Good Morning, NUNAverse,
With the new year comes a new wave of COVID across Indian Country, and much of the country in general. Indian Health Service (IHS) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Loretta Christensen wrote to Native News Online that all 12 service areas have seen “a significant increase” of positive COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks. The positivity rate more than tripled from the day after Christmas through the new year, compared to the week leading up to the holiday, IHS data shows.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster yesterday to include children as young as 12, at least five months after they finish the primary vaccine series. On Monday, the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-1 earlier Wednesday in favor of recommending the expanded use of Covid-19 boosters for children in this age group.
First Nations organizations, Canada’s federal government, and class-action lawyers announced details of two agreements in principle Tuesday that, if ratified, could end a nearly 15-year-old legal battle over the underfunding of child welfare services on reserves and in the Yukon. The deals, worth $40 billion and reached New Year’s Eve in Canada, would respectively spend $20 billion compensating tens of thousands of families victimized over the last three decades and another roughly $20 billion over five years on program reform. The deals are $31.5 billion in USD.
A state judge has ruled that thousands of documents related to security during the construction in North Dakota of the heavily protested Dakota Access Pipeline are public and subject to the state’s open records law. The Bismarck Tribune reports the ruling by South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland is a victory for The Intercept news organization, which sued in 2020 to get access to the documents for investigative journalism. The documents being held by the North Dakota Private Investigation and Security Board relate to Energy Transfer, the Texas-based company that built the pipeline, and TigerSwan, the North Carolina company that Energy Transfer hired to oversee security during construction.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Health:
COVID-19 Positivity Rate Has More Than Tripled Across Indian Country Since Dec. 26
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, January 5
With the new year comes a new wave of COVID across Indian Country, and much of the country in general. Indian Health Service (IHS) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Loretta Christensen wrote to Native News Online that all 12 service areas have seen “a significant increase” of positive COVID-19 cases in the last few weeks. The positivity rate more than tripled from the day after Christmas through the new year, compared to the week leading up to the holiday, IHS data shows.
CDC Recommends Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters For Children As Young As 12
CNN, Katherine Dillinger, January 5
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine booster on Wednesday to include children as young as 12, at least five months after they finish the primary vaccine series. On Monday, the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-1 earlier Wednesday in favor of recommending the expanded use of Covid-19 boosters for children in this age group.
Law:
A $31.5B Settlement over Treatment of Indigenous Children
Indian Country Today, Brett Forrester and Raser Needham, January 5
The federal government, First Nations organizations, and class-action lawyers announced details of two agreements in principle Tuesday that, if ratified, could end a nearly 15-year-old legal battle over the racist underfunding of child welfare services on reserves and in the Yukon. The deals, worth $40 billion and reached New Year’s Eve in Canada, would respectively spend $20 billion compensating tens of thousands of families victimized over the last three decades and another roughly $20 billion over five years on program reform. The deals are $31.5 billion in USD.
In California, Tribal Members And More Protected From Liability For Cultural, Controlled Burns
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, January 5
California’s more than half a million Native people are now backed by a law that allows them more protection to do what they’ve always done: fight fire with fire. Since time immemorial, Indigenous people have managed their forests in hot, dry areas— such as much of present day California— by setting off controlled burns, or intentional fires, that remove organic materials that can be hazardous fuel sources from a forest floor.
North Dakota Judge Rules DAPL Documents Are Public
AP News, January 4
A state judge has ruled that thousands of documents related to security during the construction in North Dakota of the heavily protested Dakota Access Pipeline are public and subject to the state’s open records law. The Bismarck Tribune reports the Friday ruling by South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland is a victory for The Intercept news organization, which sued in 2020 to get access to the documents for investigative journalism.
Politics:
Seattle City Council Elects First Indigenous President
The Hill, Chloe Folmar, January 5
The Seattle City Council unanimously elected Debora Juarez as council president on Tuesday, making her the first Indigenous council president in Seattle history. Juarez, a member of the Blackfeet nation, was elected by the nine-member council during their first meeting of 2022.
MMIW:
Bureau Of Indian Affairs Launches Website For Cases Involving Missing And Murdered Indigenous Peoples
The Daily Yonder, Kristi Eaton, January 5
A new website by the Bureau of Indian Affairs is meant to help increase visibility for missing and murdered Indigenous Peoples’ cases and help with investigations, but at least one grassroots worker questions whether it will be useful for members of the American Indian and Alaska Native communities. In December 2021, the BIA launched a website through The Missing and Murdered Unit within the Office of Justice Services. The website was created to analyze and solve missing and murdered cases involving American Indian and Alaska Native peoples.
Casinos:
New Deal With Bank Of Oklahoma Will Save Quapaw Nation $55,000 Per Day In Interest For Downstream Casino Loan
NPR, Allison Herrera, January 5
In 2008, reporters and photographers were lined up to take pictures of the Quapaw Nation’s new Downstream Casino in far northeastern Oklahoma. According to an article published in The Joplin Globe, the 7000,000-foot space was a marvel for its opulence, attention to detail, restaurants and 2,000 slot machines. The price tag: $301 million dollars. But as of December 2021, the Quapaw Nation has paid down little of that debt because they were making interest-only payments amounting to $55,000 a day. That’s the price of a home in Ottawa County, where the casino is located.
Native Representation:
Parma High School To Keep Controversial Mascot Name After Support From Students
Fox 8, Jennifer Jordan, January 5
Parma High School’s Redmen mascot name will remain, with support from high school junior Andrew Sakeagak, a goalie on the school’s hockey team. Sakeagak is also part Native American. “I just feel like it really kind of represents how my culture should be represented, just because the fact that we don’t appropriate it or bring any negative context to the name,” he said.
Other:
National Congress Of American Indians Recording Secretary Aaron Payment Censured By His Tribe’s Board Of Directors
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, January 5
Without getting into specifics, the Sault Ste. Marie of Chippewa Indians board of directors through a motion, on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, censured Chairperson Aaron Payment for a variety of reasons (see below) that were worded broadly. The censure comes with actions by the board of directors that will apparently cause Payment to have to vacate his position as recording secretary of the National Congress of Americans (NCAI). According to a document obtained by Native News Online, the tribal board of directors in its motion to censure Payment adds “…Removes the Chairperson from any/all internal committees (with the exception of those established by Tribal Code) and external committees that are the result of the Tribes Membership with their respective organizations. Notice of which shall be provided by the Tribes Executive Director.”
Indian Child Welfare Act Conference To Be Held Feb. 16
The Neshoba Democrat, January 5
Renowned Native American repatriation and child welfare advocate Sandy White Hawk will be the keynote speaker at the tenth annual Indian Child Welfare Act Conference, which will be held on Feb. 16 at the Silver Star Convention Center in Choctaw. The opening ceremony is set for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 16. Chief Cyrus Ben of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will speak at 9:15 a.m. Ms. White Hawk will speak at 9:30 a.m.