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MISSOULA, Montana — ICT celebrated the opening Tuesday of a new Montana bureau based at the University of Montana in Missoula – the first in a series of planned expansions by the nonprofit news organization formerly known as Indian Country Today.
The new bureau is in partnership with the university’s School of Journalism.
The opening reception for the Mountain Bureau was livestreamed on Facebook and Instagram and included a question and answer session.
“I am thrilled for this opportunity for the local Indigenous nations and, most of all, the students at the university and nearby tribal colleges and universities,” said ICT Editor Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, Diné. “They will see that there is a career path in media for them. We already see it with the journalism school’s alum, Kolby KickingWoman, who will be the Mountain Bureau chief. It’s a full circle moment and an example of the right pieces falling into place for all involved.” READ MORE — ICT
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Phoenix designates Indigenous Peoples Day a city holiday
For the past seven years, the City of Phoenix has recognized Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day every second Monday of October, but it was never an official city holiday.
But now that’s changed. With a vote of 7-1, the Phoenix City Council made it official, and Indigenous Peoples Day has been designated a city holiday.
“This is really exciting,” said Democrat Councilwoman Laura Pastor, of District 4, during a city council meeting on April 19.
Pastor said she’s been working with Indigenous communities to declare this resolution and to introduce one involving land acknowledgment, which is the acknowledgment that the city rests on the ancestral homelands of Indigenous people.
The Phoenix City Council on April 19 approved the resolution to declare the second Monday in October of each year as a designated city holiday known as Indigenous Peoples Day. READ MORE — Arizona Mirror
Around the world: The Maasai people are asking the United Nations to help stop government evictions, an artist in Canada is working on projects to rebuild Indigenous language, an ancient irrigation technique could fight climate change in Sri Lanka, and Indigenous writers excel in Australian book awards
TANZANIA: Indigenous Maasai request UN human rights intervention
The Indigenous Maasai in Tanzania are seeking intervention from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to stop what they say is a violent campaign to remove them from their lands to make way for conservation and hunting reserves, Mongabay reported on April 21.
The Maasai are expected to ask the UN forum this week to pressure the Tanzanian government to stop taking their cattle, to withdraw security forces and to create a commission to examine contested lands and dispossessed individuals. They also want the government to allow unrestricted visits by international human rights observers, Mongabay reported. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT
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The power of the Jingle Dress Dance with its bright colors and joyful sounds of jingles parades through “Why We Dance,” the forthcoming children’s book by Saddle Lake Cree author Deidre Havrelock and illustrator Aly McKnight, Shoshone-Bannock.
The book, which is due out in the fall of 2023, is an exuberant story about history, joy and the healing power of the dance through such preparations as checking the regalia, getting dressed, braiding hair, packing lunches for long days and practicing the steps.
Havrelock said she learned along the way as she was writing.
“I was praying all through the journey of writing this book,” Havrelock told ICT recently. “I was praying for understanding, praying for direction, praying to meet the right people, praying to get the words right. What I learned and what I hope others take away from this book is that the jingle dress has a history traceable to a specific region and people. It’s important to honor not only that history but also the people who today continue to hold that history as Knowledge Keepers.” READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
- NDN Collective launches ‘Land Back’ podcast: New media initiative chronicles ‘Red power movement of our generation’
- ‘Our youth are hungry for their culture’: Coast Salish youths revive land management and harvest practices on ancestral prairie
- More than just a powwow: Outside the Gathering of Nations, Albuquerque hosts Native American arts and culture events you probably have never seen before
- Biden makes it official: ‘Let’s finish this job’
- 2022 was a particularly deadly year for activists
- Deb Haaland talks Willow oil project
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.
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