Film academy apologizes to Littlefeather for 1973 Oscars
Nearly 50 years after Sacheen Littlefeather stood on the Academy Awards stage on behalf of Marlon Brando to speak about the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has apologized to her for the abuse she endured.
Chiefs under pressure to ditch the tomahawk chop celebration
FILE - In this Dec. 13, 2018, photo, Kansas City Chiefs fans chant and do the chop during the second half of the team's NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Kansas City, Mo. AdA coalition of Native American groups has put up billboards in the Kansas City area to protest the tomahawk chop and Chiefs' name. But Gaylene Crouser, executive director of the Kansas City Indian Center, found the tweak to be laughable. And you can still do this movement that looks like a tomahawk chop, but we are going to call it a drum beat instead. He noted that, though Bartle was white, he started a Scouting society called the โMic-O-Say Tribe,โ which remains active and continues to use Native American attire and language.
'Big Sky' producers recognize Native American criticism
Native American tribes and coalitions are condemning Big Sky, a Montana-set ABC drama, for ignoring the history of violence inflicted on Indigenous women and instead making whites the crime victims. On Tuesday, the makers of โBig Skyโ broke their silence. They cited โSomebody's Daughter,โ a documentary detailing the murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls crisis, as it's known to those fighting the scourge. Theyโre not asking for โBig Skyโ to be taken off the air,โ he said, but instead be used to inform. While Lightning said she was โa little bit shockedโ when she saw a Native American tragedy mirrored in a story but without Native American characters, her years working in Los Angeles meant she wasnโt surprised.
Native American tribes in Texas rally to increase voter turnout
Cecelia Flores knows that voting turnout among her fellow Alabama-Coushatta Tribe members in East Texas has traditionally been low. Now, Flores said she and other members of the Tribal Council are hoping to increase tribe membersโ voter participation in hopes that Texans in Congress take the tribeโs issues more seriously โ and support legislation they need. According to the 2010 Census, there were 315,000 people who identified as American Indians or Alaska Natives in Texas. Other Native American groups, like San Antonio-based American Indians in Texas, are also working toward increased voter participation. Karla Aguilar, the developmental director for the group, said they hope to increase voter turnout among the 30,000 Native Americans she said live in Bexar County.