Good morning, NUNAverse:
The United States Senate on Tuesday passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes $550 billion in new spending and reauthorizes highway and water programs, among other provisions. The legislation would inject federal cash into roads, bridges, water systems, broadband, rail and transit, and also includes $11 billion that is earmarked for infrastructure projects in Indian Country. The bill passed 69-30, a margin that demonstrated its popularity in the evenly divided chamber. All 50 Democrats voted for final passage, as did 19 Republicans. South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds did not vote on the bill.
The American Bar Association’s policymaking body has voted in favor of a resolution supporting the U.S. Department of the Interior as it works to uncover the troubled legacy of federal boarding schools that sought to assimilate Indigenous youth. The resolution, adopted Monday by delegates at the bar association’s annual meeting, calls for the Biden administration and Congress to fully fund the initiative and provide subpoena power to the Department of the Interior. The measure also supports legislation that would create a federal commission to investigate and document all aspects of the boarding school system in the U.S., including issuing reports regarding the root causes of human rights abuses at the schools and to make recommendations to prevent future atrocities.
Teachers, educators, and other South Dakota citizens charged with crafting new state social studies standards said Tuesday that Governor Kristi Noem’s administration deleted many elements intended to bolster students’ understanding of Native history and culture from their draft standards. Members of the working group — appointed by the Department of Education to review and update the standards — said they were caught by surprise when the department released a document with significant changes. They said changes made to the draft they submitted in late July gave it a political edge they had tried to avoid, instead aligning with the Republican Governor’s rhetoric on what she calls patriotic education. The working group’s draft recommended including Native culture from Oceti Sakowin stories in kindergarten to studying tribal banking systems in high school, but the department cut many of those recommendations.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) visited the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state on Monday. While there, she and Washington Congressman Derek Kilmer met with leaders of the Quileute Tribe, Hoh Tribe, Makah Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Suquamish Tribe, Skokomish Tribe, Squaxin Island Tribe, Chehalis Tribe, and Puyallup Tribe. Secretary of the Interior Haaland discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in tribal communities, including broadband internet and climate resilience projects. Leaders of the Quinault Indian Nation invited Secretary Haaland to the Village of Tahaloh, which is being relocated to higher ground because the village faces the constant threat from storm surges and flooding.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
U.S. Senate Passes A Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill That Includes $11B For Indian Country
Native News Online, August 10
The United States Senate on Tuesday passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes $550 billion in new spending and reauthorizes highway and water programs, among other provisions. The legislation would inject federal cash into roads, bridges, water systems, broadband, rail and transit, and also includes $11 billion that is earmarked for infrastructure projects Indian Country. Tuesday’s vote comes after months of negotiations between senators from both political parties. In the end, the bill passed 69-30, a margin that demonstrated its popularity in the evenly divided chamber. All 50 Democrats voted for final passage, as did 19 Republicans. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) did not vote on the bill.
Boarding Schools:
Legal Group Backs Us Review Of Indigenous Boarding Schools
AP News, Susan Montoya Bryan, August 10
The American Bar Association’s policymaking body has voted in favor of a resolution supporting the U.S. Interior Department as it works to uncover the troubled legacy of federal boarding schools that sought to assimilate Indigenous youth into white society. The resolution, adopted Monday by delegates at the bar association’s annual meeting, calls for the Biden administration and Congress to fully fund the initiative and provide subpoena power to the Interior Department as it gathers and reviews reams of records related to the schools. The measure also supports legislation that would create a federal commission to investigate and document all aspects of the boarding school system in the U.S., including issuing reports regarding the root causes of human rights abuses at the schools and to make recommendations to prevent future atrocities.
American Bar Association Calls On Congress To Investigate Indian Boarding Schools
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, August 10
In a resolution with multiple requests, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates, a 597-member policy body, is calling on Congress to conduct oversight hearings on Indian boarding schools. The resolution was adopted by the ABA Monday evening. The adopted resolution, Resolution 801, also urges all individuals, governments and organizations to support the U.S. Department of Interior’s Indian Boarding School Initiative and the Truth and Healing Commission. The new federal effort partners with tribal nations and organizations to investigate the extent to which the United States established forced boarding schools to eradicate Indigenous culture, similar to an effort ongoing in Canada.
