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Coming into the Milan-Cortina Olympics, an American hadn’t won a medal in men’s cross-country skiing in half a century. A few days into the Games, though, Vermonter Ben Ogden squeaked through the classic sprint semifinals. Suddenly there was hope. In the final, Ogden pushed across the Tesero Stadium finish line in second — breaking the drought.
Asked afterward if he thought it might take another 50 years for the next podium, he said no. Five days later, he and Gus Schumacher made good on that when they took silver in the team sprint.
With two days of competition remaining, U.S. skiers and snowboarders have already earned more than a dozen medals at these Games — including Mikaela Shiffrin’s gold in the alpine slalom, Chloe Kim’s silver in halfpipe snowboarding, and Jessie Diggins overcoming a bruised rib to win a Nordic bronze. The cross-country ski team’s three-medal haul is its largest ever.
The hardware is historic for another reason as well: It was won despite the first-ever Olympic ban on fluorinated ski waxes containing so-called “forever chemicals.”
Since the 1980s, elite skiers and snowboarders have relied on these “fluoro” waxes, which are exceptional at repelling water and dirt. Former U.S. racer Nathan Schultz told Grist they provide a “really ridiculous speed advantage.” But they contain PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of 15,000 chemicals notorious for never breaking down. Studies have linked exposure to thyroid disease, developmental problems, and cancer.
Amid growing concern, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, known by the French acronym FIS, announced plans for a blanket ban on fluoro waxes in 2019. The policy took effect in 2023. The International Biathlon Union also prohibits them. Without fluoros, teams have had to rethink everything from ski choice to race-day strategy, making these Games the clearest test yet of whether elite snow sports can succeed in a PFAS-free era.
“These have been some of the trickiest three weeks of waxing I’ve experienced,” said Chris Hecker, who is Schumacher’s ski technician. Some days brought rain. Others were sunny and warm. Then there were those where the snow piled high. “Every variable — precipitation, sun exposure, humidity, even a one-degree temperature shift — can influence which skis and waxes we select.”
Fluorinated waxes were long seen as a “great equalizer” that improved speed across a range of conditions, particularly when the snow was warm or wet. Without it, success depends more on ski or snowboard choice and the grind pattern etched into their base to optimize performance, much like a tire tread.
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The Olympics are ditching PFAS waxes — and the ‘ridiculous’ speed they gave skiers
Different conditions call for different skis, and elite cross-country racers often travel with dozens — sometimes more than 100 — pairs. Still, wax is crucial. “We’re always chasing marginal gains,” said Hecker. “At this level, tiny differences matter.”
Choosing the best combination of skis and wax has meant constant testing and re-evaluation throughout the Games. Although there have been what Hecker called “small mistakes” along the way, the team quickly adapted.
“It’s nearly impossible to have the absolute best skis every single day,” he said. “That said, we’ve had a wildly successful Olympics.”
Hecker and the cross-country team aren’t the only members of Team USA trying to rise to the post-fluoro occasion at these Games. Tanner Keim is a ski tech with the U.S. free ski team also working without the fluoro waxes he used four years ago in Beijing.
“It was a lot warmer in Italy. Fluoros would have been popping for all the wax techs,” he said, adding that humidity also was a major factor, especially at the women’s slopestyle skiing event. The men competing in big air also seemed to be trying to find every extra mile per hour, with coaches pulling many athletes down the launch ramp to gain more speed.
After years of testing and adjustment, Keim feels that he’s got the new materials fairly well dialed in. His athletes have two silver medals as proof. But even still, he said, “I would have been a little bit more confident with the fluoros.”
While competing without fluoros has been hard enough, preventing people from competing with it has been almost as tough. In 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined the equipment company Swix hundreds of thousands dollars for illegally importing PFAS wax. A large part of FIS delaying the implementation of its ban came because testing was finicky and carried a risk of false positives.
