Good morning, NUNAverse:
President Biden is expected to announce today that his administration will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and donate them to about 100 countries over the next year. People familiar with the Pfizer deal said the United States would pay for the doses at a “not for profit” price. The first 200 million doses will be distributed by the end of this year, followed by 300 million by next June, they said. The doses will be distributed through Covax, the international vaccine-sharing initiative.
TC Energy Corporation confirmed yesterday that it has terminated the Keystone XL pipeline project. On his first day in office President Biden signed an Executive Order revoking the pipeline’s permit issued by the Trump administration. “This is great news for the tribes who have been fighting to protect our people and our lands. The treaties and laws guarantee us protections, and we are committed to see that those laws are upheld,” Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux said after Wednesday’s announcement.
President Joe Biden’s nominee to the position of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department Bryan Newland appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs yesterday. Newland received widespread support from the committee, and tribes have endorsed him as someone who is well-versed in the issues they face, and as a tribal advocate. Newland said the work will require collaboration across federal agencies, driven by tribes.
An agreement announced Tuesday between an Alaska Native Corporation and conservationists would restrict development on lands in the Bristol Bay region where a mine developer has proposed a road, a move that could create another obstacle for the proposed Pebble Mine. The Conservation Fund said it has launched a fundraising campaign to buy the land easements on more than 44,000 acres (17,800 hectares) from the Pedro Bay Corp. for $18.3 million. The ANC would retain ownership of the land, and the easements would be managed by the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, a group focused on preserving salmon and wildlife habitat in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. According to a statement announcing the agreement, terms of the deal would bar the execution of any right-of-way agreements with the mine project due to the easements’ restrictions on development. The planned easements cover part of a transportation route proposed by the Pebble Mine, the statement says.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
Biden To Send 500 Million Doses Of Pfizer Vaccine To 100 Countries Over A Year
New York Times, Sharon LaFraniere, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Noah Weiland, June 9
President Biden, under pressure to aggressively address the global coronavirus vaccine shortage, will announce as early as Thursday that his administration will buy 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and donate them among about 100 countries over the next year, according to people familiar with the plan.
Politics:
Nominee To Oversee Indigenous Affairs Has Widespread Support
AP News, Felicia Fonseca
President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee Indigenous affairs at the Interior Department said Wednesday he won’t impede tribes as they seek to improve infrastructure, public safety and the economy on their lands. Bryan Newland appeared before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, where he received widespread support to become assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. Tribes, too, have endorsed him as someone who is well-versed in the issues they face and as a tribal advocate. Newland said the work will require collaboration across federal agencies, driven by tribes. He recounted how federal policies and laws impacted his childhood and his path to becoming chief judge in the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan and being elected tribal president.
Other:
TC Energy Confirms Keystone XL Pipeline Is Dead!
Native News Online, June 9
TC Energy Corporation confirmed on Wednesday, after consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta. it has terminated the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL). On his first day in office, on January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order revoking the KXL pipeline permit issued by the Trump administration. “The Company will continue to coordinate with regulators, stakeholders and Indigenous groups to meet its environmental and regulatory commitments and ensure a safe termination of and exit from the Project,” TC Energy Corporation said in a press release. Many American Indian tribes opposed the KXL pipeline since it was first announced over a decade ago. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) on October 26, 2018 passed a resolution opposing the construction of the KXL pipeline.
‘Keystone XL Is Dead!’
Indian Country Today, June 9
The Keystone XL pipeline project is officially terminated, the sponsor company announced Wednesday. Calgary-based TC Energy is pulling the plug on the project after Canadian officials failed to persuade President Joe Biden to reverse his cancellation of its permit on the day he took office. The company said it would work with government agencies “to ensure a safe termination of and exit from” the partially built line, which was to transport crude from the oil sand fields of western Canada to Steele City, Nebraska. The pipeline has been front and center of the fight against climate change, especially in Indigenous communities. Native people have been speaking out, organizing, and in opposition of the project for several years.
Proposed Conservation Plans Could Affect Alaska Mine Project
AP News, Becky Bohrer, June 9
An agreement announced Tuesday between an Alaska Native village corporation and conservationists would restrict development on lands in the Bristol Bay region where a mine developer has proposed a road, a move that could create another obstacle for the proposed Pebble Mine. The Conservation Fund said it has launched a fundraising campaign to buy the land easements on more than 44,000 acres (17,800 hectares) from the Pedro Bay Corp. for $18.3 million. Terms call for the money to be raised by the end of 2022. The corporation would retain ownership of the land, and the easements would be managed by the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, a group focused on preserving salmon and wildlife habitat in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. According to a statement announcing the agreement, terms of the deal would bar the execution of any right-of-way agreements with the mine project due to the easements’ restrictions on development. The planned easements cover part of a transportation route proposed by the Pebble Mine, the statement says.
Protesters Maintain Blockade At Oil Pipeline Site
AP News, Dave Kolpack, June 9
Protesters fighting a Canadian-based company’s push to replace an aging oil pipeline across northern Minnesota maintained a blockade at a pump station Tuesday as part of a summer drive to stop the project before it can go into service. Two protesters spent the night locked down in a boat blocking the entrance to one construction site, while two others locked themselves down underneath, tucked in behind duffel bags, beach chairs, water bottles and clothing. A Hubbard County sheriff’s deputy and a handful of private security guards stood by in the morning, but other law enforcement officers arrived as authorities went to work cutting the protesters free. Environmental and tribal groups say Enbridge Energy’s plan to replace Line 3 would worsen climate change and risk spills in sensitive areas where Native Americans harvest wild rice, hunt, fish, gather medicinal plants, and claim treaty rights. The line would cross the Mississippi River while carrying Canadian tar sands oil and regular crude from Alberta to Wisconsin.
Partnership With Native Americans Co-chairs ‘tribal Food Sovereignty’ Series With Local First Arizona And Arizona Food Systems Network
PR Newswire, June 8
Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) is collaborating on a new ‘Tribal Food Sovereignty’ series to open lines of communication across Tribal, regional and local initiatives impacting Arizona food systems and food sovereignty work, challenges and opportunities. Meetings will be co-chaired by representatives of Local First Arizona and Arizona Food Systems Network, along with Rafael Tapia Jr., vice president of programs for PWNA and a long-time advocate for Native food sovereignty. One speaker presented a project to install 100 hoop houses and train Tribal citizens to grow produce and create a food exchange market across various chapters of the Navajo Nation. Their goal is to build the hoop houses with minimal outside help. Another speaker stressed that food systems work needs to be shaped around bio regions rather than state or jurisdictional lines, such as the policies and practices currently used by the Hopi and Navajo to foster food access through bio regions and traditional knowledge.