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Wisconsin, Minnesota officials join march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives
(ictnews.org)
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.
Frank Zufall
Wisconsin Examiner
Local officials from Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin spoke to the crowd gathered for the 11th annual Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR) on Valentine’s Day in Duluth.
The movement to address the scourge of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls started in Canada 35 years ago on Valentine’s Day. Later, missing and murdered men and relatives were added.
Held at the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), the event featured proclamations from both the cities.
Duluth’s proclamation noted that Native American women face murder rates 10 times the national average and that the “Minnesota MMIWR Task force reports that Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are more likely to experience violence, be murdered or go missing compared to other demographic groups in Minnesota.”
Superior Mayor Jim Paine said because his wife and daughters are Alaskan Natives, he is personally invested in addressing the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
He described attending the State of The Tribes address by Nicole Boyd, chair of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Feb. 10.
“The only time she broke down in that speech, the only time she wavered at all, was talking about Native women and girls and the fact that too many of them are missing, too many of them have been murdered, and the mission to save them, to protect them, to remember them,” he said.
Paine added, “We’re doing a lot more this year than last, but that work continues today, and every single day of the year, obviously, like you, the Native women in my life are the most important part of my life, I am deeply grateful for everything that they do for me, and I would do anything to protect them, like all of you, and that means on days like today, we have to speak as loudly and as clearly that the Native women that are in our lives, that are here. We love you. We will protect you. We will do anything for you. To the Native women that are missing, we will never stop looking for you, and to those that have truly been lost or have walked on, we will remember and protect and treat your legacy and memory with the safety that you didn’t have in life.”
Jana Williams, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Minnesota, talked about the alleged failure of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to investigate the death of her niece, Allison Lussier, a member of the Red Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Minnesota, whose body was discovered in February 2024 in her apartment. No death investigation was conducted, Williams said, even though Lussier had contacted the police to report abuse by her boyfriend.
“If you know Allison’s story, you know this, MPD saw an Indigenous woman,” said Williams. “They saw drug paraphernalia in her apartment and around her body, a staged scene. And instead of following their own protocol, a supervisor intentionally called off the crime scene. … That one decision destroyed every piece of evidence that could have brought justice to her name.” According to Williams, community members reported that her niece’s killer bragged about her murder. Because of Williams’ activism, the Minneapolis City Council has requested an independent investigation of the case.
“Who is going to fight for you if we do not stand together?” Williams asked the crowd. “We are less than 2 percent of the population. We cannot afford to be divided. We must stand as one.”
Rene Goodrich, organizer of the event, noted the official Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) office in Minnesota, founded in 2019, the only state office in America officially focused on the issue, served 25 families in 2025 and was involved in eight new cases, including four that were resolved in the Duluth area with three being safely found.
Goodrich also noted the state’s MMIR office has a reward fund, up to $10,000 per person, that was inspired by a city of Duluth reward fund, the first in the nation, called Gaagige Mikwendaagoziwag or “They will be remembered forever.”
Late in the meeting, relatives and friends held posters and said the names of missing or murdered people, including Sheila St. Clair, missing since 2015, Nevah Kingbird, missing since 2021 and Peter Martin, missing since 2024. Others held symbolic red dresses.
After a drum dance, about 100 people gathered on the street with posters, banners and dresses and marched to the Building for Women where the marchers released tobacco they were carrying into a sacred fire, a tradition for seeking a blessing.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Jana Williams’ name. We regret the error.
The post Wisconsin, Minnesota officials join march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives appeared first on ICT.
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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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This article was originally produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
Kaiya Little
The Hechinger Report
Savion Horn watched as “before” and “after” images appeared on a screen at the front of his classroom: black-and-white photos of boys and girls, much younger than him and his classmates, first with faces framed by long hair and traditional clothing, then with their locks cut, wearing high-necked dresses and stiff button-ups.
For Horn, then a high school senior at Grand Prairie High School near Dallas and a descendant of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, it was his first in-depth lesson on the boarding schools where the U.S. government sent hundreds of thousands of Native American children in the 19th and 20th centuries with the goal of assimilating them and eradicating Native culture.
“They weren’t allowed to speak their own language. They weren’t allowed to represent themselves with their music or art,” said Horn, who was exposed to the lesson last school year through the American Indian/Native Studies class offered at his high school. “It was very emotional to me, and it would be for anyone who actually wanted to take anything away from the class and learn.”
The American Indian/Native Studies course, or AINS, was piloted in the Grand Prairie school district in 2021 following years of work by Indigenous parents and educators around the state, who drafted course materials from scratch. To build on the success of a Chicano/Mexican American studies class the state approved in 2015, the State Board of Education had in 2018 called for the creation of other ethnic studies classes, including Native studies. Two years later, board members certified the AINS class as an “innovative course,” meaning it covered state-approved topics that fall outside of the required curriculum and other districts could adopt it.
