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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:
In a galaxy far, far away, they will soon be speaking Ojibwe.
Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and C3PO will be speaking Anishinaabemowin in an upcoming translation and dub of the original 1977 sci-fi classic, “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and the University of Manitoba in Canada have an alliance with Disney/Lucasfilm to create an official Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) version of the iconic film that started the series.
And yes, it will include another famous line from the film.
Gi-ga-miinigoowiz Mamaandaawiziwin. (May the Force be with you.) READ MORE. — Miles Morrisseau, ICT
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A Louisiana tribe forced by climate change to leave its homelands has filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development against the state of Louisiana.
The complaint, filed by the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, formerly known as the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, accuses the state of racial and ethnic discrimination, ignoring tribal sovereignty, eliminating important cultural components to the relocation program and providing substandard replacement housing.
The tribe is asking HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and regional housing Director Patrick Banis to investigate the resettlement program run by Louisiana’s Office of Community Development and to force the state to restore tribal authority and priorities to the project. READ MORE. — Dianna Hunt, ICT
When doctors in Billings, Montana told Ursula Rides Horse-Russell she had Stage 2 breast cancer, her mind went blank. She had buried her 34-year-old son two days earlier.
She couldn’t remember who came to the funeral or who sent condolences. Navigating a new and scary diagnosis felt impossible.
Doctors surgically removed her cancer but told Ursula she’d have to travel to Billings several times a week for chemotherapy — 50 miles each way.
For Ursula and her husband Barry, Ursula’s care presented a logistical nightmare.
To drive from their home in Hardin to doctors in Billings, Ursula and Barry would need a reliable vehicle and money for food, gas and possibly a hotel — none of which they had. READ MORE. — Missoulian
A top leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture hailed the successes of the federal agency in its work in Indian Country, in a one-on-one interview with ICT last week.
On Jan. 11, USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small traveled to the Tohono O’odham Nation in Southern Arizona to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new project set to provide high speed and fiber based internet to remote residents of the tribe. It was made possible by a nearly $10 million grant by the USDA.
Hours after that event, Small visited the ICT Newscast studio at Arizona PBS in Phoenix for an interview about the work of the USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations. READ MORE. — Aliyah Chavez, ICT
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On the Monday edition of the ICT Newscast, the Oscar nominations are nearly here and Lily Gladstone will likely get the nod. ‘Seed Warriors’ looks at growing corn in the ancestral lands of the Pawnee.
Watch:
Marvel Studios has a new Indigenous and deaf superhero.
The new TV series ‘Echo’ highlights Choctaw culture and history. Menominee and Mohican Nation citizen Alaqua Cox stars with a large Indigenous cast and crew.
Audiences will learn more about Maya Lopez’s, aka Echo, origin story on Disney+ and Hulu. The show launched on Jan. 9. READ MORE. — McKenzie Allen-Charmley, ICT
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- Indigenous activism and Russia’s war in Ukraine: PERSPECTIVE: Long after Indigenous activists flee Russia, they continue to face government pressure to remain silent.
- Conserving sacred forests: Indigenous faithful and Christians work with environmentalists to conserve India’s sacred forests.
- Native youth navigate trauma, self-discovery in TV pilot: ‘The Sound’ is a 10-episode TV drama, and its pilot episode premieres on Saturday, Jan. 20 during the Treaty Day Film Festival.
- Assault on diversity efforts has chilling effect on companies: As diversity, equity and inclusion comes under legal attack, companies are quietly altering their programs.
- MMIP advocate becomes first Native member of Oregon women’s football team: Kola Shippentower, Umatilla, is the first Native American player for the Oregon Ravens, the state’s tackle football team for women and nonbinary players.
- Region 2 Arts Council announces Anishinaabe Arts Initiative winners.
- Sundance announces indigenous fellowship winners.
- Buffalo banh mi and blue corn cookies: sharing a Native American feast in South Dakota.
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