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“Thinking of a master plan. Got tobacco and sage inside my hand. Pulling out my wallet I’m collecting rent, land back is the vision stacking presidents,” artist Kunu raps in the opening verse of “Master Plan.”

Both a “love letter to hip hop” — with an ode to “Paid in Full” by Eric B. & Rakim in the first line — and a call for Land Back, “Master Plan” is local hip-hop artist Kunu Bearchum’s latest single.

Born in Eugene, Oregon and raised in New Mexico, Kunu Bearchum, Ho-Chunk and Northern Cheyenne, first began to make music in high school. After graduating in 2007, he moved back to Oregon with his hip-hop crew, Che Finch aka WYZAKER WORLDWIDE and his brother Nahko Bearchum aka Mista Chief.

“Growing up, hip-hop music was always part of my day to day life,” Bearchum said. “The way I relate to hip-hop is to give voice to the voiceless.” READ MORE — Nika Bartoo-Smith, ICT + Underscore News

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Families were torn asunder. A community is reeling with grief. More than 100 people have perished and dozens more remain missing after flames and smoke barreled from the hills and annihilated the historic town of Lahaina.

But even in places overwhelmed by despair and devastation, the Hawaiian spirit known as ohana endures.

In the Hawaiian lexicon, ohana is a sensibility, a way of thinking that means family, belonging, community and so much more — solace in a time of calamity. It is a unifying principle in an increasingly fragmented world. And in recent weeks, amid misfortune, the word has taken on profound importance in a place appealing for help.

“In times like this, ohana gets stronger,” says Dustin Kaleiopu, whose Maui roots date back to when monarchs ruled the islands. READ MORE — Associated Press

Around the world: Martu people rejoice over a legal victory for land rights in Australia, Ecuadorian voters reject oil drilling and mining in sensitive areas, and concerns rise in Canada over possible cuts to Indigenous Services.

AUSTRALIA: Martu people celebrate legal victory for land rights

The Western Australian government affirmed in federal court that the Martu people of the Western Desert are the rightful custodians of their ancestral lands, leading to a formal recognition of Native title rights in Australia, National Indigenous Times reported on Aug. 24.

Martu applicant Kennedy Finlay and representatives from the Jamukurnu-Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation were present in the courtroom to witness the milestone acknowledgement from the Western Australia government.

“We are very happy today that governments and the court have agreed this land belongs to Martu,” Finlay said, according to National Indigenous Times. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT

BISMARCK, N.D. — The beloved wild horses that roam freely in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park could be removed under a National Park Service proposal that advocates say could sever a cultural link to the past.

Visitors who drive the scenic park road can often see bands of horses, a symbol of the West and a sight that delights tourists. Advocates want to see the horses continue to roam the Badlands, and disagree with park officials who have branded the horses as “livestock.”

The Park Service is revising its livestock plans and writing an environmental assessment to examine the impacts of taking no new action — or to remove the horses altogether.

Removal would entail capturing horses and giving some of them first to tribes, and later auctioning the animals or giving them to other entities. Another approach would include techniques to prevent future reproduction and would allow those horses to live out the rest of their lives in the park. READ MORE — Associated Press

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A new strain of COVID is emerging around the world. It is so new that scientists aren’t sure what kind of threat to expect. The strain, officially named B-A.2.86, has been nicknamed Pirola. Epidemiologist Dean Seneca is here to tell us the evolving background of this COVID strain.

Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman was the first Native person to serve as a regent for the University of Washington. He has served on his tribal council for more than 30 years. ICT’s Stewart Huntington spoke with him about the city of Seattle’s Tribal Nation’s Summit, and Native relations with the city.

Candidates vying for the Republican party’s nomination shared their visions for the future of the country last week. Nine presidential hopefuls qualified for the debate, and only eight took the stage as former president Donald Trump opted out. ICT regular contributor John Tahsuda shares his take.

WATCH:

Earlier this week, U.S. Navy officials were joined by Navajo Nation council members as a new Navy ship was named the USNS Navajo.

The ship, a new class of rescue, towing, and salvage ships, was named in honor of the service of Navajo veterans and Navajo Code Talkers at a ceremony at the Bollinger Shipyard in Houma, Louisiana.

Council Delegate Shawna Ann Claw, said in a press release that it was fitting to have council members present and to also be able to represent their families who have active-duty military members.

“When the event concluded, Honorable Dr. Andy Nez and I joined former Navajo Nation Speaker Lorenzo Bates in offering corn pollen to bless the vessel for a safe and productive life,” she said in the press release. “This was a historic achievement for the Navajo Nation.”

Five other ships have been named after the Navajo Nation, according to the press release.

The first Navajo ship, the USS Navajo (AT-52), came into service in 1908 and served until 1937. The USS Navajo III served from 1917 to 1919. The Navajo (AT-64) served from 1940 to 1943. The Navajo (ATR-138) served from 1945-1962, and most recently the USNS Navajo (T-ATF-169) served from 1980 to 2016.

Rear Admiral Jeffrey Spivey, Deputy Commander Military Sealift Command, said in the press release the ceremony was “a public display to tell the world that this ship has come to life.”

“It’s a great testimony to the commitment from the U.S. Navy and the Military Sealift Command for this ship to bear the Navajo name,” Spivey said in the release.

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