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Missing children, sinister spirits, and surrealist realist Frida Kahlo are among the Indigenous stories making their screen debuts at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off Jan. 18 in Utah.
The Sundance Institute recently announced that eight Indigenous films are among the 82 films, eight episodic titles and a New Frontier interactive experience that have been selected for the 40th anniversary of the acclaimed festival.
“The selection of Indigenous-made films at this year’s festival, our 40th anniversary no less, really showcases the strengths of our communities’ artists,” Adam Piron, Kiowa/Mohawk, director of the Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, told ICT.
“The ranges of genre and formats of these entries are a testament to how these filmmakers are innovating and expanding our traditions of storytelling, in ways that are unexpected and leave a lasting impression. We’re witnessing Indigenous cinema taking a step into a new era.” READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
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The entire tribal police force for the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas has resigned, except for one officer, as of December 4. The last remaining officer placed his two-week notice that day.
According to the December 18 Horton City Council meeting minutes, Kickapoo Chairwoman Gail Cheatham informed the council that three of the four tribal officers resigned when Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement personnel arrived in Horton to complete an assessment of the department.
The department chief and lieutenant resigned without notice within hours of the BIA’s arrival. A regular officer also resigned without notice that day. A second regular officer placed his two-week notice of resignation that day.
While the Bureau of Indian Affairs conducts interviews for new police officers, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department are currently patrolling the reservation, according to the meeting minutes. Additionally, members of the Kickapoo Fire Department are EMS-certified and will assist in servicing emergency calls. READ MORE — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
Loading the back of a Subaru Outback with supplies, three Indigenous women make sure they have enough water, food and care packages to serve Indigenous people who have been displaced in different parts of the Valley.
“It’s gotten worse,” StolenPeoplesStolenBenefits Advocate Reva Stewart said of the displacement of Indigenous people in the city.
Most of the displacements are the direct result of the fraudulent behavioral health facilities that proliferated unchecked for years across the Phoenix area, targeting Indigenous people who are enrolled in Arizona’s Medicaid program so that the facilities can bill the program, often for services they never provided.
“Deaths are still happening (as a result of these fraudulent facilities),” Stewart said. “We shouldn’t be having any deaths if they’re in a (legitimate) sober living facility or a home.” READ MORE — AZ Mirror
On December 21, the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development announced it awarded $5.723 million in Living Languages Grant Program funding to 20 tribes and tribal organizations. Awards range from $200,000 to $300,000 per year for three years.
The Living Languages Grant Program allows tribes and Indigenous communities a chance to receive funding to be used for documenting and revitalizing language.
Indigenous language use has been declining for the past 150 years due to several factors, including federal boarding schools.
“Investing in Native language revitalization is just one part of our all-of-government approach to addressing the harms caused by federal policies of the past, such as Federal Indian Boarding School which actively worked to suppress Native languages and cultures,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland in a press release.
In 2024, the Living Languages Grant Program will focus on funding Native language immersion projects that support a community-driven approach. Funding is also intended for projects that can be achieved within three years.
The awards represent a long-term federal commitment to a comprehensive approach for revitalizing Indigenous communities with a framework built on the draft 10-Year National Plan on Native Language Revitalization and its four foundational pillars of awareness, recognition, integration and support.
The Biden administration is considering a 10-year National Plan to revitalize Native languages. The plan would lay out a long-term, all-of-government strategy working with tribal governments, subject-matter experts and, if appropriate, nonprofit organizations.
The plan’s core goal would be to address the federal government’s role in the erasure of Native languages, according to the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs.
The other 18 grant recipients are:
Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, Oklahoma: $300,000
Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, McLoud, Oklahoma: $300,000
Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Bayfield, Wisconsin: $300,000
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Reno, Nevada: $300,000
Sac & Fox Nation, Stroud, Oklahoma: $300,000
Igiugig Village, Igiugig, Alaska: $299,999
Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Coos Co., Oregon: $299,900
Metlakatla Indian Community, Metlakatla, Alaska: $299,900
Modoc Nation, Miami, Oklahoma: $299,807
Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Anadarko, Oklahoma: $299,279
Kalispel Indian Community, Cusick, Washington: $298,552
Lummi Tribe, Bellingham, Washington: $296,000
Bundled Arrows Inc., Niagara Falls, New York: $288,098
Shawnee Tribe, Miami, Oklahoma: $280,200
Tribal Government of St. Paul Island, St. Paul Island, Alaska: $277,500
Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes, Juneau, Alaska: $265,920
San Carlos Apache Tribal Council, San Carlos, Arizona: $219,647
Quechan Tribe, Yuma, Arizona: $201,997
The Office of Indian Economic Development administers the Living Languages Grant Program. All award recipients can be viewed on the program’s website. — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal
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A new hall of fame class of Indigenous athletes and teams were announced this week to be inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2024 group includes 77 athletes and seven teams. Biographies of the 2024 class and all members of the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame can be found on its website.
The hall of fame was founded in 2022 by Dan Ninham, Oneida, and his wife Susan, Red Lake Ojibwe. In the few short years since its inception, Ninham said it has been very well received by athletes and the public at large.
Ninham is a regular contributor to ICT and has long been involved with Indigenous athletics. READ MORE — Kolby KickingWoman, ICT
What’s trending on social media:
- Lummi Nation opposes BP’s purchase of Cherry Point parcels: ‘Throughout our history, we continue to have to step up and fight for this place that we all call home to protect it, to save it — not just for its beauty, and for its resources, but for its cultural significance and history’
- New, upgraded Native health care facilities open in Arizona: The new and upgraded facilities will serve the Havasupai Tribe and Navajo Nation
- Nevada tribe says coalitions, not lawsuits, will protect sacred sites as US advances energy agenda: The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony was unsuccessful in stopping a massive lithium mine at the site where more than two dozen Paiute and Shoshone were massacred in 1865. Now, they will focus on organizing a broad coalition to build public support for sacred places
- Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame to induct Walter Bresette, Lewis Posekany.
- UND to begin returning remains of Indigenous ancestors back to tribes in 2024.
- Two companies will attempt the first US moon landings since the Apollo missions a half-century ago
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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