The Wrap: Weekend edition
Yá'át'ééh, relatives.
A lot of news out there. Thanks for stopping by Indian Country Today’s digital platform.
Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you. Remember to scroll to the bottom to see what’s popping out to us on social media and what we’re reading.
Also, if you like our daily digest, sign up for The Weekly, our newsletter emailed to you on Thursdays. If you like what we do and want us to keep going, support and donate here.
Okay, here's what you need to know today:
Happy Birthday ICT!
Forty years ago the Lakota Times rolled off the press in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, published by Tim Giago. That paper became Indian Country Today in 1992. Later it was the Indian Country Today Media Network, owned by the Oneida Indian Nation. It became a magazine and a daily website. Then in 2017 the publication was shuttered, at least temporarily, and the assets were given to the National Congress of American Indians. And by 2018 Indian Country Today was back in business with a tiny crew of three people.
This March ICT’s ownership changed again. Indian Country Today (or ICT4 as we call it internally) is now independent and owned by IndiJ Public Media, an Arizona not for profit corporation, led by Karen Michel, Ho-Chunk... Read more.
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2 tribal citizens join voter lawsuit
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The two tribal citizens, along with the Lakota People’s Law Project, said they were asking a federal district judge to allow them to join a lawsuit that alleges state agencies are breaking federal law by not providing ample opportunities to register to vote or update voter registration information at places like motor vehicle and public assistance offices near Native American reservations.
Federal law requires the agencies to help people register to vote at those kinds of offices, including ones that provide public assistance or serve people with disabilities. The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe initiated the legal challenge last year.
The state has denied those allegations in court documents and asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.
Kimberly Dillon, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, joined the lawsuit after alleging that she attempted to vote in a 2020 election but was turned away at the polls because she was not registered to vote. She said that she had tried to register to vote on two occasions at state offices.
The other person joining the lawsuit, Standing Rock Sioux tribal citizen Hoksila White Mountain, argues in court documents that his campaign for mayor of McLaughlin, a city on the tribe’s reservation, was hurt by state voter registration practices… READ more.
ICT Newscast
Watch: On this weekend edition of Indian Country Today we're highlighting change makers, plus a special feature remembering Independence day.
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Native Phoenix Suns fandom is real
Native fans, even tribal leaders in Arizona, have come out to support the Phoenix Suns as the team battles the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals. The first to win four games takes the championship, which the Suns have never won and the Bucks haven’t won since 1971.
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis has been a fan all his life and remembers his father Rod Lewis would take him to the Suns games back when they played at the "The Madhouse on McDowell.”
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He even went to game six of the Suns’ first NBA Finals appearance in 1976 against the Boston Celtics.
“I’ve been just a long-time, sometimes long-suffering, but always a loyal fan,” Lewis said... READ more.
Ramon-Sauberan said she’s thinking of recreating the photo of her with her daughter. (Photo courtesy of Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan)
First woman elected Assembly of First Nations national chief
RoseAnne Archibald is the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
She becomes the first-ever woman to hold the post and first person from Ontario to lead the organization in four decades.
“You can tell all the women in your life that the glass ceiling has been broken,” Archibald exclaimed in a Thursday evening victory speech. “I thank all of the women who punched that ceiling before me and made a crack. You are an inspiration to me, all the women who walked this path ahead of me.”
South Dakota sees clunky rollout of medical pot rules
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota government officials scrambled on Friday to reach a consensus on rules around medical pot, showing that the rollout of the voter-passed law has been anything but smooth.
Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office this week appeared to counter guidance from the Highway Patrol on medical marijuana ID cards issued by tribes. But on Friday the attorney general issued a statement saying he agrees with the Highway Patrol’s stance.
The attorney general’s chief of staff Tim Bormann on Thursday had said tribes’ pot ID cards are valid under state law because they are medically certified — a position that ran counter to guidance from the Highway Patrol that the ID cards would only be honored for tribal members. On Friday, the attorney general’s office indicated that a tribe-issued ID card would not be enough for non-tribal members to prove they are staying within the bounds of state law… Read more.
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ICYMI: sequel to 'There There'
Author Tommy Orange, whose first novel "There There" won universal acclaim, is shown here in this 2021 photo with his wife, Kateri, and son, Felix. He credits the birth of his son in 2010 with pushing him to write the novel. (Photo courtesy of Kateri Orange)
The much-anticipated sequel to author Tommy Orange’s acclaimed first novel, “There There,” will take readers to places they may not have gone before.
The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the rise of Indian boarding schools and the mind of Richard Henry Pratt, who coined the phrase, “Kill the Indian, save the man,” will chart the links between history and the characters from his first novel.
“The same brutal stuff is there,” Orange told Indian Country Today in a recent interview. “I'm trying to make that world feel alive in a fictional way.”
From social media:
Other top stories:
- Pueblo receiving funds, part of rural water projects: The Pueblo will receive a $610,000 loan and a $1.6 million grant to improve its wastewater treatment plant.
- Fans sit out anthem in support of residential school survivors: 'We need to talk about what is wrong in this country, what could be fixed, respect for Indigenous people.'
- Harvard returning Standing Bear’s tomahawk to Nebraska tribe: 'That’s a piece of our history that represents who we are and why we’re here in Nebraska, so for it to be back home is very appropriate.'
- Salish Sea Tours launch: These new tour boats share the history of the bay and its Indigenous people.
- #NativeNerd review: Marvel’s Black Widow: Natasha Romanoff dons a white costume, practices real family values amidst explosions, world travels and exceptionally choreographed fight scenes.
What we’re reading:
- Bethel woman survives 2 nights outside after being charged by bears
- Hopi Coach Rick Baker was inducted into NFHS National Hall of Fame.
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. Email dwalker@indiancountrytoday.com.
