COMPILED By ANN TOINEETA
One Feather Intern
Indigenous people spotlighted at Mexico and Canada’s FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
The 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies in Mexico City, Mexico and Toronto, Canada showcased Indigenous peoples and their culture. The Mexico City “tournament opened with Indigenous language, dress and pre-Hispanic cultural performance.” The Toronto opening “began with Traditional Indigenous dancers representing the nearly two million Indigenous peoples in Canada.”
Government reimburses nearly $30 million to North Dakota
The federal government will be reimbursing North Dakota $27.8 million for costs incurred during the 2016-17 protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), resolving “a long-running dispute over the financial burden placed on North Dakota during months of demonstrations centered near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and federal lands managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
Navajo Nation designated “Purple Heart Navajo Nation”
The Navajo Nation’s Naabik’íyáti’ Committee has designated the Navajo Nation as a “Purple Heart Navajo Nation.” This recognizes “Navajo veterans who were wounded or killed in combat.”
New language and cultural centre opens on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario, Canada
After almost 10 years of planning, the Kenhtè:ke Language and Cultural Centre has opened on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Ontario, Canada. This space will include “a Kanien’kéha (Mohawk language) immersion program called Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na that ranges from early years to adult.”
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/tyendinaga-kenhteke-centre-language-learning-9.7233847
Native artwork to be displayed at Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
Former President Barack Obama’s multi-purpose Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois will feature “newly commissioned art by a couple of Indigenous artists.” There will be two pieces of Native artwork, one created by Marie Watt (Seneca) in collaboration with Black artist, Nick Cave, and another by Jeffrey Gibson (Choctaw and Cherokee). The art “will be figured prominently in the main tower and outside in the gardens.”
Source: https://ictnews.org/news/indigenous-art-shapes-the-narrative-at-obama-presidential-center/
California legislature approves budget for multiple public safety initiatives
California has approved a state budget for 2026-27 that includes funding for “ongoing support for efforts to address the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis, expanded judicial capacity, and continued investment in the 988 Crisis Lifeline.” The budget, which allocates $15 million in ongoing grant funding to combat the state’s MMIP crisis, “reflects the need for sustained action to confront the disproportionate violence affecting Native communities.”
9/11 memorial tour makes historic stop in Arizona
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s “Steel Across America” 9/11 memorial tour stopped at the USS Arizona Memorial Gardens at Salt River on Tuesday, June 17. This was the first and only stop on tribal sovereign land during the tour. Salt River is “the homeland of the Onk Akimel O’Odham (Pima) and Xalychidom Piipaash (Maricopa) people.”
Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians partners with OATI for energy project
The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians in Northern California has “partnered with Open Access Technology International (OATI) to strengthen energy independence and resilience through a major solar and battery-powered microgrid project.” This project “will provide renewable power, reduce peak energy costs, and allow the Tribe to maintain electricity during utility outages and periods of elevated wildfire risk in Tehama County.”
Source: https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/paskenta-band-partners-on-tribal-energy-microgrid-project/
Puyallup Tribe of Indians supports Seattle as host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has become “an official host city supporter for Seattle” for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tribe will be hosting a “Coastal Protocol to symbolically celebrate the arrival of visiting nations” on Thursday, June 18 for visiting tribes.
Source: https://ictnews.org/sports/indigenous-people-represent-off-the-pitch-at-the-world-cup/
Alaska Native leaders spotlighted salmon population collapse at NCAI Mid Year Convention
During a panel discussion at the National Congress of American Indians Mid Year Convention in Memphis, Tennessee, leaders from multiple Alaska Native organizations spoke on how the declining population of salmon in their river systems is negatively affecting Alaskan Native communities. “Speakers emphasized that salmon are central not only to subsistence but also to the cultural identity and survival of Alaska Native communities that have relied on the fish for thousands of years.”
Announcement of new plan aimed at restoring Alaska fisheries and protecting fish populations
Former U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mary Peltola (Yup’ik) has announced an initiative titled, “Fighting For Alaska Fisheries,” which is “aimed at restoring Alaska’s declining fisheries, pledging to combat factory trawling, reduce bycatch, and strengthen the state’s seafood economy.”
