Good Morning NUNAverse,
A judge on Monday evening refused to block a new Arizona law allowing sports gaming to be run by professional sports teams in a decision that will allow the expansion to start as planned later this week. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Smith refused to issue an injunction barring sports betting starting Thursday. The ruling came just hours after he held an unusual Labor Day hearing on the request filed by one tribal nation. The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe wanted the law, which allows professional sports teams to get licenses to run sports gambling, declared unconstitutional. They argued it violates the state’s Voter Protection Act by illegally amending the 2002 voter initiative that authorized tribal gaming in Arizona by allowing non-tribal groups to have gaming operations without asking voters to weigh in. Proposition 202 restricted gaming outside of tribal land.
A federal judge has denied tribal leaders’ bid to temporarily block digging for an archaeological study required before construction can begin for a Nevada lithium mine on sacred land where their ancestors were massacred more than a century ago. U.S. District Judge Miranda Du refused three tribes’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the trenching planned to collect samples near the Oregon state line at the site of the largest known lithium deposit in the United States. The tribes say their ancestors were massacred in the late 1800s at the proposed Thacker Pass site. Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries, and demand for the mineral is expected to triple over the next five years.
When Janie Simms Hipp (Chickasaw) was confirmed on July 30 by the Senate as general counsel for the Agriculture Department she joined a list of successful Indigenous appointees led by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna) who became the first Native person to lead a Cabinet agency when she was confirmed in March. Pending nominations include Charles F. Sams III (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation)who was nominated in August to oversee the National Park Service, and Robert Anderson (Bois Forte Band of the Chippewa) nominated in April to be solicitor of the Interior Department.
Members of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s Indian Mascot and Logo Taskforce are again urging school officials in the state to drop their district’s Indigenous-based mascots. “The Taskforce will be sending a letter to all 27 districts encouraging change and providing research support and rationale,” said Barbara Munson, president of the Taskforce. “We will also encourage individual and organization allies to send encouraging messages to these school boards throughout the year to keep the dialogue going.” Of the 421 public school districts in Wisconsin, Munson said 27 are still using Native based mascots, which cause psychological harm to school communities.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
Tribes Lose Bid To Block Digging At Lithium Mine In Nevada
AP News, Scott Sonner, September 6
A federal judge has denied tribal leaders’ bid to temporarily block digging for an archaeological study required before construction can begin for a Nevada lithium mine on what they say is sacred land where their ancestors were massacred more than a century ago. U.S. District Judge Miranda Du refused three tribes’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the trenching planned to collect samples near the Oregon state line at the site of the largest known lithium deposit in the United States. The tribes say their ancestors were massacred in the late 1800s at the proposed Thacker Pass site. Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries. Demand for the mineral is expected to triple over the next five years.
Judge Refuses To Block New Arizona Sports Betting Law
AP News, Bob Christie, September 7
A judge on Monday evening refused to block a new Arizona law allowing sports gambling to be run by professional sports teams in a decision that will allow the major gambling expansion to start as planned later this week. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Smith refused to issue an injunction barring sports betting from starting Thursday. The ruling came just hours after he held an unusual Labor Day hearing on the request filed by one tribal nation. The Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe wanted the law, which allows professional sports teams to get licenses to run sports gambling, declared unconstitutional. They argued it violates the state’s Voter Protection Act by illegally amending the 2002 voter initiative that authorized tribal gambling in Arizona by allowing non-tribal groups to have gambling operations without asking voters to weigh in. Proposition 202 restricted gambling outside tribal lands.
Native Mascots:
Advocates Continue Efforts For Wisconsin School Districts To Drop Use Of Native American Mascots
Steven Points Journal, Frank Vaisvilas, September 7
With the start of the school year underway, members of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association’s Indian Mascot and Logo Taskforce are again urging school officials in the state to drop their district’s Indigenous-based mascots. “The Taskforce will be sending a letter to all 27 districts encouraging change and providing research support and rationale,” said Barbara Munson, president of the Taskforce. “We will also encourage individual and organization allies to send encouraging messages to these school boards throughout the year to keep the dialogue going.” Of the 421 public school districts in Wisconsin, Munson said 27 are still using Native based mascots, which cause psychological harm to school communities.
Other:
Native American Pastor Seeks White House Apology For Historic Abuses
VOA News, Cecily Hilleary, September 6
Almost every important piece of U.S. legislation contains at least one completely unrelated provision, embedded either as a favor to lawmakers or because it couldn’t pass as a standalone law. As it was with the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, H.R. 3326, which contained America’s first apology to Native people for historic policies of assimilation and forced removal. The bill, which passed in the Senate on December 19, 2009, and was signed by then-President Barack Obama the same day, recognizes the legal and political relationship between the U.S. and trial nations, acknowledges “years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants,” and apologizes for violence, maltreatment, and neglect. But Dr. Negiel Bigpond (Euchee (Yuchi)) a fourth-generation Christian pastor wasn’t satisfied with the way it was issued.
Chickasaw Woman Gets USDA Post, One In A String Of Indigenous Nominees
Cronkite News, Nancy Marie Spears, September 6
For the first time in history, an Indigenous woman is overseeing U.S. agriculture law – but Janie Simms Hipp (Chickasaw) is just the latest in a number of Native people nominated to top posts in the Biden administration. Hipp was confirmed July 30 by the Senate as general counsel for the Agriculture Department. Hipp joins a list of successful Indigenous appointees led by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna) who became the first Native person to lead a Cabinet agency when she was confirmed in March. Pending nominations include Charles F. Sams III (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation)who was nominated in August to oversee the National Park Service, and Robert Anderson (Bois Forte Band of the Chippewa) nominated in April to be solicitor of the Interior Department.
2 South Dakota Tribes Get Funding For 911 Call Centers
AP News, September 6
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety said two South Dakota tribes are getting funding for their 911 call centers. A total of $132,669 is being given to the tribes. The Oglala Sioux Tribe received $86,240 from the state’s 9-1-1 Coordination Board in March, and last week, the board approved another $46,449 in funding for the Cheyenne River Tribal Department of Public Safety. “This one-time funding is available to 9-1-1 centers statewide for equipment upgrades and other infrastructure needs,” Craig Price, Cabinet Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, said in a statement.