Grand Prairie school district social studies coordinator Lanette Aguero waits to testify at the State Board of Education’s hearing on June 26, 2025, in Texas. Credit: Photo by Kaiya Little/The Hechinger Report
But in 2025, when the class came up for its regular five-year renewal under the process for “innovative courses,” the political landscape in Texas had changed. Starting in 2021, the state had taken steps to limit instruction around issues of race, ethnicity and gender: That year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 3, which restricts instruction on “controversial issues” and says educators should approach those topics “objectively and in a manner free from political bias.”
This past June, just a week before the committee met to discuss the course, the state passed SB 12, allowing parents to review and raise objections about K-12 educational materials and prohibiting policies, activities or programs that “reference race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”
At the federal level, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders calling for the end of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices, known as DEI, in public K-12 schools and colleges. And leadership of the Texas education board had changed too, leading to more scrutiny of course content.
Groups including the Ethnic Studies Network of Texas, an organization devoted to the advancement of diverse representation in school curricula, and Native-led nonprofits like the Society of Native Nations lobbied for the course’s survival. Four Native nations from across Texas and Oklahoma also endorsed AINS, sayingthe class offered students the opportunity to understand a more complete, accurate picture of tribal histories than is typically taught in K-12 classrooms.
At the Texas education board’s June hearing, most members were supportive of the class and sympathetic to the frustrations of course organizers with the prolonged renewal process. Some board members, though, expressed concern about the course, arguing that its discussion of the role of Catholic churches in the mistreatment of students at boarding schools might shame Christian students. Another representative questioned the purpose of land acknowledgements recognizing Indigenous people as an area’s original residents, suggesting that some land was traded or given to settlers or was unclaimed and that it wasn’t always clear to whom it belonged.
After two days of debate, the board voted 9-5 in favor of renewing the course. With a compromise to remove a passage in a reading about George Washington that the board objected to, the course will continue to operate as an innovative class for another five years. At a time when DEI is under attack around the country, supporters of the Native studies class view their success as giving hope to others who want to see similar classes created or preserved in other states.
“I cannot underscore enough how important of a win this is,” said Sarah B. Shear, an associate professor of social studies and multicultural education at the University of Washington-Bothell, whose research has found that content on Native Americans in most K-12 social studies curriculum often leaves out information on modern contributions of Indigenous people.
Focus on ‘resilience’
In part because of research like hers, a few other states and districts have taken similar steps to expand Native studies. In 2015, lawmakers in Washington state passed a mandate that every school district teach tribal history, culture and government, becoming the second state to approve a Native Education for All law, after Montana in 1999. In 2025, California expanded history lessons about the Gold Rush and Spanish colonial periods to include more Native perspectives. And in Arizona, students must encounter at least two social studies courses — one in grade school, another in high school — that include the history of Native Americans in their state.
In Texas, educators, parents and tribal members around the state came together over Zoom at the height of the pandemic to develop the course, which covers lessons relating to geography, arts and culture and the contemporary achievements of Indigenous peoples around Texas and the country. The content includes sections about pivotal Supreme Court cases on tribal affairs, boarding schools and Stephen F. Austin’s Indian extermination policies in addition to topics like mascots and Indigenous scholarship in research.
The course’s creators — 22 people from Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds — held trainings on its content and teaching strategies for educators interested in adopting the class. Lanette Aguero, the Grand Prairie district’s social studies coordinator, was among them. She attended an ethnic studies conference at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth in 2019, which led her to want to bring the class to her district.
While the Native American population in the 27,000-student district is quite small — only about 120 identified as Native American in 2023-2024, the most recent year for which data is available — the population of Native Americans in the larger Dallas area is significant. Twelve students in Grand Prairie signed up for the class its first year, 2021, and by 2024 the class had grown to 48 students. In 2024, two other districts, Robstown and Crowley, adopted the course as well.
As one of the first teachers of the American Indian/Native Studies class, Kimberly Rafalski, who is non-Native and a longtime social studies instructor in the Grand Prairie district, said she often felt like she learned alongside her students. Together, they walked through precontact histories and the ongoing stories of Indigenous peoples that are typically left out of traditional textbooks.
Some days were more difficult than others, she said. She recalled leaving school in tears after discussing the history of boarding schools, the image of her own young children in her mind. But throughout the year, Rafalski said, the class grew close through reflection and celebrations of Indigenous perseverance through art.
“There’s a lot of things in this class. They’re hard topics to teach,” Rafalski said. “There’s no sensationalizing any of it.”
But, she added, “We’re not going to do trauma. Every time we learn about something difficult, we do something that shows resilience.”
‘I’m right here’
In 2018, when the state education board called for the adoption of ethnic studies classes, most members supported the idea of expanded instruction, but they had differing views on whether that content should be included in separate courses or integrated into existing ones. Supporters of the ethnic studies classes referenced research suggesting that student performance improved by including representation in their textbooks, while others worried a class specializing in specific ethnic groups could be divisive.
