Over the summer, the NUNA team worked with MIT Solve to manage and promote the application process for the 2020 Indigenous Communities Fellowship. The Fellowship asked Indigenous leaders throughout the United States, how can Native innovators in the US use traditional knowledge and technology to drive social, environmental, and economic impact in their communities? There were 71 total applicants, and will eventually be eight Fellowships awarded. The 15 finalists were recently announced – check them out here!
President Trump spent the weekend at the Walter Reed Military Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday evening, becoming the first President to stay overnight at the facility since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Over the weekend, there were a number of inconsistencies between statements from the White House and the President’s medical team, leading to a growing confusion about the President’s health.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing for the Trump administration’s request to suspend Judge Koh’s ruling that the 2020 Census continue counting through October 31 for 9 a.m. PT today, October 5. The Trump administration says it “intends” to ask the Supreme Court to suspend Judge Koh’s order “if necessary.”
Meanwhile, in response to NPR’s report on the Trump administration’s latest political appointee to the Census Bureau, the President-elect of the American Statistical Association says the appointment “generates grave concerns,” and urges the Bureau to “explain the rationale.”
In Alaska Magazine’s annual “Top 49ers” list – ranking Alaska-owned businesses by gross revenues –18 of the top 20, and 25 of the 49 are Alaska Native Corporations.
The villages in the Chignik Intertribal Coalition – Chignik Bay, Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay and Perryville – recently received a donation of 45,000 pounds of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon as part of a new nonprofit initiative by two southeast Alaskan fishing organizations.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
Saturday Navajo Nation COVID-19 Update: 17 New Cases – Death Toll At 558
Native News Online, October 3
The Navajo Department of Health reported 17 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and no recent deaths. The total number of deaths remains 558 as previously reported on Friday. Reports indicate that 7,266 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 108,446 COVID-19 tests have been administered. The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 10,421.
Diversity Emerges As Key Challenge For COVID-19 Drug Trials
The Hill, Reid Wilson, October 2
The coronavirus pandemic has hit disproportionately hard in minority communities, where infection rates and death rates have reached staggering levels. But as scientists race to develop vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and treatments for the COVID-19 disease it causes, many trials are struggling to enroll people from those very communities.
Law:
Haaland, Warren Introduce Bill To Establish Indian Boarding School Commission
Native News Online, October 3
U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation that seeks healing for stolen Native children and their communities. The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy in the United States Act would establish the first formal commission in United States history to investigate, document, and acknowledge past injustices of the federal government’s cultural genocide and assimilation practices through its Indian Boarding School Policy.
Politics:
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Supports Joe Biden For President
Native News Online, October 2
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council passed a resolution at a Sept. 30 council meeting supporting Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for president, marking the first time ever the tribe has supported a presidential candidate.
[Opinion] Electing Joe Biden stops Donald Trump’s termination policies
Indian Country Today, Jefferson Keel, October 2
Indian Country is at a crossroads as deep divisions take shape within our country. Native people have borne the brunt of racism for hundreds of years and have seen Presidents attempt to eliminate tribal rights and our communities. Additionally, the pandemic is impacting Natives at alarmingly high rates, highlighting disparities that have long existed in healthcare and other services.
2020 Census:
Federal Judge Orders 2020 Census To Continue Through Month Of October
Native News Online, October 4
A federal judge late Thursday ordered the U.S. Census Bureau to continue operations for the entire month of October, instead of ending the 2020 Census on Oct. 5 as was previously announced earlier in the week.
Other:
Alaska Native Corporations Dominate List Of State’s Top Businesses
Indian Country Today, Joaqlin Estus, October 4
Alaska Native corporations top a list of Alaska-owned businesses ranked by gross revenues.
Alaska Business magazine annually publishes a list of the 49th state’s “Top 49ers.” This year 18 of the top 20, and 25 of the 49 are Alaska Native corporations.
The Age Of Online Art Markets: Native Artists And Organizers Are Adapting Their Craft And Marketing For Virtual Success
Native News Online, Tamara Ikenberg, October 4
Six months after the Heard, the grandest experiment in virtual markets, the Virtual Santa Fe Indian Market, is in the books. It ran through the whole month of August, and with more than 450 participating artists, it is the largest virtual market of the season.
45,000 Pounds Of Salmon Shipped To Alaska Villages
Indian Country Today, Meghan Sullivan, October 3
The villages in the Chignik Intertribal Coalition recently received a donation of 45,000 pounds of Bristol Bay sockeye as part of a new nonprofit initiative by two southeast Alaskan fishing organizations. The coalition is composed of five southwestern Alaska Native villages: Chignik Bay, Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Lake, Ivanof Bay, and Perryville. It formed in 2018, when a record-low salmon run prompted former Gov. Bill Walker to declare an economic disaster in the region.
Met Names First Full Time Curator Of Native Art
Indian Country Today, Sandra Hale Schulman, October 3
A scholar, author, and former director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian-New York, Patricia Marroquin Norby, Purépecha, has been named the museum’s inaugural associate curator of Native American art. Norby’s focus will be to work on the Met’s collection development and exhibition programming that focuses on Native arts. Her other goal is outreach to Indigenous communities, scholars, artists, and audiences.
How Do Newspapers Cover Racial And Religious Minorities? Here’s The Data.
The New York Times, Joshua Tucker, October 2
Transcript from a conversation with Erik Bleich, a political scientist at Middlebury College. “Native Americans and Asian Americans are the least-covered groups in 2019, but coverage is very slightly positive in stories that mention them three or more times. While Native American articles included significant coverage of Elizabeth Warren’s DNA controversy, fully 30 percent mentioned “museums.”
Dozens Housed From ‘Wall Of Forgotten Natives’
Indian Country Today, October 2
Traffic barriers and streetlight posts are back up and gates erected and padlocked as a homeless encampment on land here dubbed the “Wall of Forgotten Natives” was officially closed this week after temporary housing was obtained for any Native person who wanted it, officials said.