A testing regime was sorted out two years ago, and Milan-Cortina saw the first Olympic disqualifications for violating the ban: Two South Korean Nordic skiers and a Japanese snowboarder. All of them say their positive tests were the result of accidentally using the wrong wax or applying tainted wax. In a statement to Grist, the South Korean Ski Association said “test results showed that fluoride was detected in one of the fluoride-free waxes.”
If enforcement marks the rule’s credibility, the results mark its success. For athletes, medals, of course, are the most visible validation of that, and Team USA still has two more days to build on its triumphs. For the cross-country team, that means the men’s and then women’s 50-kilometer race, dubbed a “ski marathon,” in which Diggens, Schumacher, and Ogden are expected to compete.
After his latest podium, Ogden was again asked whether the U.S. men might slip back into a slump. “No — I don’t think it’ll be another 50 years,” he said, two glimmering silver medals hanging from his neck.
This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Team USA is proving that world-class skiing doesn’t require PFAS wax on Feb 21, 2026.
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In photos: With ‘grief and a desire for change,’ community gathers to remember MMIWG2S+ in ‘Winnipeg’
(indiginews.com)
Louise Menow (right), from Norway House Cree Nation, attends the women’s memorial march in memory of several missing and murdered people she knew. She holds a warrior flag, which was designed in the 1970s by Kanien’kehá:a artist Karoniaktajeh Louis Hall and has since become a staple on Indigenous rights frontlines across Turtle Island. Photo by Crystal Greene
Content warning: This story contains details about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+). Please look after your spirit and read with care.
Photographs of loved ones, purple and pink butterfly placards, and a long red scroll of beloved names — all symbols to honour “Manitoba’s” missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+) last weekend.
On Valentine’s Day, more than 200 people circled around a “Winnipeg” city block — gathering in remembrance, and to advocate for justice.
The annual Women’s Memorial March ended with a sacred fire outside the University of Winnipeg.
Leading the event as a marshall was Falon Fritsch, 23, whose Ojibwe family is from Bloodvein First Nation.
“What brings me here today is grief and a desire for change,” they said.
Photographs of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+) are displayed with candles at an event in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14, 2026. Photo by Crystal Greene
Before and after the walk, people gathered inside the university, where they heard speeches and shared a light meal.
This year, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) hosted the annual event, after longtime march co-ordinator Alaya McIvor passed the torch to the northern chiefs’ advocacy group.
The march took place in the heart of Turtle Island — at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, home to the Anishinaabe, Cree, Dakota and Red River Métis.
People of all ages join this year’s Women’s Memorial march as it sets out from its starting point on Spence Street in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. Photo by Crystal Greene
Its origins and inspiration lie 35 years ago, when the first march took place in “Vancouver’s” Downtown Eastside, within the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
That first event in 1992 honoured the memory of Cheryl Ann Joe, a Shíshálh woman who was murdered in the neighbourhood that year.
Decades later, what started then as a small memorial by her mother Linda has grown massively into a multi-city event to honour all MMIWG2S+ across the continent.
Wearing a red headband, drum-keeper Shyanne Sinclair and other members of the all-women Binesi Ikwéwag Singers perform in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. Photo by Crystal Greene
After opening prayers, the Binesi Ikwéwag (Thunderbird Women) Singers — an all-women drum group — sounded their buffalo-hide big drum.
Drum-keeper Shyanne Sinclair, from Fisher River Cree Nation and Berens River First Nation, explained the group formed “with gatherings like this” in mind.
“Whenever the community calls upon us,” she said, “we try to honour that as much as possible.”
She said members of the group have been personally affected by friends and family who have gone missing or been murdered.
“Some of us were almost MMIW,” Sinclair added.
“We try to encourage little girls and empower young women to come to the drum and learn the teachings, because it was gifted to women at first.”
Participants in this year’s Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ honour missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people on Feb. 14. Photo by Crystal Greene
‘Until then, I will walk’
This year’s march marshall, Fritsch, is a volunteer member of the Mama Bear Clan street patrol.
Members of the group walk twice a week in the city’s North Point Douglas neighbourhood and on the nearby Main Street strip.
