Good Morning, NUNAverse,
A newly proposed bill would create a statewide alert for missing Indigenous women and people in Washington, the first of its kind in the United States. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and State Representative Debra Lekanoff announced the proposed bill on Monday. House Bill 1725 would function the same as a “Silver Alert,” which is used when a vulnerable adult goes missing. When activated, the alert would broadcast details of the missing person on message signs, highway advisory messages, and through press releases to local and regional media. According to the attorney general’s office, similar alerts like the Silver Alert have a high success rate. The proposed bill comes after Washington’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force held a public meeting in December and heard from survivors, family members, and community members.
The Navajo Nation reported 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths Monday, but tribal health officials say the first case of the omicron variant has been detected on the vast reservation. Based on cases from Decebmber 17-30, the Navajo Department of Health has issued an advisory for 42 communities due to uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. The latest numbers pushed the number of cases on the Navajo Nation at 41,657 since the pandemic began. The death roll remains at 1,590.
An Alaska Native nonprofit organization has received a $2.9 million grant to start building a totem pole trail along Juneau’s waterfront. The Sealaska Heritage Institute said the grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will cover 10 poles, though the longer-term goal is to have 30 poles in place. Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian master carvers will carve their poles in communities around the Southeast, teaching apprentices the art. Kootéeyaa Deiyí, the trail’s name in the Tlingit language, is part of a long-term vision for Juneau to showcase its Native cultures and heritage.
A tribe in southern Arizona plans to begin construction on an affordable housing development for its members. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is using a low-income housing tax credit award from the Arizona Department of Housing to help secure $8.3 million in private investment. That will mainly fund the $9.6 million development of 27 townhomes on the tribe’s southwest Tucson reservation. The development is expected to be completed by the fall of 2023, the tribe’s housing director, Keith Gregory, told the Arizona Daily Star. Up to 200 workers will be employed on the project. The new townhomes are the second phase of a master planned subdivision that launched a year ago. The first phase containing 50 single-family housing units should be done by October, Gregory said.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Health:
Omicron Upends Return To Us Schools And Workplaces
AP News, Jennifer Peltz, January 3
Some school systems around the U.S. extended their holiday break Monday or switched back to online instruction because of the explosion in COVID-19 cases, while others pressed ahead with in-person classes amid a seemingly growing sense that Americans will have to learn to co-exist with the virus. Caught between pleas from teachers fearful of infection and parents who want their children in class, school districts in cities such as New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit and beyond found themselves in a difficult position midway through the academic year because of the super-contagious omicron variant. Across the U.S., new COVID-19 cases have tripled in the past two weeks to over 400,000 a day, the highest level on record, amid a rush by many Americans to get tested. The high infection rates and resulting worker shortages are putting a heavy burden on employers large and small. Thousands of airline flights have been canceled in recent days, and many businesses have shelved return-to-work plans.
1st Case Of The Omicron Variant Is Detected On Navajo Nation
AP News, January 3
The Navajo Nation reported 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths Monday, but tribal health officials say the first case of the omicron variant has been detected on the vast reservation. Based on cases from Dec. 17-30, the Navajo Department of Health has issued an advisory for 42 communities due to uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus. The latest numbers pushed the number of cases on the Navajo Nation at 41,657 since the pandemic began. The death roll remains at 1,590.
MMIW:
New Statewide Alert Proposed For Missing Indigenous Women In Washington
King 5, Adel Toay, January 3
A newly proposed bill would create a statewide alert for missing Indigenous women and people in Washington, the first of its kind in the United States. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and State Representative Debra Lekanoff (D-Anacortes) announced the proposed bill on Monday. House Bill 1725 would function the same as a “Silver Alert,” which is used when a vulnerable adult goes missing. When activated, the alert would broadcast details of the missing person on message signs, highway advisory messages and through press releases to local and regional media. Indigenous women and people go missing more than four times than white women, according to research conducted by the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle. According to the attorney general’s office, similar alerts like the Silver Alert have a high success rate. The proposed bill comes after Washington’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force held a public meeting in December and heard from survivors, family members and community members.
