Good Morning NUNAverse,
Last week, the Oklahoma Legislature overrode Governor Kevin Stitt’s veto of a tribal regalia bill that will protect Native students’ right to wear regalia at graduations. The bill becomes law on July 1 and allows any student at a public school, including colleges, universities, and technology centers to wear tribal regalia such as traditional garments, jewelry, or other items of cultural significance at graduation ceremonies. However, the bill specifically prohibits the adornment of items such as a bow and arrow, tomahawk, or “war hammer.”
The federal government has temporarily halted plans to construct a copper mine on sacred Indigenous land in Arizona known as Oak Flat, citing an error in oral arguments made at a March hearing. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official filed a letter to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, May 18, saying it made an error during oral arguments on March 21 when the 9th Circuit reheard Apache Stronghold v. United States, a case that encapsulates a nearly decade-long fight to save the land sacred to the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
A high school graduate is suing her former Oklahoma school district after she says school officials prevented her from wearing a sacred eagle plume on her graduation cap. Lena’ Black was waiting to take her seat for the graduation ceremony at Broken Arrow when, according to the lawsuit, two school officials told her she needed to remove the “decoration” from her cap and then attempted to pull off the eagle plume.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
Oklahoma Legislature Overrides Governor Stitt’s Veto Of Native Regalia Bill
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, May 26
Oklahoma Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto Of Tribal Regalia Bill
AP News, Sean Murphy, May 25
Senator Warren Revives Indian Boarding School Legislation With Bipartisan Support
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, May 24
Health:
How Generational Trauma Continues To Haunt Native Communities.
Green Bay Press-Gazette, Frank Vaisvilas, May 30
Native Americans In New Mexico Fall Victim To Fraudulent Sober Living Homes
KUNM, Alice Fordham, May 25
Yurok Tribe Declares Emergency In Response To Surge In Fentanyl Overdoses
Native News Online, Elyse Wild , May 23
Other:
Native American Fashion Aims To Reclaim Its Culture With Authentic Designs
PBS, Kaomi Lee, May 29
Native American High School Graduate Sues School District After She Says She Wasn’t Allowed To Wear Sacred Eagle Feather At Graduation
CNN, Nicole Chavez, May 26
Remains Of 5 More Native American Children To Be Disinterred In Pennsylvania
AP News, May 25
Long Awaited “Killers Of The Flower Moon” About 1920 Osage Murders Receives A Nine- Minute Standing Ovation At Cannes Film Festival
Native News Online, Neely Bardwell, May 25
Feds Pause Progress Of Mine That Tribal Leaders Say Will Destroy Sacred Indigenous Site In Arizona
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, May 24
Native American Leaders In South Dakota Forge Ahead With Educational Reforms
South Dakota News Watch, Bart Pfankuch, May 24