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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – On a Saturday night in Tahlequah, more than 50 people gathered in the cold at Norris Park.
With candles in hand, the group formed a circle, letting one person at a time come to the middle and honor Nex Benedict, the late 16-year-old transgender student. After several people shared their thoughts, a more than six-foot-tall man with a white beard stepped into the center of the circle holding a candle.
Steadying himself with clenched fists, the man leaned forward and shouted into the Oklahoma night: “My child is not filth!”
As the crowd erupted into applause, he continued: “My child is not a mistake! People I love are not mistakes! They deserve love, respect and acceptance!” READ MORE — Felix Clary, ICT + Tulsa World
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As Kansas City football team fans celebrate a second consecutive National Football League championship, many will gather wearing fake headdresses, faces adorned with “war paint” and arms moving in rhythm doing the tomahawk chop. This is their impression of Native Americans.
While some college and professional sports teams like the NFL’s Washington Commanders and Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians have dropped their former Native nicknames and imagery, considered by some to be racist and offensive, teams like Kansas City boldly hang onto theirs.
And that’s OK with organizations such as the Native American Guardians Association and Save Our Native Souls. Both groups seek to “educate, not eradicate” Native American sports nicknames and imagery.
Guardians – based at the Spirit Lake Dakota reservation in North Dakota – is best known for supporting the former nickname of the Washington Commanders. With an online petition demanding the name change be reversed, about 138,000 people have signed the document created by fan Daniel Fazzolare. READ MORE — Tim Trudell, Special for ICT
For first-generation Native college students, navigating the graduate school pipeline can bring out the tricksters.
For those studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Math who hope to get into a good graduate school after earning an undergraduate degree, Northeastern University offers a sweet program to guide such ambitious scholars who seek an advanced degree.
“We have had indigenous students, and we would love to include more,” said Randall Hughes, professor and associate dean for equity in the College of Science at Northeastern.
Based in Massachusetts, the university offers an all-expenses paid, three-day boot camp on demystifying the application process for graduate school. Students can apply here. The program is in its fourth year. READ MORE — Renata Birkenbuel, ICT
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two people were killed and two were seriously wounded during a shooting at a home in a remote Inupiat whaling village on Alaska’s northwest coast and a 16-year-old boy was in custody Monday, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Details were slow to emerge about Sunday’s shooting in Point Hope, which shook the small community and prompted a local school’s closure on Monday.
The newspaper, citing court documents, reported that the teenage suspect has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree attempted murder. State law allows minors 16 and older to be tried in adult court on murder charges.
The newspaper’s reporting was based on a summary of a police report included in charging documents filed in court Monday. READ MORE — Associated Press
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $32 billion budget has a large impact in Native nations, but regulations can sometimes hinder tribal access. USDA Director of Tribal Relations Heather Dawn Thompson says changes are underway. ICT’s Stewart Huntington has more.
An Anishinaabe man joins the ranks of other Native American veterans that have been given the distinct honor of having their names on U.S. Navy ships. In 2023, Nisqually citizen and marine Billy Frank, Jr. and Tsimshian citizen and Navy seal Solomon Atkinson were given the honor. Last week, Navy officials announced its next Navajo-class ship will be named after James D. Fairbanks. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan attended the ceremony.
James and Ernie is a Diné comedy duo that has been entertaining Indian Country for decades. While the pair still performs together, each has taken their own path. ICT’s Shirley Sneve has this interview with James Junes.
WATCH
The Dakota Access Pipeline protests would not have mushroomed in size had law enforcement received better support from the federal government, a county sheriff tasked with managing the demonstrations testified.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said during a federal trial that U.S. agencies ignored multiple requests from North Dakota for assistance during the protests against the pipeline’s construction in 2016 and 2017.
North Dakota seeks $38 million from the United States as compensation for costs it claims it incurred while policing the demonstrations. A bench trial for the lawsuit, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor, began Feb. 15 in Bismarck. It’s expected to last until mid-March.
Attorneys representing the United States, meanwhile, have said North Dakota is overstating the cost of the protests and is asking the federal government to be held responsible for events outside its jurisdiction. READ MORE — North Dakota Monitor
- Tribal leaders hail ‘historic’ deal to restore salmon runs: However, the plan stops short of calling for the removal of four controversial dams on the Snake River, as environmental groups and tribal leaders have urged
- 2024 Iditarod will see many former champions: The 975-mile race celebrates the heritage of the Alaska sled dog – and casts a spotlight on climate change
- Alaska tribes appeal to United Nations over transboundary mining: ‘Time is running (out) for our rivers, our fish, and our people’
- Nike has Pledged $3.2M to Support Native American and Indigenous Youth Football
- Indigenous people sue over alleged Canadian secret medical experiment
- A deal between Israel and Hamas appears to be taking shape. What would it look like?
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