Greetings, relatives.

A lot of news out there. Thanks for stopping by ICT’s digital platform.

We gathered our top headlines for you from the week, just in case you didn’t see them. 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 from the week.

Land Back: Native leaders draft bill to regain some of sacred Black Hills

The Black Hills are not for sale and never will be was the central uniting message discussed during a meeting at the Prairie Knights Casino in Fort Yates, N.D. on the Standing Rock Reservation.

Representatives from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, a group of Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation elders and various treaty councils gathered on Nov. 13 to formulate a plan for regaining land in the Black Hills. READ MORE.— Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal

SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY

Leonard Peltier: ‘This is what mercy is for’

Hawai’i Sen. Brian Schatz, chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, made a plea to President Joe Biden on behalf of Leonard Peltier on Dec. 4. In a less than four-minute speech on the Senate floor, he asked that Biden grant clemency to Peltier.

Biden on Sunday evening pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss,” according to a statement by Biden. READ MORE.— Pauly Denetclaw, ICT

Oklahoma schools get it right on reducing Native absenteeism

As the Watonga school system’s Indian education director, Hollie Youngbear works to help Native American students succeed — a job that begins with getting them to school.

She makes sure students have clothes and school supplies. She connects them with federal and tribal resources. And when students don’t show up to school, she and a colleague drive out and pick them up.

Nationwide, Native students miss school far more frequently than their peers, but not at Watonga High School. Youngbear and her colleagues work to connect with families in a way that acknowledges the history and needs of Native communities. READ MORE.— Felix Clary, ICT + Tulsa World

Sign up here to get ICT’s newsletter 

Coming up next week: 2024 White House Tribal Nations Summit

Every December since 2022, the U.S. Department of Interior headquarters has overflowed with Indigenous leaders from remote Alaska Native villages in the North Slope Borough to Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

For another year, hundreds of Indigenous leaders will participate in the White House Tribal Nations Summit. President Joe Biden will host his administration’s final summit on Dec. 9. It will be a one-day event instead of the usual two. The summit is not mandatory, and in his last administration President-elect Donald J. Trump chose not to host it. These summits were intended to increase nation-to-nation engagement. READ MORE.— Pauly Denetclaw, ICT

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.

Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT’s free newsletter.