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The harvesting and sharing of the bowhead whale is at the heart of Iñupiat culture and needs to continue, said several speakers at a reception hosted by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on July 30.

Sullivan held the gathering and a strategic meeting as the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (EWC) prepares to ask the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to renew Alaska’s subsistence whaling quota for six more years.

He said, “We have so many cultures who are respected and we want to make sure the practices of these cultures, like the Alaska whaling captains and our leaders, can continue to do what they’ve been doing for thousands of years. And that is (to) hunt bowhead whales in a sustainable manner.”

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke in support of the hunt, and said she has helped bring whale meat to town, riding on the back of a snow machine “with Arnold Brower there as my whaling captain who was making sure we went faster than the polar bear that were watching us.” READ MORE — Joaqlin Estus, ICT

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Coverage around the world on Indigenous issues for the week ending August 4, 2024. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo — Special to ICT

At a press conference inside Red Lake Nation’s tribal headquarters in August 2023, tribal secretary Sam Strong spoke to reporters about the opening of Red Lake’s cannabis operation. As cannabis became legal across Minnesota, Strong described Red Lake’s dispensary as an exercise of tribal sovereignty.

“Once the bill was passed and there was the ability for us to open our dispensary and make it safe for Minnesotans to come in and purchase, we wanted to be the first,” Strong told reporters.

Last year the Red Lake Nation’s dispensary saw a line of hundreds of people stretch out the front door waiting to buy cannabis flower and other products. Upon opening, NativeCare was the first and only dispensary in the state.

Now, at the one-year mark, the organization is exploring new ways to provide cannabis to customers and educate the public on the plant’s medicinal benefits.

This spring, Red Lake Nation tribal council decided to let go of the day-to-day operations. NativeCare is now in the process of becoming its own nonprofit organization — one that’s owned by the tribe but governed by a board of directors. READ MORE — MPR News

WASHINGTON — Leah Mesquita didn’t see herself as a sports reporter when she started her internship with ICT back in May. “I have little to no interest in sports journalism,” she said. So when she stepped into the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix to cover a WNBA game, Mesquita was overwhelmed and a little out of her element. But by the time the basketball players were warmed up, she had already found her groove.

“It was really cool because I had never gotten to interview a professional player before,” she said. It was a fun and engaging experience. “I was on the grind, I had to hunt people down — fans — to go talk to.”

She says the experience taught her so much, including how to write a story on a “day-turn,” or in just one day. “It was a lot but I just felt proud of myself, getting it done. I think that was my favorite story that I’ve done [with ICT],” she said. READ MORE — Kadin Mills, ICT

RIO DE JANEIRO — More federal law enforcement officers are being sent to Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state after clashes over land between Indigenous peoples and farmers over the weekend, the Ministry of Justice said Monday.

The National Public Security Force had already stepped up its presence in that region since the beginning of July but will now deploy more agents as reinforcements, the ministry said.

The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples said it had received reports of farmers attacking Guarani Kaiowa people in the Douradina municipality Saturday, injuring at least eight people.

Five of the injured were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where doctors found three had been shot by firearms and two wounded by rubber bullets, a ministry statement said.

Another attack on Guarani Kaiowa took place Sunday evening, the ministry said. READ MORE — Associated Press

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