devery Jacobs, Cody Lightning and Chaske Spencer are appearing in the show as well.
Indigenous representation goes beyond behind the camera too with Steven Paul Judd, Kiowa and Choctaw, appearing as a co-writer on the show and Navajo creative Sydney Freeland directing an episode and being an executive producer. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT
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The United States Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs awarded $16.3 million to various tribal and local governments in South Dakota. Funding was provided through 33 grants given in 2023, U.S. Attorney Alison J Ramsdell announced on January 8, 2024.
Out of the $16.3 million, $5.4 million went to tribal governments including the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Yankton Sioux Tribe.
Tribal grant funding was awarded from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent grants.
Additional funding was given to city and county governments, South Dakota State University and local organizations.
The over 3,700 Office of Justice Programs grants awarded in the 2023 fiscal year are meant to support state, local and community-based efforts and evidence-based interventions to reduce violence, crime and recidivism while delivering treatment to those at-risk.
Funding is also aimed at expanding partnerships between criminal justice professionals and behavioral health experts to help citizens effectively transition back to their communities post-confinement. This specific focus is also meant to reach victims in underserved areas, steer youth away from justice system contact, improve sex offender management and support research and statistical analysis. — ICT
More than 150 recently repatriated artifacts from the Wounded Knee Massacre were set to be burned December 29. Instead, tribal leaders from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and later the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe asked to halt the ceremony.
On December 29, instead of burning the artifacts, descendants of Wounded Knee Massacre survivors gathered to pray, sing and remember the over 300 Lakota men, women and children killed by the United States military.
The issue stems from disagreements over what to do with items repatriated from the Woods Memorial Library’s Founders Museum Collection in Barre, Massachusetts. While one group of descendants planned to burn artifacts, others requested more time to consider alternatives. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
With a clever title that draws from a 1960s multimedia exhibition by pop-art master Andy Warhol, a new touring art exhibition, “Exploding Native Inevitable,” includes 13 Indigenous artists and a collaborative effort with works in ceramics, painting, video, fiber arts and more.
With a nod to Warhol’s “Exploding Plastic Inevitable” exhibition from 1966, in which he curated multimedia events to go along with his art exhibition, the “Exploding Native” exhibition will include talks with artists, screenings of films and performances.
After running at Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, Maine, through March 4, the show will travel to three other venues in Arizona, Nebraska and Utah. The show is co-curated by top Indigenous artist Brad Kahlhamer and Bates Museum’s Director and Chief Curator Dan Mills, who have been friends for decades. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT newscast, we take a look at influential Native people from actors to activists.
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The fireworks have been lit, the Martinelli’s sparkling cider has been popped and a new year has begun.
While the most pressing issue is a divided House and Republican Party scrambling to get appropriation bills to the president’s desk, it still is a presidential election year. As we’re looking into 2024, it will definitely be shaped by this year’s election.
With Colorado and Maine taking Donald Trump off the primary ballot, will the former president make it to the general election? If not Trump, then who of the six Republican candidates left? Can President Joe Biden rally the Native vote? (Despite controversial decisions like approving the Willow Project and his stance on the Israel-Hamas war.) READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
- How 3 Indigenous women are leading the way on climate change: These experts bring knowledge and justice to the climate conversation.
- Indian Country celebrates historic day for Native film: Across the country, Native leaders and organizations congratulated Lily Gladstone on becoming the first Native woman to win a Golden Globe.
- Zapatista indigenous rebel movement marks 30 years: The Zapatistas’ social base has eroded and violence spurred by drug cartels encroaches on their territory.
- Supreme Court denies bid to revive Pebble Mine proposal: A year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency stopped the Alaska mine proposal, citing concerns with potential impacts on a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery.
- Moon landing attempt appears doomed after ‘critical’ fuel leak: The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the human remains. saying it would be a ‘profound desecration’ of a celestial body revered by Native Americans.
- 49ers honor Bay Area-native astronaut, 1st indigenous woman in space.
- Discussing the future of Alaska’s caribou | Addressing Alaskans.
- UM alum Lily Gladstone wins historic Golden Globe for best actress.
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.
