Good morning, NUNAverse:
Last week, Pfizer Inc. said its COVID-19 vaccine was granted priority review by U.S. regulators, putting it on track for a potential full approval by early next year. The drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech SE said in a statement Friday that the Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether to approve the shot for use in people 16 and older by January 2022. The vaccine is currently in use under an emergency-use authorization.
The remains of nine Native children who were taken from the Sicangu Lakota to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania were brought home Friday with prayer and ceremony. The children departed from Whetstone Bay more than 140 years ago, forcibly removed from their families and stripped of their language, culture, and traditions to attend the government-run boarding school. They were among more than 100 who died while attending the boarding school, and this marked the fourth time since 2017 that remains found at Carlisle have returned to their homelands.
Meanwhile in California, the United Urban Warrior Society-California Chapter (UUWS-CC) is calling on Governor Gavin Newsom and the Truth and Healing Council to begin an immediate investigation of all California Indian boarding schools in the state of California. The UUWS-CC sent a letter to Newsom to request the investigation into any criminal activity that may have taken place at the Indian boarding schools in California, writing that “these crimes committed against California Native Children while forced and kidnapped to attend these California Native Boarding Schools must be acknowledged by the Christian Churches and their institutions that ran them and held accountable for the crimes they committed against our Children from 1850 to the 1960s.”
In Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) suspended some water appropriation permits in some parts of the state due to an extreme drought, according to the DNR. Some permits affected by the decision include Enbridge’s Line 3 construction project. Dust control water sources and hydrostatic testing and horizontal directional drilling water sources have been suspended on the Shell River, and others. Enbridge is still authorized to appropriate water from some other surface water sources that are not located within watersheds experiencing low streamflow and from sources that do not affect surface water, according to the DNR’s website.
Six months after pledging to help the Navajo Nation battle its water crisis, Nalgene says its Tó éí iiná bottle, created by Diné designer Jaden Redhair, is one of the company’s most popular products. Sales from the bottle set a record for “day-of-launch” sales, the company said. The bottle retails for $15 on the company’s website, and $5 from every bottle sold benefits water accessibility projects on the Navajo Nation. Sales from the first six months of the bottle generated $14,500, which the company recently donated to Dig Deep, a nonprofit organization that serves Americans without sinks, bathtubs, or toilets.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
Michigan Tribes Prepare For Millions Of Dollars In Federal COVID-19 Aid
MiBiz, Andy Balaskovitz, July 18
Hundreds of millions of dollars in American Rescue Plan funding will pour into Michigan’s federally recognized American Indian tribes, but most are still awaiting final amounts and facing key questions about how to spend the money.
Meskwaki Sac And Fox Tribe Hosts Rosebud Entourage On the Final Journey Home For Nine Children Who Died At Carlisle
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, July 18
The long journey home from Carlisle, Penn.—both in distance and time—to the Rosebud Indian Reservation for the remains of nine children who died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School some 140 years ago included a stop Meskwaki Settlement, near Tama, Iowa on Thursday evening.
Pfizer Vaccine Granted Priority Review For Full U.S. Approval
Bloomberg, Timothy Annett, July 16
Pfizer Inc. said its Covid-19 vaccine was granted priority review by U.S. regulators, putting it on track for a potential full approval by early next year. The drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech SE said in a statement Friday that the Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether to approve the shot for use in people 16 and older by January 2022.
Residential Schools:
Canada, US Differ On Boarding Schools
Indian Country Today, Mary Anette Pember, July 18
Comparing the histories of Indian residential schools in Canada with Indian boarding schools in the U.S. is almost like comparing apples with oranges. A true comparison is nearly impossible since so little data on the schools and children in the U.S. are available.
‘Now They’re Home’
Indian Country Today, Vi Waln, July 17
Nine ancestors taken from the Sicangu Lakota to attend the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania were brought home Friday with prayer and ceremony.
United Urban Warrior Society-California Chapter Calls On State Of California To Investigate Indian Boarding Schools
Native News Online, July 17
The United Urban Warrior Society-California Chapter (UUWS-CC) is calling on California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Truth and Healing Council to begin an immediate investigation of all California Indian boarding schools in the state of California.
This action comes on the heels of the discovery of over 1,400 graves at Indian residential schools in recent weeks and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland establishing the Federal Indian Boarding Schools Initiative.
Environmental:
Minnesota DNR Suspends Some Water Permits For Line 3
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, July 16
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) suspended some water appropriation permits in some parts of the state due to an extreme drought, according to the DNR. Some permits affected by the decision include Enbridge’s Line 3 construction project. Dust control water sources and hydrostatic testing and horizontal directional drilling water sources have been suspended on the Shell River, and others.
Gaming:
Tribes To Discuss Sports Betting At NIGA Gaming Expo In Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review-Journal, Richard N. Velotta, Colton Lochhead, July 16
The nation’s Indian tribes are driving much of the expansion of sports wagering in the United States, and the subject will be top of mind when many tribal and gaming officials gather at a convention in Las Vegas next week.
Other:
Treatment Of Tribes Varies AT The US-Canadian Border
Indian Country Today, Joaqlin Estus, July 19
Canada and the United States closed their border to non-essential travel in March 2020 and have renewed the restrictions monthly ever since, most recently on July 5. We’ll look at the varying border-crossing requirements for the Akwesasne people of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Reservation in New York, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa in Minnesota, the Sinixt people of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state, and people who wish to drive through Canada to Alaska.
Meet The First Native Daytime Youth Emmy Nominee: Isaac Arellanes
Indian Country Today, Vincent Schilling, July 17
The 16-year-old Isaac Arellanes, Hopi Coyote Clan, can hardly believe he was nominated for a daytime Emmy for his role as Ruben Reyna in the Apple TV series “Ghostwriter.” He says the nomination has “blown his mind.” Arellanes was at the gym when one of his fellow actors, Justin Sanchez, told him. He says he is still in shock before he walks the red carpet to the Daytime Emmys on Sunday.
Diné Designed Water Bottle Pays Off
Indian Country Today, Aliyah Chavez, July 16
Six months after pledging to help the Navajo Nation battle its water crisis, well-known company Nalgene says its Tó éí iiná bottle is one of the company’s most popular products. Sales from the bottle set a record for “day-of-launch” sales, the company said. The bottle retails for $15 on the company’s website. $5 from every bottle sold benefits water accessibility projects on the Navajo Nation.
The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe Calls On Seattle To Remove The Gorge Dam
High Country News, Rico Moore, July 16
Raindrops fell through gusts of fresh April air as clouds and mist draped the ridges above the Skagit River near Hamilton, Washington, a few dozen miles upriver from Puget Sound. Lifelong fisherman Scott Schuyler, an Upper Skagit Tribal elder and a policy representative for the tribe, was dressed for the weather in green rubber boots beneath an orange and yellow rain slicker. His 20-year-old daughter, Janelle Schuyler, in similar gear, hopped on board her father’s boat as he shoved off from shore in search of salmon.
Opinion: Gov. Kevin Stitt Is An Indian Country Insurrectionist
The Black Wall Street Times, Sarah Gray, July 16
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, but he is not Native. He is a White man hellbent on eroding tribal sovereignty despite his many multimillion dollar court losses against the tribes.