They described the initiative as led by women and supported by men, and its main work “community outreach” — including giving out food, socks, warm clothing and hygiene products to their fellow community members in need.
“If one of our relatives is struggling with using substances,” they added, “we offer harm reduction … safe supplies for them to use.”
Fritsch’s hope is that “one day we can live as we always have lived in time immemorial where our girls are safe, our women are safe, and our Two-Spirit people are safe.”
“And until then, I will walk,” they declared.
Falon Fritsch wears the high-visibility vest worn by members of Mama Bear Clan during outreach street patrols in ‘Winnipeg.’ Photo by Crystal Greene
Celebrated throat singer Nikki Komaksiutiksak, an Inuk woman from “Chesterfield Inlet” in Nunavut, spoke about her forced relocation to “Winnipeg” after being apprehended by the state as a child.
She and her cousin Jessica Michaels were taken into Child and Family Services (CFS) custody when she was seven years old.
Despite being displaced, the pair held onto their culture through their traditional throat singing.
But that wasn’t enough to keep Michaels, who she calls her sister, safe from the “child welfare” system that made them vulnerable.
Michaels was just 17 years old when she was murdered in a “Winnipeg” rooming house in 2001.
Throat singer Nikki Komaksiutiksak, an Inuk woman from “Chesterfield Inlet” in Nunavut, speaks to participants at the Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. Photo by Crystal Greene
She called CFS a “fragmented system that is monstrous and hard to navigate” for children disconnected from their kin and homelands.
“No one wanted to take accountability for her murder,” she lamented. “Not the justice system, no governments, nobody.”
For Komaksiutiksak, her sister’s killing “sparked something inside.”
She vowed to advocate for the safety of Inuit women, girls and gender-diverse relatives.
It’s something she said she’ll do “for the rest of my life.”
Willie Starr (left) and Joshua Catcheway march in “Winnipeg” on Feb. 14 in memory of their sister, Jessica Catcheway, who disappeared in 2008. Photo by Crystal Greene
‘Jennifer’s still out there. Somebody knows something’
The family of Jennifer Catcheway also attended the memorial march — a yearly ritual for them.
Jennifer, of Skownan First Nation, was 18 when she disappeared on her birthday in 2008.
“We never had our closure,” said her mother, Bernice Catcheway.
“Jennifer’s still out there somewhere. Somebody knows something. And I always say if you know something, contact RCMP or myself.”
On the day her daughter vanished, she was supposed to arrive at the family home in “Portage La Prairie” for cake and ice cream.
But she never showed up.
The family of Jennifer Catcheway stands and observes the crowd near the end of this year’s Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. Photo by Crystal Greene
A call from the 18-year-old was traced to a location near “Grand Rapids.”
Since that day, her family hasn’t stopped searching for her.
“Whether you think it’s insignificant or not,” Catcheway added, “it’s one piece of the puzzle that we need — just that one missing piece to bring her home.”
The family and Manitoba Métis Federation have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Jennifer’s whereabouts.
Her brother Willie Starr said her disappearance continues to haunt the family.
“It hurts every year,” he said.
“My parents, they’re the backbone of all this that keeps us going, pushing for the answers.”
David Beauchamp, father of Shanastene McLeod, attends the Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. The Ka-ka-kwe-ke-je-ong (Ebb and Flow First Nation) member’s daughter was murdered at age 35 last year. Photo by Crystal Greene
Last year, David Beauchamp’s daughter, Shanastene Irene McLeod, was murdered.
He said this year’s march is especially significant because the one-year anniversary of the 35-year-old’s killing was the day after Valentine’s Day.
McLeod, a member of Muskowekwan First Nation, and another victim — 33-year-old Swan Lake First Nation member Sheldon Catcheway — were found with gunshot wounds in the city’s North End. Both died in a hospital.
“It will be our first Valentine’s without her, ” said Beauchamp, of Ka-ka-kwe-ke-je-ong (Ebb and Flow First Nation).
He told IndigiNews it’s been particularly emotional for the family to mark a year of holidays without her.
