his year’s Democratic National Convention’s roll call featured what was likely a record number of Indigenous speakers. Native American leaders from Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota were chosen to speak on behalf of their states. Tuesday night also featured remarks by Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who joined several other Democrats in giving keynote addresses.
Organizers of the Native American Caucus were forced to shut down a virtual DNC event chatroom at which Senator Elizabeth Warren was scheduled to speak after members of the Trump Administration posted about the event on twitter, and internet trolls flooded the event with negative comments about Senator Warren.
All four Native women who were running for office in Wyoming have won their primary elections, including Lynnette Grey Bull (Northern Arapaho and Hunkpapa Lakota), who is believed to be the first Native person nominated for Congress in the state. She is set to face Republican incumbent Liz Cheney in the general election in November.
Senators Maria Cantwell and Tom Udall, both members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, sent a letter with 18 of their colleagues urging the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau to ensure an accurate count for Indian Country and the Native Hawaiian community by honoring their previously announced 2020 Census completion date of October 31, 2020, to ensure an accurate count for Indian Country and the Native Hawaiian community.
Metlakatla, an Alaska tribal community, has filed a lawsuit against state officials claiming the commercial fishing permit system unfairly prevents tribal members from fishing on their traditional grounds. The lawsuit filed by the Metlakatla Indian Community asks a federal judge to prevent the state from requiring commercial fishing permits for tribal members.
The only Native American on federal death row is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put his execution on hold while he seeks review of a lower court decision over potential racial bias in his case.
The Navajo Nation reported 17 new COVID-19 cases, and four additional deaths, while the Mescalero Apache Tribe reported their second COVID-19 death.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Trolls Flood DNC Native American Event With Elizabeth Warren, Forcing Organizers To Disable Chatroom
FOX News, Caitlin McFall, August 18
Organizers of the Native American Caucus were forced to shut down a virtual event’s chatroom Tuesday, after trolls got wind that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was scheduled to speak and inundated the livestream. Members of the Trump administration blasted the event, which was hosted as a part of this week’s Democratic National Convention, and mocked Warren in regards to her claimed Native American ancestry, the Washington Examiner first reported.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez Will Deliver Prime-Time Address At DNC
Native News Online, August 18
Jonathan Nez, who is serving in the second year of his first term as president of the Navajo Nation, has been chosen to be part of a group of 17 speakers scheduled to deliver tonight’s keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. “Leadership Matters” is the theme of tonight’s keynote address before a national audience during prime time. The speakers chosen were selected to highlight the work of “leaders and the experts, the veterans, the activists, and all those who seek to unite and not divide,” according to the Democratic Party.
Native Leaders Featured In DNC Roll Call
Indian Country Today, Aliyah Chavez, August 18
A prominent part of the Democratic National Convention is the roll call. It is the process where individual states formally elect a presidential nominee. In a normal year, people selected on behalf of their states address the convention in person and share tidbits about themselves, their states and who they will cast their vote for. This year’s roll call featured what was likely a record number of Indigenous speakers. Native American leaders from Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota were chosen to speak on behalf of their states.
Q&A: Clara Pratte On How The Biden Campaign Plans To Win Indian Country
Native News Online, Kyle Edwards, August 18
This fall, as the country heads to the polls, the Native American vote has the potential to be the difference-maker in states like Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and beyond. Simply put, with roughly 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, Native support matters. Clara Pratte (Diné) is the national tribal engagement director for the Joe Biden presidential campaign.
Female Leaders Headline Democratic Native Caucus
Indian Country Today, Joaqlin Estus, August 18
The first Native American Caucus meeting of this year’s Democratic National Convention kicked off online Tuesday with a land acknowledgment and a string of high-ranking female speakers. U.S. Reps. Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan were the first in a series of Native leaders who rallied viewers to get out the vote to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. “Relatives, this clearly is the most important election of our time,” said Flanagan, White Earth, the first Native woman elected to executive office.
First Native To Run For Congress In Wyoming Advances
Indian Country Today, Aliyah Chavez, August 18
Democrat Lynnette Grey Bull, who is believed to be the first Native person in Wyoming to run for Congress, has won her primary. Grey Bull, Northern Arapaho and Hunkpapa Lakota, is seeking a U.S. House seat. She easily defeated two opponents in Tuesday’s primary but faces a difficult race in November, when she will go up against Republican incumbent Liz Cheney. Grey Bull serves as vice president of the Global Indigenous Council, an Indigenous rights advocacy organization, and is a first-time candidate.