Law:
Indigenous History, Culture Cut From South Dakota Standards
AP News, Stephen Groves, August 10
Teachers, educators and other South Dakota citizens charged with crafting new state social studies standards said Tuesday that Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration deleted many elements intended to bolster students’ understanding of Native history and culture from their draft standards. Members of the working group — appointed by the Department of Education to review and update the standards — said they were caught by surprise on Friday when the department released a document with significant changes. They said changes made to the draft they submitted in late July gave it a political edge they had tried to avoid, instead aligning with the Republican governor’s rhetoric on what she calls patriotic education. The working group’s draft recommended including Native culture from Oceti Sakowin stories in kindergarten to studying tribal banking systems in high school, but the department cut many of those recommendations.
Police Investigating After Mi’kmaq Lobster Fishing Boats Cut Loose
APTN National News, August 10
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says it’s opening a criminal investigation into nine lobster fishing boats operated by Mi’kmaq fishers which were cut loose from a wharf Thursday in southwestern Nova Scotia. Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief Mike Sack reported the boats were cast adrift from their berths in Weymouth North, N.S., to damage the band’s property and intimidate its fishers. Sack says the boats were ready to take part in the band’s food, social and ceremonial lobster fishery. Mi’kmaw have the right to fish for a livelihood under the the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed in the mid 1700s. The band attracted national attention last fall when it started a separate, self-regulated commercial lobster fishery on St. Marys Bay, three months before the federally regulated season was scheduled to open. It was met with attacks from non-Indigenous commercial fishers who cut traps, fired flares at their boats, torched a van owned by a Mi’kmaw harvester and destroyed several tonnes of lobster as RCMP officers stood by and watched.
Other:
Native American College Students Found Strength In Their Heritage That Helped Them Get Through The Pandemic
CNBC, McKenzie Allen-Charmley, August 11
The COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for all college students, but it was particularly hard on Native students. Many saw the pandemic rip through their tribes, and they struggled with the lack of internet and other limitations on their reservations. Relying on Native values and acknowledging where you came from and the strengths you embody from your culture is a key facto that helped students see the success in a college education despite the effects of the pandemic.
Interior Sec. Haaland Visits Washington Tribe Threatened By Storm Surges, Flooding
Native News Online, August 10
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) visited the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state on Monday. While there, she and Washington Congressman Derek Kilmer met with leaders of the Quileute Tribe, Hoh Tribe, Makah Tribe, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, Suquamish Tribe, Skokomish Tribe, Squaxin Island Tribe, Chehalis Tribe and Puyallup Tribe. Secretary Haaland discussed the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in tribal communities, including broadband internet and climate resilience projects. Leaders of the Quinault Indian Nation invited Sec. Haaland to the Village of Tahaloh, which is being relocated to higher ground because the village faces the constant threat from storm surges and flooding. Taholah is located in northwestern Washington on the Pacific Ocean coast.
Oregon Museum Taps Indigenous Community For Riverfront Project
Indian Country Today, Brian Oaster, August 10
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is joining with tribes, elders and leaders of local Indigenous organizations to develop a new Center for tribal nations and outdoor educational park along the banks of the Willamette River in Portland. The project is bolstered by a $750,000 grant awarded in January by the regional county governmental body, Oregon Metro, to help the museum develop a vision around planned expansion. Rather than plan their own vision, however, museum leaders have deferred to the Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, who in turn have deferred to the Indigenous community to find out what they want to see developed. Affiliated Tribes Deputy Director James Parker (Chippewa Cree) said the project can be an anchor in Portland for Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.
‘This Is What We Should Have Had All Along’
The New York Times, Kelly Boutsalis, August 10
In a group interview, Native American TV creators and performers discuss the significance of “Reservation Dogs” and “Rutherford Falls,” and why this is only the beginning. What the two shows share is that they are both Native stories told largely by Native actors, writers, producers and directors. The upshot has been a flourishing of new opportunities for Hollywood’s small but growing community of Native creators and performers, many of whom worked on both shows. They are determined to ensure that this long-awaited moment for Native representation on television is not a fleeting one.
Squamish Drum Helped Cheer On Canadian Athletes At Tokyo Olympics
APTN National News, August 9
There weren’t any fans cheering on Canadian athletes at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but you could hear the beat of a custom-made drum from the Squamish Nation of British Columbia. Squamish artist Tsawaysia Spukus created the drum for Team Canada’s Chef de Mission Marnie McBean, who wanted a loud way to support athletes after cheering, clapping and whistling were banned by Olympic officials because of COVID-19.