Law:
The Next Navajo Police Chief Steps Up
Indian Country Today, Pauly Denetclaw, January 3
Daryl Noon was sworn in as the new chief of police for one of the largest Indigenous police departments in the country, the Navajo Nation. Noon previously served as the deputy chief under his predecessor, Phillip Francisco, who started in 2016. Under Francisco, Navajo Police saw the reestablishment of the police academy, the hiring of dozens of new officers, and increasing salaries. Francisco announced he was leaving Navajo Police to spend more time with his family in late November of last year. This comes after years of tension between Francisco and the Navajo Nation Council’s Law and Order committee that has legislative oversight over the department. In 2019, Francisco even laid his badge on the table after a heated exchange between him and the delegates over the handling of a criminal case. The hostility festered all the way to the end.
Woman Stabs Cayuga Nation Police Officer In Dispute Over Property On Reservation
Native News Online, January 3
A 34-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of the new year after she stabbed a Cayuga Nation Police Officer in the leg during a dispute over property that was taken over by the Cayuga Nation. The incident took place on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022, at the Pipekeepers, Tobacco & Gas convenience store that is located on the Cayuga Indian Reservation near Seneca Falls, New York. The Cayuga Nation Police Department was on the scene to oversee the assumption of ownership property the tribal nation purchased on Dec. 28, 2021. The Cayuga Nation took ownership of the property following a four-month-long dispute with local officials regarding the illegal operations by Dustin “Dusty” Parker — a Cayuga Nation citizen with no affiliation or authority within the Cayuga Nation government.
Other:
$2.9M Grant To Fund Totem Poles Along Juneau Waterfront
AP News, January 2
An Alaska Native nonprofit organization has received a $2.9 million grant to start building a totem pole trail along Juneau’s waterfront. The Sealaska Heritage Institute said the grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will cover 10 poles though the longer-term goal is to have 30 poles in place. Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian master carvers will carve their poles in communities around the Southeast, teaching apprentices the art. Kootéeyaa Deiyí, the trail’s name in the Tlingit language, is part of a long-term vision for Juneau to showcase its Native cultures and heritage.
Arizona Tribe To Develop Affordable Housing For Its Members
AP News, January 3
A Native American tribe in southern Arizona plans to begin construction on an affordable housing development for its members. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is using a low-income housing tax credit award from the Arizona Department of Housing to help secure $8.3 million in private investment. That will mainly fund the $9.6 million development of 27 townhomes on the tribe’s southwest Tucson reservation. The development is expected to be completed by the fall of 2023, the tribe’s housing director, Keith Gregory, told the Arizona Daily Star. Up to 200 workers will be employed on the project. The new townhomes are the second phase of a master planned subdivision that launched a year ago. The first phase containing 50 single-family housing units should be done by October, Gregory said.
Indigenous Groups Team Up With Conservationists To Protect Swaths Of US
The Guardian, Hallie Golden, January 3
In 2020, an environmental non-profit returned over a dozen acres in Oregon to the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes. Two months later, a conservation group worked with the Esselen Tribe of Monterey county to return more than 1,000 acres in California to the tribal group. And then late last year, in one of the largest transfers of its kind, an environmental organization returned thousands of acres of wildlife rangeland in Washington state to the Colville Tribes. Although each agreement was distinct, in recent years an important pattern has emerged of conservationists and Indigenous people working together by way of land transfers. The effect has been twofold: protecting ecologically vital spaces while helping to right historic injustices by returning properties to their original caretakers. The Colville Tribes agreement in October transferred about 9,243 acres of arid grasslands, dotted with sagebrush, that encompass several canyons in north-central Washington state that are valued by biologists as an important corridor linking the Cascade mountain range to the Rocky mountains for lynx, wolverine, wolves and grizzly bears.