The parents of two Native American basketball players in North Dakota are asking for a federal investigation into racist taunts directed at their sons during a game. A complaint filed earlier this month with the federal Office of Civil Rights alleges that during a basketball game in January between Jamestown and Bismarck High School, some Jamestown students made monkey noises and war whooping sounds when the Native American Bismarck players handled the ball. Jamestown officials said “a handful” of students were disciplined and the district’s athletic director received a letter of reprimand for reportedly not addressing the taunts during the game. The families contend those actions were not adequate.
A Washington-Based Artist Who Falsely Claimed Native Heritage to Sell His Work Has Been Hit With an 18-Month Sentence…The man, Jerry Chris Van Dyke, sold more than $1,000 worth of carved pendants based on Aleut masks in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Van Dyke was convicted of violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) after misrepresenting himself as Native American to sell his work. Over the course of a decade, he sold more than $1,000 worth of carved art. In doing so, he claimed to be a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, despite having no Native heritage.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
