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TAHOLAH, QUINAULT INDIAN NATION – The climate story is as much about values as it is about a changing world. And It’s easy to see the connection between the Quinault people and their place on this planet.

“Many of our ancestors have told us of that day of reckoning when it’s going to be red nations rising and our people leading the rest of the world,” said Fawn Sharp. She is now a former vice president and president for her nation, and was president of the National Congress of American Indians. She is now working on climate projects full time.

“That light is so strong, that spiritual strength, knowledge and wisdom that we have carried for centuries has never left us,” she said. “We are right there and we’re going to lead the rest of the world through this crisis.”

Tyson Johnson was elected to the Quinault Tribal Council in April. “We’re fishing people here,” he said. “We lived off the land, the ocean, river ecosystems. Our villages were seasonal. We would move as the land changed or as the weather changed or as our needs arose.” READ MORE— Mark Trahant and Stewart Huntington, ICT

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SANTA FE, N.M. – Feathers, fur, embroidery and horsehair were flying at the May 4 debut of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts Native Fashion Week in Santa Fe, which preceded the Met Gala in New York, as the array of Native clothing and bold style was on display from east to southwest.

In New York on May 6, breakout model Quannah Chasinghorse, Han Gwich’in and Sicangu/Oglala Lakota, and Lily Gladstone, Siksikaitsitapii and Nimíipuu, glowed, wearing elaborate Native designs. Chasinghorse wore a lilac-colored dress to honor Alaska’s state flower with a “princess ethereal flower garden fairy” vibe, she told Fashionista. The gown’s tulle crinoline skirt mimics a flower in bloom. She had beaded rings and flowers in her hair.

Gladstone made her debut on the Met red carpet. She wore a black gown and cape by Gabriela Hearst with embellishments by Kiowa jeweler Keri Ataumbi who made 493 silver stars embroidered with antique glass beads like galaxies. Ataumbi created a custom hairpiece for the outfit as well.

In Santa Fe, actors, models and film directors arrived on the Denim Carpet – an Indigenous alternative – at the Santa Fe Convention Center with a full house of runway shows, pop up shops, exhibits and activation spaces. READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT

Around the World: Uyghurs experience highest imprisonment rate globally, Argentine Indigenous groups unite for waterway preservation, Beef2024 highlights Indigenous ingredients in Australia, Sámi Parliament board submits UN complaint regarding Norway election re-run, and Inuit womens’ lawsuit criticizing Quebec and Canada child welfare system advances

CHINA: 1 in 26 Uyghurs incarcerated

An Uyghur advocacy group’s report highlights that about one in 26 Uyghurs in China’s far-western Xinjiang region are presently incarcerated, representing the world’s highest incarceration rate, Radio Free Asia reported on May 2.

According to a report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project, Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in China’s Xinjiang region face an alarming rate of incarceration, with approximately 3,814 individuals per 100,000 people behind bars. This rate is a staggering 47 times higher than China’s overall incarceration rate of 80 per 100,000. The report, released on April 25, also highlights that this figure surpasses even El Salvador’s known highest incarceration rate of 1,086 per 100,000. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT

Native-owned business Garbage Tale Vintage and the non-profit NDN Girls Book Club are partnering on May 11 to offer free books and fun to the Rapid City community at the storefront in Rapid City.

“I’m so happy about this because we need more events like this in the area,” said Caitlin Hein, Sicangu Lakota and the owner of Garbage Tale Vintage located at 626 Saint Joseph St. in downtown Rapid City.

NDN Girls Book Club Founder Kinsale Drake, Diné, and Hein met over the summer during the annual Native Pop celebration in Rapid City. Drake had supported Hein since she opened Garbage Tale Vintage in 2022 and Hein had been supporting the newly founded book club.

“Accessibility and representation are both so important and Kinsale is hitting both of those with NDN Girls Book Club,” Hein said. “We have a real need here in Rapid City and I think it’s so cool that she’s traveling to do this.” — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal

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More than 100 tribal leaders are in Washington D.C. to testify before the House appropriations committee. Regular contributor Holly Cook Macarro has an update with ICT political correspondent Pauly Denetclaw.

Indigenous values of respect for ancestors, grandmother Earth and future generations guide us in everything — including our response to climate change. Mark Trahant has part three of his report from the Quinault Nation in Washington state as it faces pressure from the sea.

Joy Harjo has won the minds and hearts of folks all over the globe with her words and music. From poetry, children’s books and music, she is a true artist and philosopher, whose work reflects her as Muskogee. Harjo was our nation’s 23rd poet laureate. She’s a saxophone player, as well as a mother and grandmother.

WATCH

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium board of directors announced Tuesday that Valerie Nurr’araluk Davidson, who is Yup’ik, has transitioned out of her role as president/CEO. The board thanked her for guiding the institution through a season of transformation. Davidson stepped into the position in 2021 after the unexpected death of former President/CEO Randy Teuber. The board said Consortium Executive Vice President Natasha Singh, who is Koyukon Athabascan, will serve as interim president/CEO.

“Three years ago, Valerie was brought in to support the transition of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium out of a leadership crisis. She brought stability and set the organization on a bright path to achieve our strategic goals,” said Consortium Board Chair Kimberley Strong, who is Tlingit, in a statement. “Valerie supported the remarkable transformation of the organization, attracted new talent to join our workforce, and made meaningful improvements, such as investing in the Alaska Native Medical Center’s Emergency Department, necessary to sustain this progress. We thank Valerie for her service to ANTHC and the people that we serve during her three-year commitment. The Board has full confidence in Natasha’s ability to lead the organization during this transition.”

“Since Davidson took on the role as President/CEO in March 2021, the organization committed to making two of the largest health facilities investments in its history, secured over $1 billion for the construction of sanitation systems in rural Alaska, improved the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital star rating at the Alaska Native Medical Center for the first time in the hospital’s history, improved access to Patient Housing, and improved the organization’s financial health,” the agency stated. READ MORE — ICT

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