Good morning, NUNAverse:
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Native peoples have the highest vaccination rate in the United State with close to 40 percent of the population fully vaccinated, and 45 percent having received at least one dose. Asian Americans follow closely behind with 35 percent of the population fully vaccinated, followed by white Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Hispanic and Black Americans lag behind with less than one-third of their populations fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
South Dakota government officials scrambled on Friday to reach a consensus on rules around medical marijuana after a voter-passed law went into effect. Following the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe opening the first cannabis dispensary in the state, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office appeared to counter guidance last week from the Highway Patrol on medical marijuana ID cards issued by tribes, but on Friday the attorney general issued a statement saying he agrees with the Highway Patrol’s stance. Meanwhile, the Department of Education tried to work past state lawmakers’ objections to its proposed rules for allowing students to use medical pot at school.
Two years after she was listed as missing, a Navajo woman’s body was identified through DNA testing on June 30, 2021. The remains of Cecelia Barber Finona were discovered in Clark County, Nevada in February 2021. Finona, a 31-year retired veteran, had not been seen since the night of May 30, 2019 at her residence east of Farmington, N.M. She was reported missing the next day on June 1. The story of Finona’s disappearance made national news when it was featured in Dateline NBC’s “Missing in America” in July of 2019. Days later Finona was reported missing and her boyfriend, Jerry Jay of Farmington, New Mexico was arrested in Las Vegas on charges of possession of a credit card without owner’s consent and fraudulent use of a credit card, according to a police report. On Friday, July 2, 2021, Jay was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and tampering with evidence.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has elected RoseAnne Archibald to be its new National Chief, making her the first woman to hold the post. Archibald’s priority goals on her campaign platform include a post-pandemic recovery plan for First Nations, a national agenda that will move the AFN away from government funding and toward economic self-sufficiency, a new AFN 2SLGBTQIA+ Council, and political restructuring that will make the AFN more responsive to First Nations. Throughout her 31 years of experience in First Nations politics, Archibald has consistently broken new ground as the first female Chief for the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Deputy Grand Chief for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, Grand Chief for Mushkegowuk Council, and Ontario Regional Chief, according to a biography provided by the AFN.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
South Dakota Sees Clunky Rollout Of Medical Pot Rules
AP News, Stephen Groves, July 11
South Dakota government officials scrambled on Friday to reach a consensus on rules around medical pot, showing that the rollout of the voter-passed law has been anything but smooth. Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office this week appeared to counter guidance from the Highway Patrol on medical marijuana ID cards issued by Native American tribes. But on Friday the attorney general issued a statement saying he agrees with the Highway Patrol’s stance. Meanwhile, the Department of Education tried to work past state lawmakers’ objections to its proposed rules for allowing students to use medical pot at school.
State Of South Dakota Doubles Down On Sovereignty Issue; Will Not Honor Tribal Medical Marijuana Cards
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, July 10
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg on Friday reversed his position on whether law enforcement should accept medical marijuana cards issued by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe (FSST) to non-tribal members. Ravnsborg’s announcement doubles down on South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem stance that state non-tribal residents cannot legally buy medical cannabis with a tribal card, even if it required a physician’s sign off. Earlier this week, the Attorney General’s office issued a statement that law enforcement would have to accept medical marijuana cards issued by the FSST to non-tribal members.
COVID-19:
Native Americans Continue To Boast Highest Vaccination Rates In The US
The Hill, Anagha Srikanth, July 9
With close to 40 percent of their population fully vaccinated, Native Americans have the highest vaccination rate in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is tracking vaccination rates among various communities. Where Native Americans have the highest lead, however, is the nearly half, or 45 percent, of the population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The next closest — Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders — remain at just one-third of their population that has received at least one dose of the vaccine. As the delta variant spreads across the United States, COVID-19 cases are surging in nearly half of U.S. states, particularly those where the vaccination rate remains low.
Other:
Rez Kids Run Inaugural Event Kicks Off At RES 2021 To Benefit The National Center’s Scholarship Fund
Native News Online, July 11
Five Native-owned businesses announce the launch of REZ Kids Run that was established the benefit The National Center’s Scholarship Fund. The inaugural event kicks off prior to the 40 Under 40 celebrations during RES 2021 at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 21, 2021. The founding five businesses, Avalon Accounting LLC, Behempful LLC, OXDX LLC, Terraform Development LLC and Red Earth Running Co, came together to promote health, wellness, and self- perseverance through Indigenous running’s powerful healing properties, and have gathered to host wellness events which support educational initiatives and social causes in our Native communities.