Ultimately, Texas approved a Mexican-American studies course that year, marking the first high school ethnic studies class greenlit in the state and the first K-12 Mexican-American Studies course to be approved by a state board of education. The Native studies class was approved three years later, followed by an Asian-American studies class in 2024.
Students seemed to like the class. Some 97 percent of the 63 students who responded to a Texas Education Agency survey on the course said they felt “more positive about Native American/Indigenous culture than before taking the class.” One student said the course “helped me by not being afraid of who I am as a Native American.”
Walter Dougherty, a 10-year-old from the Conroe Independent School District near Houston who testified in favor of the course, said at the hearing that before AINS, his classes focused more on ancient civilizations than today’s Native Americans.
“People talk about us like we’re gone, but we’re not. I’m right here,” Dougherty said. “My brother and I are Cherokee kids growing up in Texas, and we want people to know our culture and history. … When I learn about my Cherokee family, I feel proud. I feel like I can do anything.”
Tom Dougherty testified at the State Board of Education’s hearing in June 2025 alongside his sons, Henry (left) and Walter. They are members of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Credit: Kaiya Little/The Hechinger Report
“I can’t imagine if my son were to never understand about his ancestors,” said Cheyenne Rendon, Diné and Apache, the senior policy officer for the Society of Native Nations and a lifelong Texan who grew up attending San Antonio schools. AINS, she said, “gives me hope that we’re not going to be erased.”
Related: States were adding lessons about Native American history. Then came the anti-CRT movement
During discussions about reauthorizing the American Indian/Native Studies course, the question of whether it ran afoul of Texas’s latest anti-DEI policies came up repeatedly.
At the hearing, Orlando Lara, cofounder of the Ethnic Studies Network of Texas, defended the course’s legality, noting that the federal Department of Education said in an April 2025 letter that “American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian history is not classified as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or critical race theory (CRT).” Under this direction, Native Americans represent distinct political identities as members of sovereign tribal nations, nonspecific to racial or ethnic classifiers.
But board members continued to press Lara over the technical definitions of race and ethnicity as they questioned how to interpret the latest state legislation.
Because of a lack of guidance from the Texas Education Agency on the “controversial issues” legislation in 2021, Lara said later, “for a long time, a lot of districts didn’t know what would get them in trouble with the law.” To counter this, he said, the Ethnic Studies Network is “trying to get out there that there’s no reason to fear teaching the class.”
There were other objections to the course too. State school board member Julie Pickren, A Republican from Pearland, said materials used in the class depicted “President George Washington as a terrorist” and lessons about boarding schools were “accusing our Christian missions and churches of kidnapping and sending kids to reeducation camps.”
Pickren did not respond to interview requests. Her comments about George Washington appeared to refer to an online resource from academic publisher ABC-Clio, which described his 1779 campaign against Iroquois villages siding with the British in which he instructed the Army “to rush on with the war-whoop and fixed bayonet” because nothing would “disconcert and terrify the Indians more than this.”
Audrey Young, a Republican school board member who represents the Houston area, shared similar concerns. She argued that 2024 curriculum standards requiring “suitable” educational materials to promote patriotism, lawful activity and other values should apply to innovative courses like the AINS class. “Currently, the suitability standards aren’t required” for innovative courses, Young wrote in an email. “But I do believe that if courses are being taught to students, then they should have to follow ALL the laws.”
Pickren and Young were among the five board members who voted against the class, but another nine members voted in favor. Those supporters noted that the AINS course materials had undergone a series of reviews and further deliberation was unnecessary.
“It is Texas history,” Gustavo Reveles, a Democrat who represents El Paso and other predominantly Hispanic border communities and who voted for the course, said in an interview. “A child can see themselves represented, can see themselves as members of this very amazing state and country, not just because of George Washington, not just because of Abraham Lincoln, but because of his people that look like him and talk like him.”
While supporters of the class celebrated the board’s approval, it’s only one step. They are now trying to get the course standards approved as Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, which would leave it less vulnerable during review and renewal conversations. As it stands, the class faces another board vote in 2030 at the end of its current five-year innovative course period. Course organizers are also trying to encourage more districts and educators to adopt the class.
After graduating from the Grand Prairie school district last spring, Horn joined his family on the road as he took his place in the family business as traveling circus organizers.
He said the class became a way for him to connect with his culture and family as a descendant of the Potawatomi Nation. Now, he said, he hopes to get involved with his local Native communities and participate in the Texas powwow trail, a Native-run cultural celebration that takes place in several Texas cities each year.
“I appreciate being a part of a community, especially this one,” Horn said. “I know where I’m from, and it means a lot to me.”
Kaiya Little is a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma who has written about a variety of topics highlighting the environment and Indigenous identities in Texas.
Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or on email at preston@hechingerreport.org.
The post Inside the fight to save Texas’ Native American studies course appeared first on ICT.
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Recycling startups test limits of private solutions to deluge of waste in Lagos
(news.mongabay.com)
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