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LAS VEGAS — The Native American 40 Under 40 ceremony brought numerous Indigenous leaders in their fields to celebrate their accomplishments at the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

The award is given to 40 emerging American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian leaders who have “demonstrated leadership, initiative and dedication and made significant contributions in business and/or in their community.”

“The 2023 Native American 40 Under 40 awardees showcase the hard work, perseverance, and dedication that have come to define this prestigious award,” Chris James, president and CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, said. “This year’s class includes leaders in a variety of fields from across the country, showcasing the depth and breadth of the current generation of Native leaders. They are truly making a difference in every aspect of American life.”

The award first started in 2009. This year’s awardees range from Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and activist and model Quannah Rose Chasinghorse, Hän Gwich’in and Sicangu-Oglala Lakota. READ MORE — Kalle Benallie, ICT

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HELENA, Montana — Lake County officials are threatening to withdraw law enforcement services to its portion on the Flathead Indian Reservation if the state does not reimburse the county for its policing.

The Montana Legislature has reviewed a package of bills seeking reimbursement for Lake County’s participation in a federal law that gives the county authority to police tribal members that live on the reservation within county lines. Of the three bills circulating throughout the Capitol halls, two have been tabled while a third moves forward.

Without the reimbursement, county officials said they will withdraw from Public Law 280 which would leave either the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe or the state to assume criminal jurisdiction, something that Lake County lawmakers say would be costly to do.

“The county does not want to leave Public Law 280, the state does not want the county to leave public law 280. It’s working, it’s very successful but it comes at an incredible cost,” said Rep. Joe Read, Republican, one of the bill’s sponsors during the House floor second reading of House Bill 479 on March 31. READ MORE — JoVonne Wagner, ICT and Montana Free Press

Republicans in Congress do not see the world the same way the Biden administration does. And to make that point clear the House passed H.R. 1 last week, the top legislative priority for the new majority.

Rep. Tom Cole, Chickasaw, made the case when the rules committee he chairs passed the legislation on to the full House.

“On his first day in office,” Cole said, “President Biden rescinded the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, and followed that up by suspending new oil and gas leasing and drilling on Federal land and in Federal waters … while also spending billions of dollars on Green New Deal-style boondoggles.”

Republicans favor a fossil fuel industry and give lukewarm support to emerging clean energy sources. While Democrats say that the world is in a planet emergency and therefore should make the switch to green energy (all the while still supporting a continuation of a fossil fuel economy.) READ MORE — Mark Trahant, ICT

LAS VEGAS — A First Nations man attending the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas was struck and killed by an alleged impaired driver early Tuesday morning.

Geewadin Elliot, a Potawatomi citizen of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada, was in Las Vegas attending RES, as confirmed by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, event organizer.

NCAIED President and CEO Chris James and board Chair Derrick Watchman issued a joint statement that said that the National Center is “devastated by the tragic loss of Geewadin Elliott.”

“We send our condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Elliott. RES is a close-knit community, and a loss of one member of our broader family affects us all. Members of our team have been in contact with Mr. Elliott’s family and we are supporting them in any way that we can,” the statement said. READ MORE — Kalle Benallie, ICT

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The National Humanities Medal is given to individuals and organizations whose work has deepened the nation’s engagement with history, literature and languages. Native America Calling was among the recipients honored in March at the White House. The live week-day, call-in show broadcasts on the radio and online — and has been dubbed “the nation’s largest electronic talking circle.” Shawn Spruce is its host.

Lawyer Nicole Ducheneaux from Big Fire Law is still fighting the Dakota Access Pipeline in court. She is a veteran on the legal frontlines fighting for Native rights. ICT’S Shirley Sneve caught up with her at RES in Las Vegas where she led a panel on Native voting rights.

It’s the third birthday of the ICT Newscast. Started at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Epidemiologist Dean Seneca was the show’s first guest. Three years later, ICT’s Shirley Sneve spoke with him about what has happened since then.

WATCH HERE

Construction has begun on a brand new, six-story, $400 million hospital in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The new hospital for the Cherokee Nation will replace a 40-year-old W.W. Hastings Hospital.

The new hospital will include an ER, surgery, ICU, Imaging, pharmacy and lab, Neo-natal ICU, hospice, dietary and acute care, among other services, according to a press release from the tribe.

At the groundbreaking, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr said it was a defining moment for the tribe.

“We can look at how far our tribe and our sovereignty– has come—from Indian Health Service operating a small rock building at NSU to a more institutionalized facility built in the mid 1980s to the Cherokee people taking ownership of its hospital needs a decade later and now building our own sky-high hospital to care for each other at the hands of more Cherokee doctors and nurses shows that in this brick and mortar we prioritize the health needs of our people,” he said.

The project is expected to take two years to complete.

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