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:
The energy and buzz in the air is electric on the first day of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the second largest nongovernmental gathering hosted by the international organization. The area around the Vienna Café in first basement south roars with conversation in colonial and Indigenous languages from across the globe.
Morgan Brings Plenty navigates around half a dozen groups of people. She is in a ribbon skirt and one of many attendees wearing their traditional clothing or regalia.
The space was the opposite of quiet and private but that didn’t keep Brings Plenty from talking vulnerably about her deepest loss. Two years ago Brings Plenty lost her mother, Joy Braun, who was a lifelong environmental activist. Tears were falling down Brings Plenty’s face as she talked about her mother’s legacy and how she continues that work today.
“She told me to always carry on even after she goes,” Brings Plenty said. “She told me that, ‘When I go, it’s your time.’”
This is her first time at the United Nations headquarters in New York, a place she never dreamed she would be. READ MORE.— Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY.
Federal prosecutors want to revoke the U.S. citizenship of a South Africa man convicted of killing two Alaska Native women for allegedly lying on his naturalization application for saying he had neither killed nor hurt anyone.
Brian Steven Smith, 52, was convicted earlier this year in the deaths of the two women, narrating as he recorded one woman dying. That video was stored on a phone that was stolen from his pickup. The images were transferred to a memory card and later turned over to police by the person who took the phone.
Smith lied when he responded to questions on the naturalization application asking whether he had been involved in a killing or badly hurting or sexually assaulting someone, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Alaska said in a statement Friday.
Smith answered “no” to those questions, but prosecutors say he had committed the two murders that involved torture and sexual assault by the time he completed the application, officials said.
If convicted of illegally obtaining naturalization, his U.S. citizenship would be revoked. No court date has been set. — Associated Press
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the governing Liberal party released Canada’s 2024 federal budget on Tuesday, April 16, under the title “Fairness for Every Generation,” including a $2.4 billion investment in Artificial Intelligence and $1 billion toward the launch of a national school food program.
The budget, announced in the House of Commons by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland, received a mixed response from Canada’s three national Indigenous organizations – the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis National Council.
The biggest line items in this year’s budget for Indigenous peoples were nearly $2 billion in health funding and $1.8 billion to support Indigenous communities’ efforts to reduce the number of children in foster care. READ MORE. — Miles Morrisseau, ICT
In a year in which “Killers of the Flower Moon” created buzz for the Osage Nation, the tribe’s chief said food sustainability is “No. 1 on the list” of its economic development efforts.
Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear spoke Thursday, April 18, during the first State of Tribal Nations event hosted by the Tulsa Regional Chamber.
“We have 2,000 head of cattle … nearly 300 bison, greenhouses, and we are doing our best to be prepared for anything that is coming in the future,” he said.
The event at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center also brought the Cherokee Nation chief and representatives of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. READ MORE. — Felix Clary, ICT + Tulsa World
Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter
On Monday’s ICT Newscast, a new organization will support agricultural development for tribes and tribal colleges. We talk with actor and singer Booboo Stewart about his work and mental health. An Alaska Native anthropologist connects cultural items of the past with the present.
Watch:
Adam Becenti, Diné, former tribal affairs director for Oregon Department of Human Services, will step into the role of Tribal Relations Program manager, ending a five-month vacancy, according to a Friday morning announcement from the City of Portland’s Office of Government Relations.
“I feel like this role is me just giving back and holding true to my commitment to my community,” Becenti said in an interview with Underscore + ICT. “One of the most exciting things about this [role] is to be able to create awareness and bring visibility for Native people, for tribes and for the urban Indian community.”
Becenti’s maternal clan is Tsi’naa jinii, Black Streak Wood People, and his paternal clan the Tsé Nahabiłnii, Sleep Rock People. He grew up in Gallup, New Mexico and moved to Portland eleven years ago. An active community member, Becenti is often spotted at events around Portland. From presenting at ATNI conferences to attending the inaugural Native and Indigenous bike ride and the Native American Heritage Month Portland Trail Blazers game, Becenti shows up for his community. READ MORE. — Jarrette Werk & Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore News + ICT
- Joe Biden restricts oil, gas leasing in Alaska’s petroleum reserve: The oil industry’s top lobbying group says Biden administration rules restricting oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska’s petroleum reserve are ‘misguided.’
- Brazil creates new Indigenous territories: Speaking at a ceremony in Brasilia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silv said Indigenous peoples should be patient as he seeks to fulfill his pledge of creating 14 new territories.
- Native Americans have shorter life spans: Better health care isn’t the only answer.
- At UN, Indigenous leaders fight for application of rights: ‘It does continuously feel like that you are trying to prove that you are worthy of life.’
- A new police force chased a teen to his death: Then it vanished: The Crow Nation is still looking for answers.
- ‘Mobile hogans’: Coastal trip provides MVHS students with lifetime experience.
- Indigenous healing lodges face chronic underfunding across Canada, critics say.
- HUD Takes a Major Step to Boost Homeownership in Tribal Communities.
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.
