The Wrap: 'Indigenous people are providing the answers'
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Raynell Morris, an enrolled Lummi Tribal citizen and vice president of the Sacred Lands Conservancy, leads the Bob Family singers in a prayer for the repatriation of southern resident orca Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut — who has lived and performed at the Miami Seaquarium for over 50 years — to her home waters of the Salish Sea at a gathering Sunday, March 20, 2022, at the sacred site of Cherry Point in Whatcom County, Wash. (Photo by The Bellingham Herald)
Women from the frontlines of extraction projects, and the boardrooms that fund them, came together to call for the end of extraction to ensure a sustainable future.
At the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous leaders, women are talking about how to hold financial institutions accountable for fueling climate catastrophe through investments in the extractive industry.
Michelle Cook, Navajo, was among those who offered powerful testimonies focused on the women at the frontlines of extractive projects, the boardrooms of financial institutions, and the halls of governments. Speaking at a side event hosted by Women's Earth and Climate Action Network at the 21st session of the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, Cook described the work as being part of a sacred obligation.
“That’s what we’re doing, fulfilling a prayer for the world – for nature – with love, compassion, and with courage. No other weapon than that, the truth,” Cook, the founder of Divest Invest Protect, said. “For some, that is so terrifying. Indigenous women will not give up … We will not be intimidated, shamed or be afraid just for being who we are.” READ MORE — Carina Dominguez, Indian Country Today
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Most Indigenous students in California will be able to earn a degree from the state’s land grant university system starting this fall.
Native students who are citizens of a federally or unrecognized tribe and California residents will be able to attend any of the eight campuses of the University of California system – one of the dozens university systems in the country that has benefited from expropriated Indigenous lands – after announcements from the system and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
The system joins several other land grant higher education systems with similar tuition waiver or discount programs. READ MORE — Chris Aadland, Underscore.news
Jason Momoa, a Native Hawaiian/Samoan actor who starred in "Aquaman," produced and co-stars in “The Last Manhunt,” the story of the last American manhunt of the Old West based on the oral history of the Chemehuevi people in Joshua Tree, California. The film premieres May 27, 2022, at the Pioneertown International Film Festival at the iconic California city created for Western movies in the 1940s. (Photo courtesy of 'The Last Manhunt')
A nearly forgotten Chemehuevi story tops news from Hollywood this week, with a new film version of a true story starring major Indigenous actors. And in the arts world, a solo debut in Miami and a deep dive on a pioneering painter put the spotlight on Indigenous artists.
FILM: Chemehuevi story to premiere at film festival
Aquaman Jason Momoa, Native Hawaiian/Samoan, produced and co-stars in “The Last Manhunt,” the story of the last American manhunt of the Old West based on the oral history of the Chemehuevi in Joshua Tree, California. READ MORE — Sandra Hale Schulman, Special to Indian Country Today
Fireworks explode between the Palms Resort and Casino hotel towers during the reopening of the Palms in Las Vegas Wednesday, April 27, 2022. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians bought the property from Station Casinos in 2021. The band made history with the opening by becoming the first tribe to own and operate a casino in Las Vegas. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Some things change and some things stay the same. And sometimes both happen together.
That confluence was on display Wednesday in Las Vegas with the grand re-opening of the Palms Resort Casino, when a small California tribe became the first Native nation to own and operate a casino here — all while staying true to Indigenous values.
“The top value we have as tribal people is giving back to others and that's regardless of location whether we’re on or off the reservation or here in Las Vegas,” said Latisha Casas, the chairperson of the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority that operates the Palms Resort Casino for her tribe, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. READ MORE — Stewart Huntington, Special to Indian Country Today
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Coming up on the weekend edition of ICT newscast, we hear from the first Indigenous female pro soccer player. And more on the U.S. Secretary of Education's visit to New Mexico. Plus, a children’s book author honors her parents and it's time to dance your style.
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The Alabama- Coushatta Tribe of Texas recently broke ground on the site of what will be the Aati Imaabachi Imiisa Education Center.
From Navajo Times photojournalist, Donovan Quintero
From Oklahoma:
- Iconic Indigenous leaders elected to arts and sciences academy: Buffy Sainte-Marie and Oren Lyons become members of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the oldest learned society in the country
- Ancient art of fur sewing continues: ‘When you see a family with many different furs on their garments, it is the hunter's report card’
- Remembering Howard Rock, Tundra Times founder and editor: 'My visit with him… revealed to me something of the spiritual qualities of human existence'
- At the Crossroads: State of the Economy in Indian Country: ‘Stealth’ economy for tribes hides billions of dollars in jobs, growth and revenue for rural communities
- National parks center colonizer histories through place names: A recent study analyzes the impacts of appropriated and derogatory place names in the nation’s national parks.
- Land defenders face violence and repression. Clean energy could make it worse: Human rights advocates faced hundreds of attacks last year. Opposition to mining was most dangerous.
- New Housing on Siksika Nation aims to keep youth on reserve: A new housing complex is now open on Siksika First Nation, Alta to house high-risk families and children in the foster care system on reserve.
We want your tips, but we also want your feedback. What should we be covering that we’re not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. managingeditor@indiancountrytoday.com.
