Good morning, NUNAverse:
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced the restoration of more than 18,800 acres of land, known as the National Bison Range, so it can be returned to tribes in Montana. The transfer will be issued from the Interior to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), specifically to be held for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The lands were already within the bounds of the CSKT reservation prior to being officially transferred.
Members of the Lumbee Tribal Council are calling for a Gaston County high school to remove a mascot and logo that they call an inaccurate and derogatory representation of Native people. Tribal leaders spoke at the Gaston County Board of Education meeting Monday night against South Point High School’s Red Raider mascot name and logo. Yvonne Dial, a member of the Lumbee Tribal Council, told the board that they “find it very offensive and demeaning.” There were speakers who favored keeping the mascot and logo, including Belmont Mayor Charlie Martin, who said the name has been there for a long time “and it’s not offended anybody around here that we know of.”
Three people were arrested Monday at a prayer lodge along the Mississippi River near an Enbridge Line 3 construction site as questions persist that the pipeline work is worsening water shortages in northern Minnesota. According to the Aitkin County sheriff’s office, three people were charged with misdemeanor trespass and remained in custody late Tuesday. Meanwhile, a large law enforcement presence remained near the prayer lodge Tuesday, said Shania Mattson, a water protector from Palisade, Minnesota.
New York City officials voted unanimously to designate an Indigenous archaeological site on the South Shore of Staten Island and the Kimlau War Memorial in Chinatown in Manhattan as protected landmarks. The agency worked with Native groups to rename the archaeological site on Staten Island, located in Conference House Park in Tottenville, which anthropologists said contains the oldest signs of Indigenous life within the city limits, beginning about 8,000 years ago. The landmark covers nearly 20 acres of land and will be called Aakawaxung Munahanung (Island Protected from the Wind).
Keep reading for a full news update.
Boarding Schools:
Indian Country Applauds Interior Sec. Haaland’s Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, June 23
The discovery of 215 remains of school children at the Kamloops Industrial Residential School in Canada late last month has prompted the U.S. Department of the Interior to establish a Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. Interior Sec. Deb Haaland made the announcement during her appearance at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 2021 Mid Year Conference on Tuesday afternoon. The initiative will include an investigation to identify past boarding schools, the location of known and possible burial sites, and the identities and tribal affiliations of the children who were taken there. Indian Country was quick to embrace the idea. Sarah Kastelic, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association, says the initiative is the first step towards telling the truth about the centuries of forced assimilation and uncovering the lasting and intergenerational impact on Native families.
Politics:
Senate Committee On Indian Affairs Host Roundtable To Discuss Infrastructure Needs In Indian Country
Native News Online, June 23
The Committee on Indian Affairs hosted a roundtable on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the infrastructure needs in Indian Country. The “Concrete Solutions: Building a Successful Foundation for Native Communities’ Infrastructure Development.” The committee heard from Tribal, Native Hawaiian, and administration witnesses about opportunities for and existing challenges to successful deployment of infrastructure in Native communities.
Native Mascots:
Lumbee Tribal Leaders Speak Out Against School’s Mascot
AP News, June 23
Members of the Lumbee Tribal Council are calling for a Gaston County high school to remove a mascot and logo that they call an inaccurate and derogatory representation of Native American people. News outlets report that the tribal leaders spoke at the Gaston County Board of Education meeting Monday night against South Point High School’s Red Raider mascot name and logo. Yvonne Dial, a member of the Lumbee Tribal council, told the board that they “find it very offensive and demeaning.” There were speakers who favored keeping the mascot and logo, including Belmont Mayor Charlie Martin, who said the name has been there for a long time “and it’s not offended anybody around here that we know of.”
Other:
More Arrests Along Enbridge Line 3
Indian Country Today, Mary Annette Pember, June 23
Three people were arrested Monday at a prayer lodge along the Mississippi River near an Enbridge construction site as questions persist that the pipeline work is worsening water shortages in northern Minnesota.
DOI Returns More Than 18k Acres Of Land To Native American Tribes
The Hill, Alexandra Kelley, June 23
The U.S. Department of Interior announced Wednesday the restoration of more than 18,800 acres of land, known as the National Bison Range, so it can be returned to Indigenous tribes in Montana. The transfer will be issued from the Interior to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), specifically to be held for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The lands were already within the bounds of the CSKT reservation prior to being officially transferred. The National Bison Range (NBR) was established in 1908 to protect the American Bison from extinction following the desecration of the species in the centuries before — driven by American settlers and systematic hunting. It marked the first time Congress allocated tax funding to buy land for the single mission of preserving wildlife.
City Approves Landmarks Honoring Chinese Americans And Native Americans
The New York Times, Zachary Small, June 23
The Kimlau War Memorial in Manhattan has long been a symbolic gateway to Chinatown, while an archaeological site in Staten Island dates back 8,000 years. City officials on Tuesday voted unanimously to designate an Indigenous archaeological site on the South Shore of Staten Island and the Kimlau War Memorial in Chinatown in Manhattan as protected landmarks. More than five decades after the city began to assign landmark status to sites, only a small portion of its roughly 37,000 properties recognize the contributions of communities of color. More recently, preservationists have sought to highlight the achievements of African Americans with interactive maps exploring landmarks related to Black history and the Underground Railroad. In February, a rowhouse in Downtown Brooklyn also received landmark status for its connection to the abolitionist movement of the 1800s.
Fearing Dismal Salmon Runs, Kwik’pak Fisheries Pivots To Gardening
KYUK, Olivia Ebertz, June 23
In recent years, the chum salmon runs on the Yukon River have been low. This year, it is too early to tell how the run will be. But with commercial fishing becoming a less reliable venture, one fishing enterprise is hoping to find stability by turning to veggies. The goal is to keep the business operating and workers employed, so Kwik’pak Fisheries in Emmonak is diversifying its business by building greenhouses right next to its fish processing plant. Traditionally, Kwik’Pak is the only fish buyer in the lower Yukon, and one of the region’s main employers during the summer.
Peace Medal Returned To Seneca After 116 Years
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Adria R. Walker, June 23
Red Jacket’s Peace Medal, measuring about 7 inches, is made of silver and depicts George Washington, the former United States president, and Red Jacket, the former Seneca chief, shaking hands. It was given to Red Jacket as a gift from the man with whom he is pictured to commemorate discussions that led to the Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794. Red Jacket so cherished the medal that it he is said to have worn it every day until his death. On a Monday afternoon in mid-May, Red Jacket’s Peace Medal — after over a century long journey — returned home. A couple hundred people gathered outdoors at the Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center in Salamanca, New York. There, the Buffalo History Museum formally repatriated the Red Jacket Peace Medal to the Seneca Nation.
China, Canada Spar Over Human Rights Failings
AP News, Jamey Keaten, June 22
Canada and 40 other countries on Tuesday urged China to allow “immediate, meaningful and unfettered access” so independent observers can visit its western Xinjiang region, while a Chinese envoy demanded that Canadian authorities “stop violations of human rights” at home. The mutual finger-pointing, which preceded admissions from Canada’s envoy about shortcomings in her country’s rights record, came in a debate at the Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body. Chinese envoy Jiang Duan inveighed against Canada’s past mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the recent discovery of the remains of more than 200 children at an Indigenous boarding school in Canada. He called for a “thorough and impartial investigation” into cases of crimes against Indigenous peoples and faulted racism and xenophobia in Canada.