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:
From a guitar-shaped hotel on the Las Vegas Strip to a jazzed-up pit stop in the swampy Everglades and a new lakefront tower in North Dakota, tribes across the country are expanding their casinos and resorts after a slowdown caused by the pandemic.
There are reasons for all this activity. Billions of them.
Gaming revenue for 2022 was the highest in Indian gaming history with $40.9 billion, an increase of $1.9 billion that is about 5 percent higher than the historic 2021 numbers of $39 billion, according to a report released in July by the National Indian Gaming Commission.
“This historic revenue reflects the resiliency of many tribal gaming operations despite pandemic shutdowns, and that tribal gaming continues to rebound and remain strong,” commission Chairman E. Sequoyah Simermeyer, Coharie, said in a statement. READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
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Several nights in a row, Garrett Hawk’s family members had their car windows bashed in with baseball bats and received threatening messages. The Crow Creek citizen and other family members called the police, but no one came.
The streets where he and his younger cousins played football together were no longer safe. His aunt was receiving threatening phone calls. Hawk had had enough.
On July 1, he decided to stay up all night and watch over his family. That night, the Crow Creek BIA division received a call regarding weapons being fired in the street by a group of young men, the same men Hawk’s family says had been previously wreaking havoc.
While no permit is needed for a firearm on Crow Creek, no shooting is allowed within city limits. The young men were given a warning after the interaction. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a proposal to designate a 5,617-square-mile area offshore of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties in central California as Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. It would protect the area’s marine life, ecosystems, archaeological sites, and cultural sites.
It’s the first Indigenous-led nomination for a national marine sanctuary.
The Northern Chumash Tribal Council is organized as a non-profit corporation under the guidelines of the state of California Senate Bill 18.
The designation would advance the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative, which is supporting locally led conservation efforts across the country with a goal to conserve and restore 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT
It has been a long wait, and everyone is still waiting, but at some point – to fulfill federal treaty obligations – the U.S. House of Representatives will seat Kim Teehee as delegate for the Cherokee Nation.
Teehee was appointed as the delegate designate by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in 2019. A series of detours and distractions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have left the Cherokee Nation and Teehee waiting patiently. There seems to be widespread bipartisan support to make space for Teehee, but a resolution must find its way to the House calendar.
As a delegate, Teehee will not have the same powers as the elected representatives from the various states. She cannot participate in a floor vote in the chamber, but otherwise may take part in most other House procedures. READ MORE. — Cherokee Phoenix
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, a tribal collaboration in Wisconsin makes strides in resource management and agriculture. An Alaska Native woman is weaving her nation’s culture into her first children’s book. Meet the Iñupiaq woman using data to fight for missing and murdered Alaska Natives.
Watch:
Oglala Lakota rapper Stella Standingbear’s hit song, “Home Runs,” sets a message for her career that continues to ring true.
And home runs she’s hitting.
On Aug. 12, cheers erupted from the audience as Standingbear’s name was called at the International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards in Vancouver, Canada, making her the first Lakota artist to take home an award from the show and the only artist nominated three times this year.
At 24 years old, Standingbear is already making waves in the Indigenous music scene. She took home two awards from the Indigenous Hip Hop Awards, best female hip hop artist and best music video for “Home Runs.” She also was nominated for best collaboration on her song “Blessings” with DestroyKasmin. READ MORE. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Journal Staff
- The woman, the warrior, the volcano: While working on an essay for an upcoming anthology edited by the writer Lidia Yuknavitch, poet Elizabeth Woody reflects on the themes of her career.
- New Mexico AG to investigate school’s discipline: Gallup McKinley Schools enrolls a quarter of the state’s Native students but was responsible for three-quarters of Native expulsions, according to student discipline data.
- Scenes from Crow Fair 2023: Traditions, family and new year celebrations.
- Oklahoma governor stripped of power over Native council: At odds with the tribes, Stitt can only make one appointment to the Native education council.
- Miracle Spotted Bear is stuck in between: The Oglala Lakota student-athlete found time to release her debut album.
- Fake ‘sober homes’ targeting Native Americans scam millions from taxpayers.
- Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe formalizes adult-use recreational cannabis on its tribal lands
- Fundraising effort for Alaska Indigenous studies center OK’d by UA board.
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.
