Meet an Arizona State University assistant professor whose laboratory is the ocean. Instead of a lab coat, Cliff Kapono uses a surf board. He’s an analytical chemist at ASU’s School of Social Transformation and School of Life Sciences. And this Native Hawaiian is also a professional surfer.

Leaders from across the country are in Washington this week with the National Congress of American Indians. One of the highlights is The State of Indian Nations address given by its president. Fawn Sharp is the 23rd president of NCAI. She is the Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s an excerpt from her speech.

(Related: ‘Nothing can stop us’)

  • The Oglala Sioux Tribe is suing the United States government for more protection. The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation sprawls over 3.1 million acres—an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. There are only 30 police officers currently serving the Nation’s 40,000 residents.
  • The Australian Parliament has approved new funding for Indigenous Australians. The government approved $424 million dollars to be spent improving the lives of the Aboriginal people. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament that the funding reaffirms his support for helping Aboriginal people.
  • In Montana, a law replacing Columbus day with Indigenous Peoples Day has once again been shut down. More than 30 people spoke in support of the bill that would establish Indigenous Peoples Day as an official state holiday. Salish and Kootenai citizen and bill sponsor Shane Morigeau stated that tabling the bill without proper discussion was shameful.
  • A federal project aimed to increase tribal sovereignty has received hundreds of thousands in funding. The Tribal Supreme Court Project recently received $600,000 to monitor and defend court cases that stand to impact tribal sovereignty. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians announced a two-year grant of $600,000 to specifically support the project. It’s an initiative of the National Congress of American Indians and The Native American Rights Fund.
  • In Bolivia, the Indigenous-Trans community came out to crown the 2023 Cholita Transformist. This year’s title went to two winners during an event where a dozen candidates dressed in Cholita fashion made popular by Indigenous women. The event is part of an effort to reclaim traditional Native clothing and to give the Indigenous-Trans movement more visibility.
  • After two years, an Alaska Native community is celebrating the completion of ceremonial dance robes. Chilkat robes feature long wool fringe that sways when the wearer dances. The child-sized robes were made by 30 students who participated in a more than two-year-long apprenticeship to learn the craft. The robes are displayed at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

Today’s newscast was created with work from:

Shirley Sneve, Ponca/Sicangu Lakota, is vice president of broadcasting for the ICT Newscast. Follow her on Twitter @rosebudshirley. She is based in Nebraska and Minnesota.

Aliyah Chavez, Kewa Pueblo, is the anchor of the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @aliyahjchavez.

R. Vincent Moniz, Jr., NuÉta, is the senior producer of the ICT Newscast. Have a great story? Pitch it to vincent@ictnews.org.

McKenzie Allen-Charmley, Dena’ina Athabaskan, is a producer of the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @mallencharmley.

Paris Wise, Zia & Laguna Pueblo, is a producer for the ICT Newscast. Instagram and Twitter: @parisiswise. Email: paris@ictnews.org.

Drea Yazzie, Diné, is a producer/editor for the ICT newscast. On Twitter: @quindreayazzie Yazzie is based in Phoenix.

Pacey Smith Garcia, Ute, is a production assistant for the ICT newscast. On Twitter: @paceyjournalist

RipLey-Simone Kennebrew is an intern for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @ripleysimoneken

Daniel Herrera Carbajal is an intern for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @daniulherrrera

Indian Country Today is a nonprofit news organization. Will you support our work? All of our content is free. There are no subscriptions or costs. And we have hired more Native journalists in the past year than any news organization ─ and with your help we will continue to grow and create career paths for our people. Support Indian Country Today for as little as $10.