Good Morning, NUNAverse,
An Alaska elections official said Tuesday that the fifth-place finisher in the special primary for Alaska’s U.S. House seat will not advance to an August special election following the withdrawal of independent Al Gross, who was in third place. Gail Fenumiai, director of the Division of Elections, said that’s because the withdrawal happened less than 64 days before the scheduled August 16 special election. In a letter to an attorney for Republican Nick Begich’s campaign, Fenumiai pointed to a provision of law laying out the timeline. Gross was positioned to advance to the August special election as one of the top four vote-getters. But on Monday evening, he suddenly announced plans to end his campaign. The candidate currently in fifth place is Republican Tara Sweeney (Inupiaq).
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will host a hearing titled “Oversight Hearing on Volume 1 of the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report & Legislative Hearing on S. 2907, Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act” today at 2:30 P.M. – EDT, stream here. Since the disclosure in late May 2021 of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, the Indian boarding issue has become one of the most talked about issues in Indian Country. The Committee, led by Chairman Brian Schatz of Hawai‘i, will hear from the administration and Native leaders and experts on the Department’s report, S. 2907, and how to address the needs of impacted Native communities.
The tombstone bore the name of Wade Ayres, a Native boy who died at a government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania more than a century ago and was thought to have been buried on the grounds of what is now a U.S. Army base. But when the Army exhumed grave B-13 on Saturday, intending to repatriate the boy’s remains to the Catawba Indian Nation of South Carolina, they did not match those of a male age 13 or 14. Instead, they belonged to a female age 15 to 20, the Army said in a statement. Her remains were reburied in the same grave on Monday and marked unknown. Messages were sent to Catawba and Army officials on Tuesday seeking more information about efforts to locate Wade. It was also unclear whether the Army is seeking to match the unidentified female to a tribe. The discovery came as the Army disinters the remains of eight Native children who died at the government-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The disinterment process began earlier this month and is the fifth such project at Carlisle, the home of the U.S. Army War College.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Native Candidate May Be Missing From Alaska US House Ballot
AP News, Becky Bohrer, June 21
An Alaska elections official said Tuesday that the fifth-place finisher in the special primary for Alaska’s U.S. House seat will not advance to an August special election following the withdrawal of independent Al Gross, who was in third place. Gail Fenumiai, director of the Division of Elections, said that’s because the withdrawal happened less than 64 days before the scheduled August 16 special election. In a letter to an attorney for Republican Nick Begich’s campaign, Fenumiai pointed to a provision of law laying out the timeline. Fenumiai said Gross withdrew from the race Tuesday and that his name would be removed from the ballot for the top four candidates in the special general election. Fenumiai urged anyone who disagrees with the decisions to “file suit immediately,” citing the timeline to print ballots for the special election. Gross was positioned to advance to the August special election as one of the top four vote-getters. But on Monday evening, he suddenly announced plans to end his campaign.
Boarding Schools:
Senate Committee On Indian Affairs To Hear Testimony On Indian Boarding Schools On Wednesday
Native News Online, June 21
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will host a hearing titled “Oversight Hearing on Volume 1 of the Department of the Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report & Legislative Hearing on S. 2907, Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act” on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. – EDT, stream here. Since the disclosure in late May 2021 of 215 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Residential School in British Columbia, the Indian boarding issue has become one of the most talked about issues in Indian Country. The Committee, led by Chairman Brian Schatz of Hawai‘i, will hear from the administration and Native leaders and experts on the Department’s report, S. 2907, and how to address the needs of impacted Native communities.
Army: Disinterred Remains Do Not Match Native Boy
AP News, Michael Rubinkam, June 21
The tombstone bore the name of Wade Ayres, a Native boy who died at a government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania more than a century ago and was thought to have been buried on the grounds of what is now a U.S. Army base. But when the Army exhumed grave B-13 over on Saturday, intending to repatriate the boy’s remains to the Catawba Indian Nation of South Carolina, they did not match those of a male age 13 or 14. Instead, they belonged to a female age 15 to 20, the Army said in a statement. Her remains were reburied in the same grave on Monday and marked unknown. Messages were sent to Catawba and Army officials on Tuesday seeking more information about efforts to locate Wade. It was also unclear whether the Army is seeking to match the unidentified female to a tribe. The discovery came as the Army disinters the remains of eight Native children who died at the government-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School. The disinterment process began earlier this month and is the fifth such project at Carlisle, the home of the U.S. Army War College.
