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If movies look more diverse the past few years, there is more than just coincidence on the screen.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is responding to the backlash they have been getting for several years about the #OscarsSoWhite, a social justice campaign that began on Jan. 15, 2015, when the academy awarded all 20 acting nominations to White actors for the first of two consecutive years.
That inspired lawyer and strategist April Reign – who is also a pop-culture-obsessed contributor to a community of black Twitter users – to create the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. The campaign took off.
Now, the academy has announced new representation and inclusion standards for a film to be eligible starting in 2024 for an Academy Award, albeit solely in the Best Picture category. The standards are designed to encourage equal representation on and off screen to better reflect the diversity of the movie-going and movie-making audience. READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources are raising concerns about ties between Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and an Indigenous group from her home state that advocates for halting oil and gas production on public lands.
The members on Monday sent a letter to Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, requesting documents related to her interactions with Pueblo Action Alliance as well as those of her daughter, Somah, who has worked with the group and has rallied against fossil fuel development.
The request comes just days after Haaland decided to withdraw hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park — an area considered sacred by some Native American communities.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the committee, said Congress has a duty to oversee federal agencies and the cabinet secretaries who lead them and that what he called Haaland’s “alliances” present potential conflicts of interest. READ MORE — Associated Press
Around the world: Deforestation and other violent encroachments have a new force to reckon with in Peru, Aboriginal artwork takes center stage in Australia, and Canada grants $95M in aid to help families of MMIW.
PERU: Indigenous guard fights back against encroachment
The Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people in Peru have formed an Indigenous guard known as La Guardia Indigena to offer protection against deforestation, logging, drug trafficking, oil spills and other encroachments onto Indigenous lands, Mongabay reported on May 30.
The collective effort will conduct patrols spanning 175 Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, serving as their last hope for protection amid escalating violence and government neglect, Mongabay reported.
Indigenous people and their lands in the Peruvian Amazing face numerous threats, including drug trafficking, logging, expansion of oil palm plantations, oil spills, highway construction, illegal fishing, and the encroachment by Mennonite farming communities, Mongabay reported. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT
Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan on Monday praised the emerging influence of Native Americans throughout state and federal governments, and they urged leaders to uphold tribal sovereignty at a National Congress of American Indians conference.
The conference at the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake attracted tribal leaders from across the country. Speakers addressed issues facing tribal nations, including climate change and the 2023 federal Farm Bill.
But the theme of the day was celebrating a series of recent electoral and political victories for Native Americans, all the while anxiously awaiting a potential existential blow to tribal sovereignty from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court any day now will issue a ruling in Brackeen v. Haaland, a case to determine the constitutionality of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA). The law established federal minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes and requires states to prioritize placing children in homes of extended family members and other tribal homes — places that could reflect the values of Native American culture. READ MORE — Minnesota Reformer
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First Peoples Fund invests in the creative spirit of Indigenous artists and culture bearers. That came together during the grand opening of the Oglala Lakota Artspace last month, which brought the community together in Kyle, South Dakota. The space features studios for artists, crafts and musicians. Lori Pourier is president and CEO of First Peoples Fund.
More and more Republican candidates are announcing their run for presidency in the 2024 election. It means a long campaign season ahead of next year’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Regular contributor John Tahsuda has this analogy. He’s a principal with Navigators Global.
WATCH HERE:
The importance of Native American storytelling was cemented on Thursday when Oklahoma’s preeminent history museum dedicated a Legacy Stone in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday.
Momaday, 89, who was the first Indigenous person to receive the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for his book “House Made of Dawn,” is known for other works such as “The Way to Rainy Mountain,” and is credited as the founder for the Native American Renaissance in literature. Many of his notable works are comprised of a common element — cultural tradition.
“He’s someone who has a deep understanding of heritage and what it means to be a First American in our modern day,” Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said during the Oklahoma History Center ceremony. “(He has) a unique insight and creative spirit that sets him apart from other storytellers. That’s something we have in our heritage, right? We’re storytellers.”
This element of tradition was reflected in the dedication ceremony, with the Kiowa Flag Song being performed by the Kiowa Black Leggings Color Guard, and a Kiowa prayer from elder and language mentor Delores Harragarra. READ MORE — Gaylord News
- Regaining the land and the white bison: Among the plans the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have in story for its newly regained bison refuge is securing a home for the long lost Big Medicine
- The Mounties: 150 years of conflict with Indigenous Peoples: The symbol of the Canadian frontier is tarnished as it celebrates latest milestone
- ‘Bones of Crows’: Epic film about Canada’s residential schools opens nationwide: Writer/director/producer Marie Clements’ film is a story of resilience and resistance
- ‘Cop City’ gets funding approval from city council
- Canada wildfires are leading to air-quality alerts in US
- Authorities raise alert level as Kilauea volcano erupts
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