International trade stepped up for tribes

Credit: Indian Country Today

On the Monday edition of the ICT Newscast, trade with Native businesses could soon move internationally based on a new partnership. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Hear about a recent summit held in Nevada. And meet the author of a new book that explores Indigenous peoples’ lack of access to the American Dream

The International Trade Administration, within the U.S. Commerce Department, is the nation’s premiere resource for American companies who compete in the global marketplace. Earliest this month, ITA announced a partnership the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development to promote trade across Native communities. Chris James is its CEO and President.

Las Vegas, Nevada was the site of a summit addressing mental health for Native Americans just over two weeks ago. The National Native American Human Resources Association hosted its first-ever event on this topic at the Palms Casino. Judy Wright is the organization’s board president.

“American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota” is a new book written by Native author Kasey Keeler. She writes that nearly seven out of ten Native Americans live in urban areas, but the studies about those urban Native experiences are lacking.

A slice of our Indigenous world

Bethel, Alaska, which is only accessible by air, was the sight of a historic visit. On Thursday, First Lady Jill Biden addressed crowds at the regional high school. She was joined by Representative Mary Peltola who is the first Alaska Native person ever elected to Congress and by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

In the Mountain West, a museum will shut down a half-century old Indigenous exhibit because it promotes racist stereotypes. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science announced last week it will close its North American Indian Cultures exhibit that first opened in the 1970s.

Several Ojibwe bands in Minnesota have entered into a first-of-its-kind agreement to oversee their ancestral homelands. Officials from the Bois Forte, Fond du Lac and Grand Portage Bands of the Lake Superior Chippewa signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service earlier this month. The agreement allows the Ojibwe nations to co-steward over 3.3 million acres of the Superior National Forest.

Science has made great strides in understanding dementia. But do the research findings apply equally to Native Americans? That’s what one University of Minnesota assistant professor wanted to know. Noting that a large dementia study included only two Native participants, William Mantyh from the university’s Medical School turned to the Bois Forte Ojibwe for help.

AppleTV and Paramount Pictures released its first trailer last week for “Killers of the Flower Moon” directed by Martin Scorsese. Lily Gladstone plays opposite of Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio — among many other Native actors. The film is based on the true story of the murders and theft over oil against the Osage Nation in the 1920s.