Cheryl Crazy Bull has been the President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund since 2012. The organization is one of the largest financial scholarship providers for Native students. ICT’s Mark Trahant interviewed her at the Indian Gaming Association’s meeting in San Diego.

Shawn Bordeaux was first elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives in 2014, and last year he won a seat in the state Senate. ICT’s Shirley Sneve has this interview from the Reservation Economic Summit in Las Vegas. Tribal tourism and the state’s failure to install its own Indian Child Welfare Act were on the table.

A slice of our Indigenous world

  • We start in Las Vegas with news of a RES attendee who was killed after being struck by a car. Geewadin Elliot, 45, was attending the multi-day Reservation Economic Summit. ICT has confirmed with the Clark County coroner’s office that Elliot was crossing the Las Vegas Strip at around 2:17 a.m., March 28. The uninjured driver has been identified as Brandon Kelekolio. He failed a sobriety test at the scene and was taken into custody.
  • Last week, the Biden administration’s “Investing in America” tour made a stop in Oklahoma. Dacoda McDowell-Wahpekeche was there and has this report.
  • The 2023 National Women’s Hall of Fame inductees were announced and this year’s list includes a Native woman who championed the financial well-being of tribes. Elouise Cobell, also known as Yellow Bird Woman, founded Blackfeet National Bank in Montana in 1987. In 1997, she won a MacArthur genius award for her work with the bank and Native financial literacy. She died in 2011.
  • A popular show, highlighting the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives has wrapped its first season. ABC’s “Alaska Daily” centers on Eileen Fitzgerald, a disgraced reporter who leaves her high-profile job in New York to join a local newspaper in Anchorage. It stars Hillary Swank alongside Indigenous actors Grace Dove and Irene Bedard. While the show was not created by a Native person, the production team did include Alaska Natives including Vera Starbard who wrote the season-finale. 

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 Athabascan, is a producer of the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @mallencharmley.

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

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

Virginia Rigney, Chickasaw, is a video editor for the ICT Newscast.

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

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