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Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you. 

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No list of Indigenous horror films can ever be created without first acknowledging the master, the late Jeff Barnaby, Mi’kmaq, whose entire catalog deserves to be seen but whose masterpiece of Canadian cinema “Rhymes for Young Ghouls” is essential.

“Ghouls” is a film that I never want to see again but I probably will and I have to recommend it. I find it among the most horrific movies I have ever seen and I don’t think I will ever shake it. Jeff knew that. He knew he was making horror for Indigenous people. He knew he was making horror for Canadians.

The film is centered around the dark reality of Canada’s Indian Residential School System and the intergenerational legacy. Glenn Gould, Mi’kmaq, turns in a heart wrenching performance as a man trapped in a cycle of violence, shame and unforgivable regret. It also stars Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, Mohawk, in her first lead role in a feature film. She is Gould’s daughter and like her friends and younger siblings are the ones who are living with the legacy of horror that no one dares speak.

For more horror films to add to your watch list, check out our story here.

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Out-of-state Native students can now pay in-state tuition rates at Michigan State University, thanks to a new Native American Tuition Advantage Program.

The program aims to eliminate financial barriers and increase enrollment among historically underrepresented Native American students, addressing a key concern of Michigan’s tribal nations. The new program starts in the fall of 2025.

The new tuition program builds upon the existing MSU Maynard Kennedy Turtle Island Acknowledgement Scholarship, which offers similar benefits to a limited number of tribally affiliated students and descendants from state or federally recognized tribes.

The university continues its Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver program, which waives tuition for in-state Native American students at Michigan public colleges and universities. It specifically applies to students from Canada and those who do not meet specific Native American blood quantum requirements, among others. — ICT

The 22 Indigenous nations in Arizona, whose lands make up nearly a third of the state, have never had an Indigenous politician represent them in Congress. In 2022, Alaska, where 40 percent of Indian Country is located, elected the first Alaska Native to serve as a U.S. House representative but never a senator. In New Mexico, no Indigenous person in congressional district 3 has represented 16 of the 22 Indigenous nations.

These are just a few examples of the stark reality that Indigenous people don’t have representational parity in Congress and their interests are often represented by non-Indigenous elected officials.

This was clear during the two days of Native American Caucus meetings at the Democratic National Convention, a slew of elected officials, the majority were non-Indigenous people who represent districts with a high population of Indigenous people. According to Advance Native Political Leadership, there needs to be 17,000 Indigenous people to local, state or national office to gain representational parity in elected offices. READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT

The Navajo Nation is largely a desert, but some say it’s even a food desert.

There are 13 grocery stores on the Navajo Nation which spans 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. And in the western area of the reservation, in Tuba City, Arizona, there is on grocery store within a 75 mile radius.

Navajo citizen Starlena Nez, 33, would like to see a different future for the generations.

She and farmers in Kerley Valley, just outside Tuba City, are working together as the Bikooh Agricultural Cooperative to provide future generations access to healthy food and a prosperous economy with the hope of having an organic grocery store, slaughterhouse and farmers market on the Navajo Nation. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, ICT

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While Cherokee citizens moved into their brand new homes behind him, Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed a legislation expansion Friday Sept. 27, setting aside millions more in tribal funds for further housing development.

Friday was move-in day for several Cherokee Nation families now living in the 23-acre ᎦᎵᏦᏕ Galitsode (the Cherokee word for “house”) Housing subdivision in Tahlequah. Residents watched as Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner signed a Cherokee Nation Housing, Jobs and Sustainable Communities Act expansion that will set aside $40 million every three years in perpetuity, in an effort to provide housing security to citizens living on the reservation.

“And this is on top of those federal housing dollars, which are inadequate,” said Hoskin at the event. “The United States does not meet its obligation when it comes to addressing housing needs across Indian Country. We are the Cherokee Nation. We are not going to wait on the United States to come to the rescue.” READ MORE. — Felix Clary, ICT + Tulsa World

For Johnny Hernandez Jr., vice chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in Southern California, it was difficult as a kid growing up around San Bernardino to hear two different accounts of the histories of Indigenous peoples in the state.

One account came from his elders and was based on their lived experiences, and another came from his teachers at school and glossed over decades of mistreatment Native American people faced.

“You have your family, but then you have the people you’re supposed to respect — teachers and the administration,” he said. “As a kid — I’ll speak for myself — it is confusing to … know who’s telling the truth.” READ MORE. — Associated Press

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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.