'Fancy Dance' director tells a story from the heart of her nation

On Tuesday’s ICT Newscast, award-winning director Erica Tremblay talks about her new movie starring Lily Gladstone. A bill establishing a truth and healing commission has passed a key committee in Congress. A new class of Bush Fellows has been selected. PBS North takes a look at one Ojibwe artist

Author:
ICT
Publish date:
Jun 25, 2024

"Fancy Dance" is a new film, that follows an aunt trying to care for her niece whose mother has gone missing--all while trying to make it to an annual powwow. Oscar-nominated actress Lily Gladstone gives another powerful performance alongside breakout star Isabel Deroy-Olsen. Co-writer and director Erica Tremblay is from the Seneca-Cayuga Nation. The story and characters are set in her homelands. ICT's Paris Wise spoke with her to learn more about the movie. "Fancy Dance" is in select theaters and streams on Apple TV starting June 28.

A bill to establish a federal Indian boarding school truth and healing commission has passed committees in Congress for the first time. The progress was hailed by backers of the bill. ICT's Stewart Huntington has more on this landmark legislation.

The newly announced class of Bush Fellows features six Indigenous people. These grants are awarded to outstanding individuals living in the Dakotas and Minnesota. One of them is Moira Villiard, an Ojibwe artist from Duluth, Minnesota. She says she intends to use the funds to go to graduate school, and promote a public art project. Our friends at PBS North have this Minnesota program on her work. It was produced by Mike Scholtz, with photography by Steve Ash, Heidi Eidenschink is the host.

Scroll to Continue

The 2024 feature film, "Aberdeen," co-written and co-directed by filmmakers Eva Thomas and Ryan Cooper, stars Gail Maurice, left, as the title character, along with Billy Merasty, center, and Liam Stewart-Kanigan. It tells the story of an Indigenous climate refugee forced to relocate to Winnepeg. Thomas, Ojibway of the Walpole Island First Nation, is also working on a new film, "Nika and Madison," that she says will be an "Indigenous Thelma and Louise." (Photo courtesy of Eva Thomas)

The Cherokee Nation Marshal Service has assigned an investigator to the 1977 slayings of three Girl Scouts at Camp Scott near Locust Grove. Marshal Service Director Shannon Buhl told the Tribal Council that his agency became involved following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling in 2020. (Photo by Chad Hunter, Cherokee Phoenix)

Left to right: A.B., 31, White Earth Nation citizen, LACY ARMSTRONG, 37, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, JULIE WILLIAMS, White Earth citizen who co-founded the MOMS program, CASSIE PERSON, 36, White Earth Nation citizen, TEAH LOVEJOY, 35, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, Photo by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred for The Imprint.

In northern California the Shasta Indian Nation is celebrating a landback victory. Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state will soon return 2,800 acres of land to the tribe, which is just the latest chapter in a painful 150-year story. In the 1800s the California gold rush displaced the Shasta people. Then in 1911, the tribe lost its remaining land base so that the Copco No. 1 Dam could be built. Now, the state is removing the hydroelectric dams. Once complete, the land will be transferred to Shasta.
In Oregon, a first-of-its-kind bill would take much-needed steps to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, if it passed into law. Legislation from 2019 was signed aiming to tackle the issue, but five years later, little progress has been made. State Representative Tawna Sanchez says she is considering new legislation that would declare a statewide emergency, as well as other actions.
In Alaska, the largest U.S icebreaker ship will conduct three scientific missions over the next few months to study arctic waters. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter named Healy will carry scientists to the Beaufort Sea to collect information about oceanic conditions, service underwater data instruments and train Arctic professionals.
Yup'ik baseball player Coen Niclai is representing Alaska in the big leagues. The two-time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year performed in front of talent evaluators during the recent MLB draft combine. It features top prospects from both high school and college, with Niclai being a University of Oregon commit. He is the first player from Alaska to appear in the showcase since its inception in 2021.

Today's newscast was created with work from:

Shirley Sneve, Ponca/Sicangu Lakota, is the senior producer for the ICT Newscast. Follow her on Twitter @rosebudshirley. She is based in Nebraska.
Aliyah Chavez, Kewa Pueblo, is the anchor of the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @aliyahjchavez.
Paris Wise, Zia and Laguna Pueblo, is a producer for the ICT Newscast. Email: paris@ictnews.org.
Stewart Huntington is a producer for the ICT Newscast.
Quindrea Yazzie, Diné, is a video production editor for the ICT Newscast. Email: qyazzie@ictnews.org. Yazzie is based in Phoenix.
Daniel Herrera Carbajal is a video editor for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @daniulherrrera
Pauly Denetclaw, Diné, is a political correspondent for ICT. Email: pauly@ictnews.org
Pacey Smith-Garcia, Ute, is a production assistant for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter: @paceyjournalist.
Ebonye Delaney is the Executive Producer for the ICT Newscast. Email: ebonye@ictnews.org
Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, is ICT editor-at-large Email: marktrahant@ictnews.org

ICT 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 ICT for as little as $10.