Happy Monday. Skimm HQ is off for Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a holiday that honors the strength and contributions of Native communities and acknowledges the challenges that Indigenous people continue to face. (For a deeper understanding of the holiday and its history, read this.) But we always want to keep you informed, so we’re bringing you three things to know to start your day, plus recommendations for what to read, eat, watch, and follow in honor of today’s holiday.
— theSkimm editors
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that the US will send an advanced missile defense system to Israel, along with approximately 100 American troops needed to operate it. In a statement, the Pentagon’s press secretary said the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, is intended “to help bolster Israel’s air defenses” and defend Israel and Americans in Israel from “any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.” The decision comes as Israel plans a retaliatory attack against Iran, after the country fired approximately 200 missiles at Israel earlier this month. As the US gears up to send THAAD,the Israeli military said aHezbollahdrone attackon an army base inIsrael yesterdaykilled four soldiersand injured at least 60 people. Hezbollahclaimed responsibility, saying it was retaliation forIsraeli strikes last week.
President Biden traveled to Florida yesterday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Sarasota last week as a Category 3 storm. At least 23 people have died, nearly a million Floridians are still without power, and many in hard-hit Tampa and St. Petersburg are struggling to get gas. During the visit, Biden — who approved a major disaster declaration for the state on Friday — announced an additional $612 million for energy resilience projects in states impacted by recent hurricanes. Meanwhile, experts warn that hurricane season may not be over as they monitor the Caribbean, where weather models have indicated “tropical development could occur.”
Last year, a Texas man made headlines when he sued the friends of his ex-wife for helping her obtain abortion pills — seeking over $1 million in damages for their alleged “criminal and murderous actions.” But on Thursday, days before the trial was set to begin, Marcus Silva asked the court to dismiss his claims, stating that the parties had reached a settlement. (While court records didn’t include its terms, a spokesperson for the defendants said it didn’t involve any financial payments.) Silva’s case — which was a first-of-its-kind lawsuit “targeting those who help facilitate a medication abortion in a state where abortion is illegal” — had alarmed abortion rights advocates that it could establish a dangerous precedent.
Name a Dish More Comforting Than This Three Sisters Stew, We’ll Wait
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Apologies to all of SoupTok — but it is simply impossible to find a stew more comforting, low-lift, and hearty-but-not-heavy than this Three Sisters Stew (Táá’ Ałdeezhí Atoo’). Included in Alana Yazzie’s new cookbook The Modern Navajo Kitchen, this savory and soothing stew features crisp white corn, tender yellow squash, and creamy pinto beans (aka “the three sisters”), making it the ideal introduction to Navajo food, according to Yazzie. “[It] reminds me of the fall harvest season on the Navajo Nation, when fresh produce is [bountiful], often being sold along the roadside.” Oh, and did we mention it’s nearly impossible to mess up?
The Time Commitment: Just under an hour, but the stew simmers for most of that time. So feel free to whip up some Fry Bread or Mesquite Blue Cornbread — aka the perfect vehicles for sopping up the stew.
Key Tips: “The thing about stews and Navajo cooking is we adapt to our seasons,” says Yazzie. Meaning, don’t be afraid to make substitutions. If you can’t find white cornmeal, yellow cornmeal is perfectly fine. Have access to fresh white corn? Use that instead of canned. And while the recipe calls for pinto beans and yellow squash, feel free to swap in any bean or squash that’s in abundance in your area.
Over the course of her 40-year career, author Louise Erdrich has published an extraordinary 19 novels — many of which are (a) critically acclaimed and (b) centered on the experiences and history of Native Americans, exploring questions of identity, spirituality, and injustice. Her latest novel, The Mighty Red, dives into a North Dakota farming community. Not only is Crystal, a trucker who hauls sugar beets, worried about her family’s livelihood, but she’s also concerned about her teenage daughter, Kismet, an edgy outcast who’s caught in a love triangle with her school’s popular quarterback and a bookish, home-schooled friend. Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the story weaves in rebellion, tragedy, and betrayal. We asked Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, a couple questions. Here’s what she had to say…
This Coming-of-Age Sports Movie Will Take You Back to High School — in a Good Way
If you have a soft spot in your millennial heart for Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans, and Bend It Like Beckham, you’ll want to press play on Netflix’s Rez Ball. The recently released sports drama — which is directed by Navajo filmmaker Sydney Freeland, cowritten by Sterlin Harjo (of Reservation Dogs fame), and produced by LeBron James (yes, that LeBron James) — follows the Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team from a Native American reservation that’s dealing with the death of its star player. Now, with the state championship on the line, the athletes (who are played by Native actors) must work through their grief, as well as deep-rooted generational trauma to take home a W against their well-funded rivals. Plus, unlike the usual ex-athlete-turned-surly-coach in sports movies, the Warriors are led by Heather (Jessica Matten), an ex-WNBA player. Slam dunk.
Growing up, Michelle Chubb split her time between the Canadian city of Winnipeg and the Bunibonibee Cree Nation. As a result, she often felt like an “outsider.” Today, the model and activist has found community with her hundreds of thousands of TikTok and Instagram followers. Known for her vulnerable and humorous content (see: this A+ clapback), Chubb uses social media as a tool for educating others about Indigenous life, especially as a mom.
Because we've never met a hack-y product we don't like, here's a list of Amazon products that'll make annoying things easier.
If you have travel plans on the books, we rec Paravel's Negative Nylon collection. From ultra-lightweight compression cubes to our favorite fold-up bag, it has everything you need to keep things organized and maximize space. Use code theskimm20 to get 20% off the entire collection through October 31.
PS: Want more product recs? Follow @skimmshopping on Instagram.
Game Time
Wake your brain up this Monday with a game of Flipart. Just rotate the pieces to fit within the frame and get ready to feel the rush when they all fall into place. Get into it.
Have a book, recipe, or travel rec? Or, a dicey etiquette question you want answered by an expert? Submit them here.
Skimm’d by: Taylor Trudon, Alex Carr, and Melissa Goldberg
Photos by Alana Yazzie courtesy of The Quarto Group, Harper, Lewis Jacobs via Netflix, Tyler Glasses, courtesy of Michelle Chubb, brunocoelhopt via iStock, Brand Partners
