Crystal Wahpepah is the owner and chef of Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland. In 2016, she was the first Native chef to compete on the “Food Network” show, “Chopped.” She most recently competed on “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Harvard trained lawyer Heather Dawn Thompson is clear: “You can’t have tribal sovereignty without food sovereignty.” As the director of the Office of Tribal Relation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, she is in a key post to back those words up with action. ICT’s Stewart Huntington has more. 

April is National Poetry Month. To celebrate, multimedia artist Pamela J. Peters has a new poetry series called “Waging Words of Resilience.” It will hit the stage soon on April 22 in Los Angeles

A slice of our Indigenous world

  • A new report released last week says the University of Minnesota needs to take action to repair relations with the state’s Indigenous communities. ICT’s Stewart Huntington spoke to the Native researchers who worked on these findings.
  • A tribal college will keep its doors open a little while longer as it appeals a lawsuit. A Muskogee County district court has granted Bacone College a stay on the mandated sale of its campus. It stems from a petition filed by Midgley-Huber Energy Concepts for work it completed at the school in July 2021.
  • In Canada, an investigation of racism in hospitals has revealed a pattern of harm and the need for a system to track claims. The Surviving Hate investigation gathered and analyzed over 150 publicized allegations of anti-Indigenous racism in hospitals across the country. The report shows over a quarter of the incidents collected by Surviving Hate involved the death of a patient.
  • A new Indigenous comedy show is heading to Netflix. The series will follow a young Inuk mother, trying to start a new life in a small Artic town where everyone knows each other. Created and written by filmmakers Stacey MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq Baril, the show remains unnamed, but the 10-episode series is set in Nunavut, Canada.

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: paris@ictnews.org.

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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