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Culture Watchlist: ‘How to Honor Indigenous People on Thanksgiving’ 11.30.2023 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist The Thanksgiving holiday has just passed, but its controversial history still remains. NowThis, a social media-focused news outlet, posted a video to its YouTube channel in 2022. It featured an interview with Pawnee Tribal member and Illuminative Executive Director Crystal Echo Hawk about the history of the holiday. According the Echo Hawk …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Double Ball’ 03.14.2024 Kamiah Koch Watchlist Smoke Signals screenshot By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist Native Youth Wellness Day was held Friday, March 8, in the Tribal gym. Outside the gym and throughout the day, there were Native youth running around the field with long sticks pointed in the air. The game they were playing is called double ball. A short video on YouTube published by Thomas J. Elpel shares the rules to the sport, calling double ball …

Culture Watchlist: ‘In The Dirt’ 06.28.2024 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist The Navajo Nation’s reservation embraces not only its traditional Native culture, but it also has a big mountain biking culture. The documentary “In The Dirt” is directed by T.C. Johnson and follows retired professional cyclist Scott Nydam’s journey as he uncovers a community of passionate cyclists on the reservation. The “In The Dirt” documentary trailer starts out with Navajo …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Rez Ball’ 10.11.2024 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist From the co-creator of “Reservation Dogs,” Sterlin Harjo, and with LeBron James as a producer, a new movie called “Rez Ball” has made its way to Netflix, a membership-based entertainment streaming service. The movie follows a Native American basketball team from New Mexico called the Chuska Warriors, who continue to play the game after their star player died by suicide. “It’s time …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Activist leads horseback ride to mobilize Native American voters’ 11.13.2024 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist Leading up to the 2024 election, a lot of news coverage showed endless lines of people waiting to cast their votes. To provide a different perspective, an ABC News clip instead showed a group of Indigenous voters riding their horses to the polls. Navajo Tribal member Allie Redhorse Young organized 100 voters to ride on horseback …

Culture Watchlist: ‘North of North’ trailer 02.27.2025 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist Looking for something to watch? Another Indigenous television show is coming to Netflix. A new Indigenous sitcom called “North of North” is premiering on CBC Television and will follow the life of a young Inuk mother. Set in the heart of the artic, “North of North” follows Siaja, a fictional character living in small town with realistic small-town drama. “I am a modern …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Missing from Fire Trail Road’ trailer 03.13.2025 Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist Many Tribes across America have heard the phrase: “That’s the road we believe she was last seen.” To the Tulalip Tribal community just outside Seattle, Fire Trail Road is the last known sighting of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis. A new documentary called “Missing from Fire Trail Road,” available on Hulu, follows the search for Johnson-Davis and explains why Native people go …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Indigenous In Plain Sight’ 08.12.2021 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Smoke Signals social media/digital journalist Gregg Deal introduced himself as a husband, father, artist and activist during a TEDx event he spoke at in Boulder, Colo. A video of the event was published to YouTube on June 26, 2018, and has since amassed more than 135,000 views. In his talk, called “Indigenous In Plain Sight,” Deal uses the TEDx platform to talk about the Native American topics his …

Culture Watchlist: ‘This Land’ 11.15.2021 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist This edition of Smoke Signals’ Watchlist recommendation is more of a listen-list. “This Land” is a podcast series hosted by Rebecca Nagle of the Cherokee Nation and produced by Crooked Media. The podcast’s second season started releasing Aug. 23 and investigates the Indian Child Welfare Act, which recently landed on the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court. The latest season …

Culture Watchlist: ‘Who should be allowed to adopt Native American children?’ 02.14.2022 Kamiah Koch Watchlist By Kamiah Koch Social media/digital journalist HuffPost published a 12-minute video to its YouTube channel on Nov 11, 2019, breaking down the history, justifications and criticisms of the Indian Child Welfare Act. A few editions ago, we shared the This Land podcast , which does an extensive deep-dive into the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in its second season. If you don’t have time …