At the ‘Winnipeg’ Women’s Memorial March on Feb. 14, a handcrafted poster is displayed, created by a family member of Shanastene McLeod, who was murdered on Feb. 15, 2025. Photo by Crystal Greene
‘Strength and love from the community’
Louise Menow, from Norway House Cree Nation, attended the march to remember multiple people she is mourning.
Those include her friend Hillary Wilson, family friend Claudette Osborne, and her nine-year-old niece Gracie McKay Valade.
She wore a hoodie with Gracie’s image on it.
“She was a very happy girl. She was very bright. She loved her family, and I know she loved me … it was really hard when we lost her,” said Menow.
“Her drunk driver walked away with a failure to stay at a crime scene, and that to me is injustice.”
She said she is planning to mark the three-year anniversary of Gracie’s death on Feb. 24 with a feast and fire.
Louise Menow (second from left) and other drummers sing in front of a sacred fire at the Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14. Her hoodie bears a photograph of her niece, Gracie McKay Valade, 9, who as killed by a drunk driver. Photo by Crystal Greene
She said the first time she attended one of the memorial marches, she found it “really tough” because she wasn’t yet “ready to deal with my emotions.”
But in the years since, she’s found strength from joining hundreds of others honouring lost loved ones.
“It’s amazing when community comes together,” Menow said.
“I get a lot of my strength from knowing that I’m not the only one out there that is suffering.”
Menow said she met “a lot of amazing people” attending public events who’ve inspired her to use her voice to speak out.
She hopes more and more people are able to experience the support she has.
“Just take those steps, come and feel the presence and strength and love from the community,” she urged.
“That’s what helps me and keeps me going.”
A women holds a butterfly placard at the Women’s Memorial March in ‘Winnipeg’ on Feb. 14 as she adds a tobacco bundle onto the sacred fire. Although sacred fires are often not to be photographed, protocols are determined by fire-keepers — who granted IndigiNews permission to take photos. Photo by Crystal Greene
The post In photos: With ‘grief and a desire for change,’ community gathers to remember MMIWG2S+ in ‘Winnipeg’ appeared first on Indiginews.
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ICT NEWSCAST: Klamath River Dam Removal, Tribal Sovereignty, Native Culture & Community Stories
(ictnews.org)
The ICT Newscast for Friday, February 20, 2026, covers an Afro-Indigenous woman celebrating Black History Month, a Chickasaw composer making history and hoop dancers in Arizona.
Check out the ICT Newscast on YouTube for this episode and more.
- A River Restored, Land Returned The largest dam removal in U.S. history is remaking the Klamath River — returning land to Tribal nations and marking a turning point for Indigenous environmental justice and Native American water rights.
- Writing From Both Worlds Afro-Indigenous storyteller Marique Moss writes about Black and Native American identity, heritage, and the power of representation in Indigenous literature.
- A Tribal Leader Speaks to Power Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairwoman Nicole Boyd addresses Wisconsin lawmakers at the Wisconsin State of the Tribes, speaking directly to Tribal sovereignty, Ojibwe rights, and policy issues facing Native communities across the state.
- New Leadership for Indian Gaming David Bean takes the helm of the Indian Gaming Association, one of the most influential organizations shaping Tribal economic development and Native American gaming policy nationwide.
- Skates, Spirit, and Solidarity “Rising Through the Fray” documents Indigenous Rising Roller Derby — a Native American women’s sports team reclaiming space, community, and visibility one bout at a time.
- Dancing to Keep Culture Alive In Milwaukee, an Indigenous dancing class is preserving Native American tradition and strengthening urban Indigenous community through cultural education and intergenerational connection.
- A Composer Makes History Chickasaw composer Brandi Berry Benson premieres a landmark new work blending traditional Chickasaw music with contemporary classical composition — a milestone for Indigenous artists in classical music.
- Hoops, Story, and Breathtaking Skill Footage from the World Championship Hoop Dance Contest showcases one of the most celebrated expressions of Native American artistry, cultural storytelling, and Indigenous athletic tradition.
