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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.
Okay, here’s what you need to know today:
Geoff Gartshore took his well-heeled Jeep up the stone and dirt roads of Cuba’s eastern mountain in early December, intent on visiting Native Cuban people in their communities.
The Canadian ambassador to Cuba, Gartshore’s expressed purpose was to be formally received by Cuban Native Cacique (Chief) Francisco Ramirez Rojas, the respected “Cacique Panchito,” along with other leaders of la Gran Familia.
He invited along Anne Lamaistre, UNESCO’s regional director for Cuba and the Latin Caribbean.
The specific request to meet the cacique by an ambassador from a major country such as Canada, offering to travel the relatively isolated Taino-guajiro enclaves of the high eastern mountains, surprised for its directness and impetus. The visit was most unusual – perhaps unique; international ambassadors and other high officials visit rarely, if at all, in those remote areas. READ MORE. — Jose Barreiro, Special to ICT
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Minnesota panel chooses new state flag featuring North Star to replace old flag seen as racist
Minnesota’s new state flag should feature an eight-pointed North Star against a dark blue background shaped like the state, with a solid light blue field at the right, a special commission decided Tuesday as it picked a replacement for an older design that many Native Americans considered offensive.
The State Emblems Redesign Commission chose the final version on an 11-1 vote after finalizing a new state seal that depicts a loon, the state bird. Unless the Legislature rejects them, the new flag and seal will automatically become official April 1, 2024, when Minnesota observes Statehood Day.
The star echoes Minnesota’s state motto of “Star of the North.” The commission’s chairman, Luis Fitch, said that to him, the light blue represents the Mississippi River, “the most important river in the United States,” pointing to the North Star. But he acknowledged it could mean other things to other people. Symmetry and simplicity won out over other versions, including ones that included a green stripe for the state’s agricultural heritage.
The new flag is a revised version of a design submitted by Andrew Prekker, 24, of Luverne, who said he was grateful and amazed for the “rare privilege” of being able to contribute to state history. — Associated Press
As we head into the new year, let’s take a look at the top ICT stories of 2023 that caught readers’ attention.
‘War Pony’ film: Gritty, realistic, ultimately triumphant
The ICT article that received the most views was on a film about two young Oglala Lakota men growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota: “War Pony: Dark Tale from the Rez.” The story was published in July.
The film is by Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, and Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter, Riley Keough. Executive Producer Pte Cante Win Poor Bear, Oglala Lakota, said Keough got the story idea from hearing stories about reservation life from two extras in an earlier film she worked on. The film features actors who are from and live on Pine Ridge. READ MORE. — Joaqlin Estus, ICT
The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a decision by a state agency to grant a major permit for the proposed NewRange copper-nickel mine, saying regulators adequately considered the possibility that developers might expand the project in the future.
It was a win for NewRange Copper Nickel, which remains stalled by court and regulatory setbacks. The $1 billion open-pit mine near Babbitt and processing plant near Hoyt Lakes would be Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine. It’s a 50-50 joint venture between Swiss commodities giant Glencore and Canada-based Teck Resources. The project was renamed NewRange Copper Nickel in February but it’s still widely known by its old name, PolyMet.
The issue in this series of appeals was whether the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency should have looked deeper into whether the developers harbored expansion plans that went beyond what their original permits would allow when regulators issued an air emissions permit for the project in 2019. The court earlier ordered a closer look. Monday’s ruling said the agency’s updated findings “show that it carefully considered the salient problems” when regulators again concluded there was no reason to deny the permit. READ MORE. — Associated Press
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On the Tuesday edition of the ICT Newscast, we meet the National Native American Law Enforcement Association’s Police Chief of the Year. A film covers the importance and history of buffalo. A Rosebud Sioux citizen is being elevated in the financial sector.
Watch:
As a child, Christine Begay knew it was time for string games when the first snow arrived in Shiprock.
The traditional stories told with string were a highlight of the winter season. Manipulating the string between two hands, the designs told of coyotes going in different directions, of a cat’s cradle, or the sun and the moon.
Some were humorous, and some, she knew, were warnings to be patient and pay attention.
“String games hold stories that are passed down from generation to generation,” said Begay, Diné, who now lives in Bemidji, Minnesota. “Some are funny interpretations, while most are significant in culture as they tell the origin of an array of objects and characters pertinent to Navajo culture.”
No one knows for sure the origins of string figures, but they once were known to nearly all Native inhabitants of East Asia, Australia, Africa, the Arctic, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands, according to the International String Figures Association. READ MORE. — Dan Ninham, Special to ICT
- Colorado will expand automatic voter registration to tribes: Automatic voter registration systems are in place across the country, but reservations have historically been excluded—until now.
- Plan for Alaska’s first tribally operated public schools inches closer: The board will vote to approve a final draft of the plan at its January meeting.
- New Mexico names new Indian Affairs secretary amid criticism: James Mountain’s appointment in February as cabinet secretary immediately fueled anger among Native American advocates.
- Supaman joins anti-vaping campaign: Native rapper Supaman educates youth on the risks of vaping at Lakota Nation Invitational in South Dakota.
- Choctaw Nation’s Growing Hope Program preserves traditional heirloom seeds: The seeds that survived the trail of tears and outer space.
- Colorado releases 5 wolves on Western Slope, fulfilling voter-approved reintroduction measure.
- This Navajo woman is encouraging other Indigenous entrepreneurs.
- How a fight over data made South Dakota’s bad syphilis outbreak worse.
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.
