Greetings, relatives.
A lot of news out there. Thanks for stopping by ICT’s digital platform.
Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you. Remember to scroll to the bottom to see what’s popping out to us on social media and what we’re reading.
Also, if you like our daily digest, sign up for The Weekly , our newsletter emailed to you on Thursdays. If you like what we do and want us to keep going, support and donate here .
Okay, here's what you need to know today:
Portland art exhibit provokes healing through remembering
The smell of burning piñon pine filled the air at the Center for Native Arts & Cultures on May 10, lending itself to the dreamlike feeling of Matrilineal Memory, an exhibition by Hopi artist Mikaela Shafer.
Viewers’ eyes gravitated to the left corner of the room when they first entered the art gallery. There sat a rusted, antique bed frame covered in twigs and tumbleweeds. Three sheer, silk chiffon fabrics hang above the bed with printed images of the artist Mikaela Shafer as if she is floating above the bed, almost like an out of body experience as she watches from a dream.
“You know that dream state that you're in when you're waking up from a dream, or from a daydream, and you're in between that here and now — I wanted to create this feeling of being in that kind of dream state,” said Shafer, Hopi, from the Coyote Clan.
In another section of the room, over a dozen silk chiffon screenprints of her art pieces hung from the ceiling with viewers invited to walk among and interact with them.
An artist and a mother
From painting on the walls as a young kid to making her own clothes in high school, Shafer has been an artist all her life. When she became a parent 16 years ago, Shafer put her art on the backburner to focus on motherhood. Now, Shafer is the mother of two daughters, 16 and 11.
As her daughters entered adolescence, Shafer’s partner encouraged her to start creating again, and she began to paint. Last fall, the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation (NACF) announced Shafer as one of the 15 LIFT – Early Career Support for Native Artists award recipients.
The year-long, $10,000 award includes professional development opportunities and marketing support for artist awardees.
“This is our first time partnering with a LIFT artist to hold an exhibition of their project in our space,” said Laura (Cales) Matalka, Chickasaw Nation, associate director of programs at NACF.
“So this really deepens the work that NACF does to support emerging Native artists.” READ MORE . — Nika Bartoo-Smith, ICT
SUPPORT INDIGENOUS JOURNALISM. CONTRIBUTE TODAY .
LISTEN to ICT’s newscast on the go
Taking back Native voting rights
PHOENIX — Voting is the centerpiece of grassroots efforts across tribal communities in states that have large populations of Indigenous voters. For example, in rural parts of Arizona and Montana, voter education groups are leading initiatives to spread the word about why every vote counts, especially during a presidential election year.
Jaynie Parrish, Diné, is the executive director of Arizona Native Vote. She talked about her entry into voter education after working in various voter campaigns. “I was familiar with the various types of campaigns, such as those associated with public education and school funding, including a campaign to elect Denise Juneau, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, who ran for public office in Montana,” Parrish said.
Her organization primarily focuses on high school students by teaching juniors and seniors about democracy from an Indigenous perspective. Parrish said the goal is to establish a cohesive partnership with the students about why voting is important, while encouraging them to register to vote.
“Arizona Native Vote is in a constant state of growth, which means hiring more individuals to support the organization in the area of communications and media, in order to get the word out about voter information in a part of the state that are ‘news deserts,’” Parrish said.
Arizona has two at least two races that will be closely watched come Election Day, one which includes Democrat candidate and former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who is running for a House seat in the state’s second congressional district.
U.S. Rep. Reuben Gallego, a Democrat in a Phoenix metro district, has started his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kristin Sinema, who will not seek reelection.
Gallego’s challenger for the Senate is Republican candidate Kari Lake, who previously ran for Arizona governor in 2022. Lake, a denier of the 2022 election results, filed legal claims about the legitimacy of votes cast during her run for governor, which have been dismissed by Arizona Supreme Court judges. Both races, including the presidential race, could see Native voters making a difference. The Native Vote helped Joe Biden and Mark Kelly secure the presidential seat and U.S. Senate seat, respectively. READ MORE . — Christopher Lomahquahu, ICT
Sign up here to get ICT's newsletter
Newscast:
Osage veteran survives EF4 'train'
TULSA, Okla. – An Osage elder’s granddaughter pushed him into his storm shelter and held the door as the wind tried to rip it off and sweep both of them away.
“When you hear the train, it’s too late. You better be underground, because the trains are coming,” he told ICT and Tulsa World.
The Barnsdall EF4 tornado came to John Henry Mashunkashey’s front door late at night May 6.
“The train has no pity. The train has no heart. That’s the sound you hear. Rain, hail, then quietness, and then you hear the train,” said Mashunkashey.
This is the second time Mashunkashey heard this foreboding sound in his life. The first time, he was just a child, and a tornado tore up his family’s outhouses, but this time, he was the landowner and homeowner.
The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed six fatalities related to storms in April and May. Two were in Holdenville (mobile home), one on Interstate 35 near Marietta (vehicle), one in Sulphur (business), and two in Barnsdall.
Mashunkashey lost three vehicles and his home on May 6.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 375 injuries have been reported by area hospitals statewide as a result of the April and May storms.
“It took the roof. It knocked out the windows, the walls, the garage, but we were untouched,” Mashunkashey said. “We didn’t get a scratch.”
As a Vietnam War veteran, loss is no stranger to him. He is in recovery now from the grief of losing his home, but he said he is in good spirits. READ MORE . — Felix Clary, ICT
FOLLOW ICT ON SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK , INSTAGRAM , TIKTOK .
What’s trending on social media:
Other top stories:
What we’re reading:
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. dalton@ictnews.org.
Local News
Comments / 0