View previous ICT broadcasts here every week for the latest news from around Indian Country.
The post ICT NEWSCAST: Klamath River Dam Removal, Tribal Sovereignty, Native Culture & Community Stories appeared first on ICT.
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Last Updated on February 20, 2026 After years of protests and blockades, a group of Atikamekw elders and chiefs have filed a lawsuit seeking to cancel forestry permits across a vast stretch of northern Quebec. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Quebec’s Superior Court, challenges the province’s authority to issue forestry permits within Nehirowisiw Aski, the […]
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Ask a Climate Therapist: How do I deal with friends and family who won’t stop polluting?
(grist.org)
Dear Leslie,
How do I deal with the frustration and anger that comes with having family members and friends who continue to fly and pursue other behaviors that worsen the climate crisis? They know better, yet they don’t act differently.
— Frustrated Climate Activist
Dear Frustrated Climate Activist,
Your anger and frustration are deeply relatable — and they’re happening for good reason. Your values and relationships are colliding, creating a painful rupture where you most long for shared ground. And your anger may be compounded by grief for the loss of species, cultures, and futures you know could be better protected if more people, like your loved ones, would take action.
That gap also creates a lopsided moral load. You’re actively confronting the difficult realities of our warming world and responding with care, while you perceive some of the people you’re most connected to turning away from that responsibility.
Living with that tension doesn’t just hurt — it eventually exhausts the nervous system and erodes our capacity to stay connected.
Ask a Climate Therapist tackles your questions about how to navigate the emotional side of climate change, with leading climate-aware therapist Leslie Davenport. Have a question? Ask it here!
Before we go further, it may help to widen the perspective. It’s possible your family and friends hold a different view of what personal climate responsibility looks like. All of us participate in some activities that worsen the climate crisis, even if we’re trying to mitigate our impact (or create a positive impact) in other ways. It sounds like people in your life have decided they can’t give up flying right now, but maybe for them, positive action looks like voting for climate-forward policies, reducing consumption, or supporting initiatives you don’t see. Or maybe they care about the climate crisis but haven’t yet figured out what meaningful action looks like for them. Begin with curiosity about where they are and how they understand their responsibility.
But let’s say your family and friends claim to care, but truly are not engaging in any way — you see them strolling past the most critical issues with eyes averted. In that case, their failure to take any form of action may feel like a personal betrayal.
Here’s the hard truth: You can’t carry both the planet and your loved ones on your back. What’s appropriate in the relationships you’re talking about — people you want to stay close with — is emotional detachment without emotional withdrawal. That means choosing where your responsibility for others ends and your boundaries begin. You can continue to love imperfect people while also sustaining a fierce allegiance to caring for the climate.
You’re not required to be the climate conscience of every encounter and every conversation.
Try selective honesty. When you’re moved to speak, you might say something like this: “I struggle with [name the specific behavior], because it hurts to see people I love act like climate impacts don’t matter.” Then step back and let the silence do the work. You may not get the response you hope for, but you’ll know you spoke up for what matters most to you, and it’s up to you to understand when that’s enough.
People aren’t always moved to change immediately. Your words may land more deeply than you realize in the moment.
Letting go of the constant urge to convince isn’t giving up. It’s choosing to invest your energy where it can be amplified — for instance, in a like-minded community, an action group, or connections with other people who do share your priorities.
This is our work: staying human in a burning world without burning ourselves out. Try to find places where your clarity and commitment are shared — that in turn will make it easier to engage in other places where they are not. Let your love for the living world be fed by relationships that give your nervous system a place to rest.
Holding this with you,
Leslie
I’m Leslie Davenport, a licensed therapist, educator, speaker, consultant, and internationally recognized voice on the emotional and psychological dimensions of climate change. If you’ve got a question about climate and mental health, please submit it here for a future column.
This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Ask a Climate Therapist: How do I deal with friends and family who won’t stop polluting? on Feb 20, 2026.
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