Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was elected the chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. She was already the highest-ranking elected Native woman in the country and is now believed to be the first Native woman to lead a national party committee.

Wednesday is the start of the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit. The two-day in-person event is a chance for leaders from more than 500 tribal nations to speak directly with high level federal officials. ICT regular contributor Holly Cook Macarro joins ICT from Washington, D.C.

As we just heard, the White House Tribal Leaders Summit is a direct dialogue between elected tribal leaders with members of the cabinet and other government agencies. Often missing from the story is both the history and context. ICT’s Mark Trahant takes us on a journey.

  • Denver officials said they will not re-install a statue of Christopher Columbus that was toppled during pandemic-era protests. The statue was torn down in 2020 by protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.
  • Three tribes from the Florida Panhandle are seeking state recognition after state representative Michelle Salzman filed a bill last week. The Santa Rosa Band of the Lower Muscogee, the Muscogee Nation of Florida and the Lower Chattahoochee Band of Yuchi Indians are located in Salzman’s district. The Seminole and Miccosukee are the state’s two federally recognized tribes.
  • Only four Republican candidates running for U.S. President are taking the debate stage on Wednesday night. That comes just days after North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum withdrew his name from the race. GOP political strategist Mike Stopp told ICT that Bergum made Native nations a big part of his campaign for governor.
  • A new study in Australia shows alarming statistics for Indigenous children, in the annual Family Matters report. It showed that more than 22,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were in “out-of-home care.” That is roughly the same as foster care for those in the U.S

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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.

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 her at pauly@ictnews.org

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

Nick Parks is a Production Assistant for the ICT Newscast.On Twitter: @NickParks2002

Jack Orleans is an Intern for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter @JackOrleans5

Demi Dupavillon is an Intern for the ICT Newscast. On Twitter @DemiDupavillon

Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, is ICT editor-at-large and Executive Producer of the ICT Newscast Email: marktrahant@ictnews.org

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