Good morning, NUNAverse:
Through Arizona Senate Bill 1803, National Code Talkers Day will now be recognized as a state holiday in the State of Arizona. The legislation was signed into law by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday in the presence of Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer and three Navajo Code Talkers: former chairman of the Navajo Nation Peter MacDonald, Sr., Samuel F. Sandoval and Thomas H. Begay. The signing ceremony at the Capitol was also attended by State Senator Jamescita Peshlakai, and House Speaker Russell Bowers. In addition, several descendants of Navajo Code Talkers who have passed away attended the signing ceremony.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) says more mental wellness support resources are needed for Native Americans dealing with trauma associated with the discovery of graves at Indian residential schools in Canada earlier this year. NABS and the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) initiated requests that led to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS) and 19 other members of Congress sending a letter to the Indian Health Service (IHS). The letter called for protections to be put in place for those who will experience trauma as further revelations emerge during the Department of Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative.
A fire that began near the Klamath Tribes’ headquarters in Chiloquin, Oregon has spread and now has burned more than 413,000 acres. The fire is destroying the sacred ancestral homeland of the Klamath Tribes, which constitutes the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin People. Tribal members say they are heartbroken as they watch their land burn. The Bootleg Fire, which started as two separate blazes on July 6 and then merged, has rapidly spread across the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the land of the Klamath Tribes. The fire, officials explain, has spread so fast due to the firestorms it has generated in its wake, which spark lightning and ignite new blazes.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) released a statement on Friday in support of President Joe Biden’s nomination of Charles Sams III to head the National Park Service. The nomination was sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. If confirmed, Sams will be the first Native to ever be the director of the National Park Service.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Boarding Schools:
Boarding School Healing Coalition Presses For Mental Wellness Resources To Deal With Intergenerational Trauma
Native News Online, August 23
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) says more mental wellness support resources are needed for Native Americans dealing with trauma associated with the discovery of graves at Indian residential schools in Canada earlier this year. NABS and the National Indian Health Board initiated requests that led to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and 19 other members of Congress sending a letter to the Indian Health Service (IHS). The letter called for protections to be put in place for those who will experience trauma as further revelations emerge during the Department of Interior’s Federal Indian Boarding School Truth Initiative.
[Video] Native American Boarding School Survivors Speak Out
NBC News, August 22
From 1829 to 1983, thousands of Native American children were sent to Catholic boarding schools with the goal of assimilating and separating them from their tribes. Many endured physical and sexual abuse. Two survivors shared their experiences.
Law:
State Of Arizona Recognizes National Navajo Code Talkers Day As A State Holiday
Native News Online, August 20
Through Arizona Senate Bill 1803, National Code Talkers Day will now be recognized as a state holiday in the State of Arizona. The legislation was signed into law by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday in the presence of Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer and three Navajo Code Talkers: former chairman of the Navajo Nation Peter MacDonald, Sr., Samuel F. Sandoval and Thomas H. Begay. The signing ceremony at the Capitol was also attended by State Sen. Jamescita Peshlakai, and House Speaker Russell Bowers. In addition, several descendants of Navajo Code Talkers who have passed away attended the signing ceremony.
Three Men Sentenced In Connection To Murder Of Northern Arapaho Man
Native News Online, August 20
Three Wyoming men were sentenced on Wednesday by a federal district court judge for their involvement in crimes related to the death of a Northern Arapaho man two years ago. Chief United States District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced Seth T. Blackburn, age 31; Peter J. Blackburn, also known as “Homer,” age 34; and Brent J. Gould, age 30 for crimes related to the kidnapping and murder of Victor D. Addison, 29, on Aug. 4, 2019. Addison practiced traditional tribal ceremony ways and participated in sundances. At the time of his passing he had entered into an electrician apprentice program.
Other:
Season 2 of ‘This Land’ Uncovers Rightwing Efforts to Dismantle the Indian Child Welfare Act
Native News Online, August 23
The second season of the award-winning “This Land” podcast, hosted by Native American journalist Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation), returns today. In this season’s eight episodes, Nagle will take listeners through the 40-year history of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). During the episodes, Nagle shares her more than a year-long investigation into a current federal lawsuit, Brackeen v. Haaland, spurred by an adoption dispute in Dallas. The investigation included hundreds of interviews with caseworkers, lawyers, families, more than 60 FOIA requests, and review of more than 10,000 court documents. What Nagle and her investigative team discovered is a well-funded, systemic, far-right operation that is using Native children to attack ICWA, threaten American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.
University Of Illinois Adds Native American Issues Adviser
AP News, August 23
A new administrator at the University of Illinois flagship campus will advise school leadership on Native American issues. Jacki Thompson Rand was appointed the Urbana-Champaign campus’ associate vice chancellor for Native affairs last week. Chancellor Robert Jones pledged that the school will “go beyond the rhetoric of celebrating Native American history and culture to actually doing it.” Rand, a professor of history, is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma. She previously taught at the University of Iowa. Jones, who’s now in his sixth year as chancellor, has pushed the Urbana-Champaign campus to change its relationship with Native American imagery and nations.
Not Separate, But Not Equal: Oklahoma’s Freedmen Continue To Fight For Full Rights As Native Citizens
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, August 22
The 1907 census records show there were 23,405 Freedmen in Oklahoma brought from the southeast—most as slaves—by the Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Seminole, Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, and Choctaw. When the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished, each Indian Nation signed a treaty with the US government ceding certain lands, and also relinquishing the right to own slaves. In those treaties, each tribe agreed that Freedmen and their descendants “shall have and enjoy all the rights of Native citizens.” In practice, that promise has looked a lot different. Today, only the Cherokee Nation grants full and equal citizenship to its Freedmen as citizens in a historic and controversial move. As citizens, Freedmen are given access to tribal services such as health care, education, housing assistance, and federal dollars such as Covid-19 relief funding. Freedmen belonging to the four other Oklahoma tribes—Seminole, Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw and Choctaw—say their tribal nations are breaking the treaties they signed in 1866 by denying them equal rights.
NCAI Supports Nomination Of Charles Sams III As Director Of National Park Service
Native News Online, August 21
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) released a statement on Friday in support of President Joe Biden’s nomination of Charles Sams III to head the National Park Service. The nomination was sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation. If confirmed, Sams will be the first American Indian to ever be the director of the National Park Service.
A Wildfire Hits Home
Underscore News, Lucy Sheriff, August 20
A fire that began near the Klamath Tribes’ headquarters in Chiloquin, Oregon has spread and now has burned more than 413,000 acres. The fire is destroying the sacred ancestral homeland of the Klamath Tribes, which constitutes the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin People. Tribal members say they are heartbroken as they watch their land burn. The Bootleg Fire, which started as two separate blazes on July 6 and then merged, has rapidly spread across the Fremont-Winema National Forest, the land of the Klamath Tribes. The fire, officials explain, has spread so fast due to the firestorms it has generated in its wake, which spark lightning and ignite new blazes.
Boxing’s First Native Female World Champion Defends Title
Indian Country Today, Carina Dominguez, August 20
Kali “K.O.” Reis is defending her World Boxing Association Super Lightweight title Friday night. ICT profiled Reis, Seaconke Wampanoag, last year after she won the WBA’s women’s 140 pound title vs Kandi Wyatt on Nov. 6. Reis will defend the title against Diana Prazak with the vacant International Boxing Organization title also at stake.