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. Remember to scroll to the bottom to see what’s popping out to us on social media and what we’re reading.

Also, if you like our daily digest, sign up for The Weekly, our newsletter emailed to you on Thursdays. If you like what we do and want us to keep going, support and donate here.

Okay, here’s what you need to know today:

NEW YORK — This year’s United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is focusing on human, territorial and planetary health. The Permanent Forum is in its 22nd session.

A recent report, “Indigenous Determinants of Health,” is a culmination of 20 years of work that the Permanent Forum has been doing. It was released this session. The Permanent Forum lasts two weeks and consists of interventions, which are essentially calls to action, and side events on various issues.

Many Indigenous leaders have spoken about how planetary health and the health of Indigenous people and communities are intertwined, becoming ever more important as the world experiences irreversible damage caused by climate change.

“Create binding resolutions in regards to climate actions,” Mattos said. “Climate change is indeed one of the largest threats to the peace and security of all nations and peoples.” READ MORE — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT

SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s decision to end its partnership with the Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribe and take over management and operations of its ilani casino next year was met with support from Mohegan CEO Raymond Pinnault.

“We are very proud of the work we accomplished together over many years in partnership with the Cowlitz Tribe,” Pinnault said in a statement posted to the Mohegan gaming website. “We support the self-determination of any Tribal nation, and while we had hoped to continue our partnership as we thought we had more to offer the Cowlitz people, we are committed to aiding a smooth transition,” Pinnault said in the statement.

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s decision was announced following a vote by the tribal council April 1. In a statement released following the vote, Chairwoman Patty Kinswa-Gaiser said while tribal leadership is grateful for the Mohegan Tribe’s guidance and partnership, it was a natural evolution for the tribe to begin moving to self-management.

ilani, meaning to sing in the Cowlitz language, opened in 2017 in Ridgefield, Washington. READ MORE — The Columbian

Sleek panthers, growling bears and enormous alligators inhabit the vast Florida Everglades in a new film, “Path of the Panther,” captured by world-renowned National Geographic Explorer and photographer Carlton Ward Jr.

The award-winning film is part of a broader “Path of the Panther” project supported by the National Geographic Society that contributed to passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act — the first legislation of its kind and an international blueprint for addressing habitat loss and species extinction.

The film picked up honors at several film festivals and was released in more than 40 theaters and will be available on National Geographic, Hulu and Disney+ starting this month. Executive producer is award-winning actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio of Appian Way Productions.

The film’s director, Eric Bendick, told ICT the near-extinction of the Florida panther echoes many of the same issues faced by P-22, a Los Angeles panther that survived alone in a park until becoming old and injured. READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT

In February, Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand, bringing devastating floods and powerful winds, destroying homes, displacing thousands, and killing at least eleven people. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called it “the most significant weather event New Zealand has seen in this century.” Around 70 percent of destroyed homes were occupied by Indigenous Māori, but Māori leaders say that they have been left out of recovery services and funding.

“Because climate events have gotten more and more intense, it’s at a point of our communities will either get wiped out through more storms or have to choose to leave their homelands,” Renee Raroa, a Ngati Porou Māori representative from Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti in eastern New Zealand, said. “We’re running out of options.”

With the frequency and severity of storms increasing, along with other climate impacts like rising sea levels, Māori peoples are facing increasingly dire climate crises and calling on the United Nations for help. At the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, Māori representatives called on New Zealand to include Māori people in disaster recovery plans, provide support for Indigenous-led climate initiatives, and fully implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – a nonbinding resolution that affirms international Indigenous rights. Māori representatives also called on the U.N. to pressure New Zealand to support Indigenous land rights. READ MORE — Grist

Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter 

Every five years, Congress drafts a new Farm Bill. It determines policy and funding for everything having to do with agriculture, and food. The bill is currently being drafted by members of the U.S. Congress, which is why it is a big topic of discussion for Indian Country.

ICT’s Paris Wise has this interview with the senior producer of Native America Calling Andi Murphy. She moderated a conversation on food sovereignty at RES 2023.

Kansas is just one of 11 states in the U.S. operating with a divided government. While the governor is a Democrat, Republicans in the state control both the house and senate. This picture is what Kansas State lawmaker Christina Haswood goes to work with every day. The Democrat is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and is currently serving her second term in the Kansas House.

WATCH HERE

The rivers that run through the steep valleys and rocky cliffs of the Laponian Area are fed by crystalline alpine lakes and glacial streams. Many of the forests that tower over the land have stood for more than 700 years and teem with wildlife. In the spring and summer, when the midnight sun traces wide circles across the bright blue sky, crowberries blanket the meadows and yellow globe flowers dot the snow-capped peaks.

In those warm months, this region in the far north of Sweden provides a bounty for large migrating herds of reindeer: grass, birch, and herbs. Snow patches in the high mountains provide relief from insects on hot days, and the verdant lowland provides ample grazing as the nights cool. When winter arrives, rivers and marshes ice over, and the reindeer venture south beyond the Laponian Area along well-worn pathways, traveled by generations of Sámi reindeer herders, to winter grazing lands. This migration of both the reindeer and the Sámi who tend to them, reveals an ancient relationship with the land that persists to this day.

“It is the variation of landscape that makes the area so good,” said Helena Omma, who is Sámi and president of the Association of World Reindeer Herders. “Reindeer use all these landscapes during different times and conditions.” READ MORE — Grist

FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK

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.

ICT is a nonprofit news organization. Will you support our work? All of our content is free. There are no subscriptions or costs. And we have hired more Native journalists in the past year than any news organization ─ and with your help we will continue to grow and create career paths for our people. Support ICT for as little as $10. Sign up for ICT’s free newsletter.