‘We Need Indian Country To Step Up’: Democrats Rally Behind Joe Biden And Kamala Harris
Indianz.com, Kevin Abourezk, August 18
Indian Country leaders are standing up for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as they seek to defeat Republican President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence this November. The nation’s first Native congresswomen shared a virtual stage Monday, speaking during an Indian Country watch party held before the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention on Potawatomi homelands in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This year’s event is being almost entirely virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Navajo Nation President Boosts Joe Biden At Convention, But Says Democrats Shouldn’t Take Native American Votes For Granted
AZ Central, August 18
With hundreds dead from COVID-19 and a lawsuit needed to dislodge federal money to help manage the health and economic crises, the choice of Native Americans for U.S. president might seem obvious, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said. But Nez warned Democrats Tuesday to not just presume tribal support for Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Census:
Cantwell, Udall, Colleagues Press For Accurate 2020 Census Count For Native Communities
Indianz.com, August 18
U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; Tom Udall (D-NM), the vice chair of the committee; and 18 of their colleagues sent a letter urging the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau to honor their previously announced 2020 census completion date of October 31, 2020, to ensure an accurate count for Indian Country and the Native Hawaiian community.
COVID-19:
Four More COVID Deaths On Navajo Nation Reported On Tuesday
Native News Online, August 18
On Tuesday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 17 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and four more deaths. The total number of deaths now totals 484 as of Tuesday. Reports indicate that 6,987 individuals have recovered from COVID-19. 89,399 COVID-19 tests have been administered. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases is 9,486.
Mescalero Apache Tribe Announces Second COVID-19 Death
Indianz.com, August 18
The Mescalero Apache Tribe announced the death of a Reservation resident, an elderly woman, from the corona virus (COVID-19). Tribal President Gabe Aguilar stated, “We are a small community and every death hurts. Our prayers are with the family.” The elderly woman who passed became sick several weeks ago and appeared to be on her way to a full recovery. President Aguilar commented, “She fought hard but in the end, she did not survive.”
Law:
Alaska Tribal Community Sues Over Commercial Fishing System
AP News, August 18
An Alaska tribal community has filed a lawsuit against state officials claiming the commercial fishing permit system unfairly prevents local anglers from fishing on their traditional grounds. The lawsuit filed by the Metlakatla Indian Community asks a federal judge to prevent the state from requiring commercial fishing permits for tribal members, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. The tribe named Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and other administration officials in the lawsuit that says the tribe’s fishing rights are guaranteed by Congress.
Other:
Trump Administration Finalizes Plan For Oil And Gas Leasing In Alaska’s Arctic Refuge
Native News Online, August 18
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Monday finalized the first- ever oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The program approves drilling in the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area the U.S. Geological Survey estimates to hold the largest remaining onshore oil reserve in the United States. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told reporters during a Monday morning press call that there “certainly could be a lease sale by the end of the year.”
The Native American Memorial Set To Be Bigger Than Mount Rushmore
Euro News, Jessica Vincent, August 18
At 195 metres wide and 172 metres high, the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota is set to be the largest carved sculpture of its kind. Designed by Polish sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski in 1948, the world’s most ambitious mountain carving is a tribute to Chief Henry Standing Bear (better known as Crazy Horse), the Oglala Lakota warrior who died fighting the United States government for the land and freedom of all North American Indians. If completed, the mammoth sculpture – which will depict a mounted Crazy Horse with his left arm pointing to his people’s land – will dwarf nearby Mount Rushmore.
High-Altitude Airships Company Picks New Mexico For Base
AP News, Russell Contreras, August 18
A technology company aiming to send up high-altitude airships to monitor crops and bring broadband has chosen New Mexico for its U.S. production center. While preparing for more airship flights, Sceye is negotiating a deal to provide broadband access to the Navajo Nation and other underserved areas. State Economic Development Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said for years the state has struggled with building an infrastructure on the ground to bring broadband to rural areas. “This could eliminate that problem,” she said.
Navajo Man On Federal Death Row Seeks Stay Of Execution
AP News, August 18
The only Native American on federal death row is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put his execution on hold while he seeks review of a lower court decision over potential racial bias in his case. It’s rare but not unheard of for the high court to grant a stay. The Supreme Court has so far refused to halt any of the most recent federal executions, though legal volleying in some of the cases delayed the inmates’ deaths by hours.