Good morning, NUNAverse:
On Thursday, the US Census Bureau released demographic data from the Census 2020 that shows tremendous growth in the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) population from 2010 to 2020. The data released reflects that the AI/AN population, when counted alone and not combined with any other populations, was 3.7 million, which is 1.1 percent of the total population of the United States. In 2010, there were 2.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, meaning the growth rate over the past decade was a 27.1 percent increase. Meanwhile, the AI/AN in combination population increased by 160 percent from 2010 to 2020 to 9.7 million people — or 2.9 percent of the total population — up from 5.2 million in 2010. The Native Hawaiʻian and Pacific Islander populations also saw double-digit growth in their communities – up by 27.8 percent between 2010 and 2020. In comparison, the Native Hawaiʻian and Pacific Islander in combination population grew faster — 30.8 percent since 2010.
Two Ohio lawmakers are urging schools across the state to retire Native mascots. On Wednesday, Representatives Adam Miller and Jessica Miranda introduced the resolution to engage Native people as part of the process. According to a recent study from the Ohio High School Athletic Association, 79 schools in Ohio have Native nicknames or mascots. In the summer of 2020, the Parma City School District’s Superintendent Dr. Charles Smialek had four virtual public meetings and conducted an online survey to get input on whether to change the district’s mascot. He hopes a decision can be made in time for the 2022-2023 school year. The resolution further calls on schools and sports teams to work with the State Board of Education, school boards, government entities, and other groups to procure the resources and technical assistance needed to make these changes.
On Wednesday morning, TIME magazine named best-selling author Angeline Boulley’s (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) book, Firekeeper’s Daughter, to its Best Young Adult Books of All-Time list. TIME describes the book as “part thriller, part romance and part examination of Indigenous identity.” Firekeeper’s Daughter is the first book by Boulley, who previously worked for the U.S. Department of Education before moving back to Michigan to be closer to her aging parents. Released in March 2021, the book made the New York Times best seller list during the first week of April. Firekeeper’s Daughter has been optioned by the Obamas’ production company to be adapted into a Netflix series.
Last week, about 100 people gathered in a popular park near downtown Anchorage to celebrate the unveiling of an iron place-name marker designed by artist Melissa Shaginoff (Ahtna Athabascan and Paiute). The post design displays fire bags, which were used by the Dena’ina people to carry fire-making tools and tinder. The Indigenous Place Names Project has installed two place-name markers already and is raising money for another 30 to place in parks and along the city’s miles of paved bike trails.
Conservationists and Native peoples are fighting to protect land east of the Mojave Desert in Southern Clark County in Nevada. Potential development in the area has alarmed the local Fort Mojave Tribe, who consider the land sacred, and environmentalists who view it as an important natural habitat. Others see it as land for recreation or development. The Fort Mojave Tribe say their efforts are not just to prevent devastating ecological and climate impacts, but to conserve the ancestral lands that are important to them and the other tribes in the area.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Chief Hoskin Speaks During White House Virtual Meeting With President Biden, Governors, State Leaders On Infrastructure Investment Bill
Indian Country Today, August 12
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. spoke Wednesday during a White House virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, governors, mayors, and other state leaders for a discussion on the importance of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. According to Chief Hoskin, the bipartisan bill will address longstanding needs within the Cherokee communities, including broadband connectivity growth, improved roads and bridges, additional clean and sustainable energy projects and increased access to safe drinking water and treatment systems. Among the other speakers on the virtual meeting were Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer; Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Fulton County, Georgia Commissioner Liz Hausmann.
Native Mascots:
Ohio Lawmakers Urge Schools To Retire Native American Mascots
FOX 8, Jordan Unger, August 12
Two Ohio lawmakers are urging schools across the state to retire Native mascots. The resolution introduced Wednesday by Representative Adam Miller (D-Columbus) and Representative Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) would engage Native peoples as part of the process. According to a recent study from the Ohio High School Athletic Association, 79 schools in Ohio have Native nicknames or mascots. In the summer of 2020, the Parma City School District began having public forums to get input on whether to change the district’s mascot. Superintendent Dr. Charles Smialek says the district had four virtual public meetings and conducted an online survey.
Other:
2020 U.S. Census Data Shows American Indian And Alaska Native Population Grew Significantly Since 2010
Native News Online, August 12
On Thursday, the US Census Bureau released demographic data from the Census 2020 that shows tremendous growth in the American Indian and Alaska Native population from 2010 to 2020. The data released reflects that the American Indian and Alaska Native population, when counted alone and not combined with any other race, was 3.7 million, which is 1.1 percent of the total population of the United States. In 2010, there were 2.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. The growth rate over the past decade was a 27.1 percent increase. More astounding was that the American Indian and Alaska Native in combination population increased by 160 percent from 2010 to 2020. The combination population was 9.7 million people — or 2.9 percent of the total population — up from 5.2 million in 2010.
TIME Magazine Names Sault Ste. Marie Author’s “Firekeeper’s Daughter” To Its “Best Young Adult Books Of All-time” List
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, August 12
Best-selling author Angeline Boulley was dropping her mother off at a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday morning when her phone alerted her that TIME magazine had named her book, Firekeeper’s Daughter, to its Best Young Adult Books of All-Time list. Firekeeper’s Daughter is the first book by Boulley, who previously worked for the U.S. Dept. of Education in Washington, D.C. before moving back to Michigan to be closer to her aging parents. Released in March 2021, it made the New York Times best seller list during the first week of April. TIME describes the book as “part thriller, part romance and part examination of Indigenous identity.”
South Dakota Department Of Education Contributes To “Native Erasure” In New Social Studies Standards
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, August 12
Officials from the South Dakota Department of Education this week scrubbed more than a dozen Indigenous-centered learning objectives from the department’s new social studies standards before releasing the document to the public. The DOE hired a team of 46 educators from around the state to develop new social studies “anchor standards” representing what students are expected to know after completing each K–12 grade level. The standards apply to South Dakota’s public schools, as well as state-certified and licensed private schools. The workgroup members were tasked with addressing key issues brought up in public testimony since the standards were last updated in 2015, including the “incorporation of more diverse perspectives, especially those of Indigenous Native Americans,” according to the group’s original drafted document submitted to the Department of Education on July 26. But ten days after the group submitted its final draft— containing 18 learning standards involving the Oceti Sakowin Oyate—the department cut out all but one of those direct references. Other standards including tribal nations were changed to take a wider look at “various cultural groups.”
Fires Charring Range Set Up Ranchers For Hardship In West
AP News, Matthew Brown, August 12
Wildfires tearing through Montana and elsewhere in the U.S. West are devouring vast rangeland areas that cattle ranchers depend upon, setting the stage for a potential shortage of pasture as the hot, dry summer grinds on. On the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, firefighters and local authorities scrambled to save hundreds of homes in the path of a fire that started Sunday and exploded across more than 260 square miles in just a few days, triggering evacuation orders for thousands of people. Some ranchers stayed behind to help fight it. Yet as flames charred mile after mile of rangeland and forest, they could do little to protect cattle pastures that are crucial to economic survival for families on the remote reservation.