INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY

Yesterday, at the massive San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), Disney gave about 6,000 attendees a surprise early look at one of today’s most anticipated film projects—both within and outside of Indian country—The Lone Ranger, in which Johnny Depp plays the familiar Native sidekick Tonto to Armie Hammer’s Lone Ranger.

Parks Canada, which handles all of the nation’s national parks, is an international leader in working with aboriginal peoples, but that wasn’t always the case. Go back far enough in Canada’s history, and you’ll find that Native peoples were excluded from some national parks. When Canada’s first national park, Banff (now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southwest Alberta), was established in 1885, the Stoney Indians, who had traveled and hunted in the area for centuries, were kept out.

Looking for a great powwow this weekend? You’ve come to the right place!

WASHINGTON – The leadership and citizens of the Oneida Indian Nation (OIN) of New York think it is important to pay homage to its role in the Revolutionary War in order to help Americans realize the strong historical contributions of the Indian nation—and to grow a bright future of strengthened relations with the United States.

WASHINGTON – Amid calls from the U.S. Congress for the U.S. Department of the Interior to explain why it broke the law in failing to release two tribal labor force reports since 2007, the agency has released a tribal economic snapshot that comes at a politically opportune time for the Obama administration, but that does not rely on actual data collected from tribes.

One year after the dissolution of the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission, Oklahoma Republican Governor Mary Fallin has appointed Kaw Nation member Jacque Secondine Hensley as her Native American liaison, as first reported in the Tulsa World on July 10.

Last night, Our America with Lisa Ling, a program on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network, aired “Life on the Rez,” an episode devoted to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is working with tribal leaders to fight against Republican congressional attempts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, including the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA).

Given that a capitol dome is part of what constitutes domination of and by “the State,” it makes sense to talk in terms of ‘The Domeland,” rather than ‘The Homeland.” If we were living a science fiction story—and often these days it feels as if we are—the narrative could easily include “the Department of Domeland Security.”

From June 21-23, in Regina, Saskatchewan, some of the leading Native designers and a host of young and beautiful models gathered for National Aboriginal Fashion Week, a showcase of the best in Canadian Native style. Celebrities in attendance included international pageant veterans Ashley Callingbull, Linsay Willier, and Brittany Bitternose, as well as glamour models Shauna and Shannon Baker. Designers included Bruno Henry, Linda Lavallee, and Kim Picard—for the full list and other details from the event, visit NAFW.ca.