New Parks Podcast Shares Indigenous Voices
AP News, Matt Dahlseid, July 11
As the popularity of America’s national parks continues to surge, Parks co-creators and Santa Fe-based multimedia journalists Mary Mathis and Cody Nelson urge visitors to educate themselves about and acknowledge the Indigenous tribes whose ties to these sacred spaces span millennia. The aim of the documentary podcast is to explore the history of tribes on these lands, the ways in which the lands were dispossessed, issues the Indigenous communities face today, and how they’ve kept their culture and traditions alive.
Remains Of Missing Army Vet Navajo Woman Missing For Two Years Identified; Boyfriend Charged With First-Degree Murder
Native News Online, July 11
Two years after she was listed as missing, a Navajo woman’s body was identified through DNA testing on June 30, 2021. The remains of Cecelia Barber Finona, 59, were discovered in Clark County, Nevada in February 2021. Finona, a 31-year retired veteran, had not been seen since the night of May 30, 2019 at her residence east of Farmington, N.M. She was reported missing the next day on June 1. The story of Finona’s disappearance made national news when it was featured in Dateline NBC’s “Missing in America” in July of 2019. Days later Finona was reported missing, her boyfriend, Jerry Jay, 59, of Farmington, N.M. was arrested in Las Vegas on charges of possession of a credit card without owner’s consent and fraudulent use of a credit card, according to a police report. Jay allegedly used Fionona’s debit card to withdraw more than $1,200 in Farmington, Window Rock and Kingman, Ariz. and Las Vegas.
Former Gov. Richardson Teams Native Groups To Giveaway Shoes On Navajo Nation
Native News Online, July 9
Some 300 pairs of Nike shoes are being delivered to needy children on the Navajo Nation courtesy a unique partnership between the Governor Richardson-Peterson Zah Covid-19 Navajo Families Relief , the NB3 Foundation, the Nike N7 Fund and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson visited the Navajo Nation on Thursday to help with the delivery of the shoes that will go to six communities. As a longtime supporter and friend of the Navajo people, Gov. Richardson established the fund in April of 2020 to aid in getting essential supplies and equipment to the Navajo Nation to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
RoseAnne Archibald Elected National Chief Of Assembly Of First Nations, First Woman To Hold Role
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, July 9
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has elected RoseAnne Archibald to be its new National Chief, becoming the first woman to hold the post. Archibald’s priority goals on her campaign platform include a post-pandemic recovery plan for First Nations, a national agenda that will move the AFN away from government funding and toward economic self-sufficiency, a new AFN 2SLGBTQIA+ Council, and political restructuring that will make the AFN more responsive to First Nations. Throughout her 31 years of experience in First Nations politics, Archibald has consistently broken new ground as the first female Chief for the Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Deputy Grand Chief for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation, Grand Chief for Mushkegowuk Council, and Ontario Regional Chief, according to a biography provided by the AFN.
Patricia Marroquin Norby Is Bringing A Native Perspective To The Met
The New York Times, Elizabeth Pochoda, July 9
When the nation’s foremost museum got serious about the nation’s first inhabitants, they needed an Indigenous lodestar. They found one in Patricia Marroquin Norby (Purépecha), the museum’s first Native American curator and its first curator of Native American art. Her credentials include a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota with a concentration in American Indian History, Art and Visual Culture, as well as a forthcoming book, “Water, Bones, and Bombs,” on art making and environmental issues in New Mexico’s Rio Grande Valley. She has held positions at the Newberry Library in Chicago and the National Museum of the American Indian in New York, won numerous awards and done focused work on the deaccessioning and repatriation of cultural material.
Dig At Pilgrim And Native American Memorial Sparks Intrigue
AP News, William J. Kole, July 9
Archaeologists combing a hill near Plymouth Rock where a park will be built in tribute to the Pilgrims and their Native American predecessors have made a poignant discovery: It’s not the first time the site has been used as a memorial. David Landon of the University of Massachusetts-Boston’s Fiske Center for Archaeological Research says his team unearthed a cache of personal items he thinks were buried there in the late 1800s, most likely by a brokenhearted settler who had outlived all three of her children.