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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:
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is ready to bring Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley home after more than a century.
The tribe filed a federal lawsuit last month against the U.S. Army, demanding return of the remains of the two boys more than 100 years after they died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.
The suit, filed Jan. 17 in federal court in Virginia, came after the tribe received notice in December that the U.S. Office of Army Cemeteries had denied the tribe’s request for the remains to be returned under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA. READ MORE. — Stewart Huntington, ICT
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On the heels of their work in “Rutherford Falls,” writer and actor Jana Schmieding and writer Sierra Teller Ornelas have been given the green light to develop the pilot for a new half-hour comedy series, “Bonnie,” about a “cool auntie” helping raise her brother’s kids on the reservation.
The show – one of several circulating in the industry featuring Native women – would be the first Native comedy on a major television network.
Ornelas told ICT by phone that the auntie narrative comes from their collective experiences.
“We are looking for opportunities to spotlight ourselves and to tell the funny stories that we’re actually living,” she said. “We have ownership over the stories that we’re telling. It doesn’t surprise me that we are championing the heroes that we have in our community.” READ MORE. — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to ICT
ICT Political Correspondent Pauly Denetclaw and contributor John Tahsuda talk about President Joe Biden’s new tone on the southern border and the recent attack on a United State’s military outpost that resulted in the death of three US soldiers deployed in Jordan.
Watch:
A group of Southeast Alaska tribes is asking Canada to recognize their right to have a voice in how transboundary lands and waters are treated. They’re asking to be recognized as Participating Indigenous Nations in Canada’s review process for resource development. Under Section 35 of Canada’s Constitution, the government is required to consult with Indigenous peoples on projects impacting their ancestral lands.
At issue is an open pit gold mine in the headwaters of the Unuk river, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. Eskay Creek is one of several proposed and operating mines located on or near major rivers that cross the Canadian-U.S. border in Southeast Alaska. Canadian recognition would give the Alaska tribes rights to be consulted on the Eskay Creek and other mining projects.
The seven tribes are members of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC). Its Executive Director Guy Archibald said the Canadian Supreme Court in R. v. Desautel in 2021 considered whether Aboriginal people located outside Canada can assert Aboriginal rights under the Canadian Constitution. “The court found that those rights extend to people that are no longer residents in Canada who have traditional ties to territory that’s within Canada,” Archibald said. READ MORE. — Joaqlin Estus, ICT
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Nearly one year ago, the Democratic National Committee made a controversial decision to make South Carolina its first primary election stop in the nation. Both Republicans and Democrats have started their presidential election schedules in Iowa and New Hampshire for years.
The move to South Carolina was a simple reason: it was more diverse than Iowa and the DNC cares about diversity. However, tribal leaders from the only federally recognized nation in the state, Catawba Nation, haven’t heard from them or any other political party including the Republican National Committee. No congressional or presidential campaigns have engaged with Catawba in 2023 and this election year, according to leaders from the tribe.
“Chief and I are not on the same page, necessarily, when it comes to larger politics,” Roo George-Warren, council member for Catawba Nation, said with a laugh. “But our belief is that we will work with anyone for the benefit of our people.” READ MORE. — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
- Report: Restructure climate change aid to Alaska villages: An Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium report says government bureaucracy is ill-suited to address needs of small and remote communities.
- ‘It was a win for Indian Country’: Cherokee actors say they were inspired by Lily Gladstone’s Golden Globes win and Oscar nomination.
- Woody inducted into Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame: Cherokee Nation citizen Karen Woody has been playing music since was in grade school and has gone on to perform in numerous bands in numerous places.
- One woman’s mission to improve health outcomes on Fort Belknap Reservation: Frustrated by a health care system that consistently fails Indigenous people and elected officials who don’t seem to prioritize the issue, individuals like Tescha Hawley often work to fill gaps in the system.
- Lithium mining’s untold threat to water: The coming electric battery revolution in America will require billions upon billions of gallons of water to mine lithium – and many of the new U.S. mines will be located in the drought-prone American West, an investigative report has found.
- First Native American to go to space speaks to Alaska Native students.
- Abbott appointee slams brakes on American Indian/Native Studies course.
- Iñupiaq author wins national honors for debut novel celebrating unity and beauty in Indigenous cultures.
- Should churches and others be held accountable for past sex abuse? Colorado voters may decide.
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