Other:
U.S. Treasury Department Welcomes Mohegan Tribe’s Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba As U.S. Treasurer
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, June 21
Mutáwi Mutáhash Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba’s signature will soon appear on U.S. currency. She will become the Treasurer of the United States and lead a new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs at the U.S. Treasury Department. On Tuesday, the White House announced President Joe Biden’s intent to appoint Malerba, who is the chief of the Mohegan Tribe. The Treasurer directly oversees the U.S. Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Fort Knox, the Treasury Department said. She will also be a “key liaison with the Federal Reserve” and a senior advisor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “in the areas of community development and public engagement.” Malerba was appointed the Mohegan Tribe’s first female chief in modern history in 2010 in a lifetime appointment, the tribe’s website says. She has previously served as the tribal council’s chairwoman and executive director of health and human services.
Neilson Powless (Oneida) Becomes Highest Ranked American In The World Of Pro-Cycling
Native News Online, Ben Pryor, June 21
Neilson Powless (Oneida) is now the highest-ranked American in the pro-cycling world rankings, after finishing 4th in the Tour de Suisse on Sunday. It was his career-best at a World Tour stage race. The Tour de Suisse was held June 12-19 in cycling’s build-up to the Tour de France, in which he will likely race next month. Tour de Suisse is notable for its rigorous climbing and high altitudes in the Swiss Alps. In 2020, Powless made headlines by becoming the first Native to ride in the Tour de France. Powless rides for team EF Education-EasyPost. Since becoming a professional cyclist in 2018, Powless has continued to improve. Last year was his most successful, winning Spain’s most popular single-day race, the Clásica San Sebastián; finishing fifth at the world championships in Belgium; and improving his performance at the Tour de France.
Assembly Of First Nations National Chief Roseanne Archibald Suspended By Executive Committee, Board Of Directors
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, June 21
The Assembly of First Nations’ executive committee and national board of directors have voted to immediately suspend AFN National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, the AFN said in a statement on Friday. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a national advocacy organization that represents First Nations across Canada. Its executive committee is composed of regional chiefs and Archibald, who was elected as the first female National Chief in July 2021. The AFN said in its statement that Archibald is suspended with pay pending an investigation into four complaints against her. The AFN said that the suspension was prompted by a public statement from Archibald on Thursday, which “breached her obligations to the AFN—contrary to her Oath of Office, the organization’s Code of Conduct and AFN Whistleblower Policy.”
Local Wampanoag Leaders Say Harvard Must Not Wait To Return Thousands Of Native Remains
CAI, Kathryn Eident, June 21
Harvard University has acknowledged its museum collection has held the remains of thousands of Indigenous people for generations. Leaders from the Mashpee and Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribes say the university is acting too slowly to release those remains to tribes for burial.
Fires Sweep Land Rich With Ancient Sites, Artifacts
Associated Press, Felicia Fonseca, June 20
As Jason Nez (Navajo) scans rugged mountains, high desert, and cliffsides for signs of ancient tools and dwellings unique to the U.S. Southwest, he keeps in mind that they’re part of a bigger picture. And, fire is not new to them. “They have been burned many, many times, and that’s healthy,” said Nez, archaeologist and firefighter. “A lot of our cultural resources we see as living, and living things are resilient.” As a pair of wildfires skirt this mountainous northern Arizona city, the flames are crossing land dense with reminders of human existence through centuries — multilevel stone homes, rock carvings and pieces of clay and ceramic pots that have been well-preserved in the arid climate since long before fire suppression became a tactic. Today, firefighting crews increasingly are working to avoid or minimize damage from bulldozers and other modern-day tools on archaeological sites and artifacts, and protect those on public display to ensure history isn’t lost on future generations.
New Jersey Sues Ford Over Mining That Tainted Tribal Land
Associated Press, Wayne Parry, June 20
New Jersey officials sued Ford Motor Co. on Thursday, alleging that the automaker contaminated the ancestral homeland of a tribe by dumping paint sludge and other pollutants into a former mine. The action in state court seeks unspecified damages to restore the land, and to compensate the state and local communities for losses they sustained when natural resources were damaged. The suit accuses Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford of dumping contaminants at the former Ringwood Mine site, a 500-acre site that encompasses the homelands of the Ramapough Lenape Nation, a tribe formally recognized by the state. Tribal citizens attended Thursday’s news conference and spoke of years of illnesses and deaths they attribute to contamination of their land. The state’s lawsuit alleges that Ford purchased Ringwood Mines in 1965 to use it as a landfill where it could dispose of hazardous waste generated by its auto assembly plant in Mahwah, which was one of the largest auto assembly plants in the U.S.