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:
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the transition to clean energy: Move faster because our survival depends on our decisions now … or pledge fealty to fossil fuels.
Two very different futures and Indigenous communities are on the frontlines.
A new report by the World Economic Forum says: “The rapidly accelerating climate crisis warrants an urgent and thorough transformation of global energy systems. Emerging initiatives like the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act and the European Green Deal are already being adopted to accelerate the much-needed deployment of renewable energy projects. It is, however, critical that this transition is not only fast, but also fair.”
And that fairness is challenged by projects such as lithium mining at Thacker Pass in Nevada that are being hurried without a Free, Prior and Informed Consent agreement. Indeed, across the globe the World Economic Forum says there are more than 200 projects that one study cited as “land grabbing” and harmful to Indigenous peoples. READ MORE. — Mark Trahant, ICT
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Ten Indigenous leaders have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2023 — the largest Indigenous group ever chosen in a single year for the prestigious academy.
The newly elected Indigenous members, who include two international honorary members, are among a group of 269 new members from academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science.
“I am surprised, honored, thankful and working on my acceptance letter,” Cherokee actor Wes Studi, who is among the 2023 class, told ICT. READ MORE.— Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
Tommy Orange, a renowned debut literary author, recently participated in Q&A at the Belle Mehus Auditorium in Bismarck where he addressed urban Native identity, young adult readers, a new book in the works, and plans to bring his novel “There There” to TV.
The age of the Internet, mixed-race identities and intensified racism have changed the landscape for everyone today, said Orange. “People are thinking about things in ways that we never did before.” Young Native readers in particular have gravitated to “There There” because many feel seen for the first time in a literary work.
Orange said he never read a full novel until he was around 24 because he didn’t see himself in the stories. “Part of that is not identifying with all the lives that were being written that I was required to read.” READ MORE. — Buffalo’s Fire
On the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, the loud chorus of spring birdsong is mixed with a new sound: the steady rumble of skateboard wheels on concrete.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, a young girl sat on her skateboard and prepared to drop in on the halfpipe. Then, crack: the smack of flesh on concrete as she collided with another skater. For a brief second, there was silence – quickly filled with a burst of laughter before they helped each other to their feet.
“Oh look, I’m ripping it!” a young boy chirped as he glided down a ramp. He looked up at his father, who was smiling down at him.
The Warm Springs Skatepark opened March 29. It replaced a smaller skatepark that was falling apart. After decades of use, combined with the brutal winters and blistering summers of central Oregon, the plywood-covered metal ramps were crumbling. They had become a safety hazard. READ MORE. — Underscore News / Report for America
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Coming up on the Monday edition of the ICT Newscast, an attorney from the Native American Rights Fund tells us about students and their rights to wear traditional regalia at graduation. ‘Sesame Street’ features Native American families. Plus, are you tired of renting and ready to buy a house? We get some tips from the Mni Sota Fund.
Watch:
In 2021, when Rod First Strike was working as a cultural specialist at Linderman Elementary in Polson, Montana, he noticed a lot of kindergarten and first-grade boys were being teased for wearing their hair long.
Hair holds significance in Indigenous cultures. It’s seen as a source of strength, connecting Native Americans to their ancestors. And often, when a loved one dies, Native people may choose to cut their hair short to symbolize the profound loss. Some say long hair is a sign of resilience, as Native people were forced to cut their hair short as a form of assimilation in government-run boarding schools. And in some places, long hair remains controversial. A network of charter schools in North Carolina has a policy prohibiting male students from wearing long hair, and the Native American Rights Fund intervened, urging the school to “permanently remove the discriminatory and outdated assimilationist policy.” READ MORE.— Missoulian
Among the winners of this year’s Pulitzer Prizes, which recognizes the best of journalism and the arts, included investigative reporter and host Connie Walker, Okanese First Nation (Cree) and the Gimlet Media team won for audio journalism.
The winners were announced Monday.
“Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s,” told in eight episodes, focused on Walker’s investigation into her father’s past and the abuse of hundreds of Indigenous children at a residential school in Canada. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT
What’s trending on social media:
- No more silence: Boarding school survivor Anita Yellowhair shares her story, over 60 years later.
- University of Montana to have Native commencement speaker: Along with giving the ceremonial speech, Mandy Smoker Broaddus will also receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
- Road to Thacker Pass continues to be blocked: Land defenders have blocked the road leading to the construction site at Thacker Pass in Nevada.
- What happened to Mika Westwolf? A Montana family seeks answers in deadly Highway 93 crash.
- Arctic Council gets new leadership: Six organizations representing Arctic Indigenous peoples are permanent participants of the Arctic Council, which was established in 1996.
- Indigenous Producers Face Trademark Battle Over Company Names Causing ‘Public Confusion.’
- Rhiannon Giddens Just Won a Pulitzer. Now She’s Dropping Her First Solo Album in Six Years.
- Ojibwe bands, Superior National Forest sign ‘co-stewardship’ agreement.
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.
