Good Morning NUNAverse,
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on Tuesday that it will launch new dialogues with tribes as part of a larger mission to restore Native land ownership. With the invitation, federally recognized tribal leadership would consult with DOI officials on protecting and restoring tribal homelands through the longstanding land-into-trust process, leasing, sacred sites, and treaty rights. In April, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued a new ordinance that strengthened the land-into-trust application process for tribes near reservations as an extension of federally-protected and designated tribal lands.
For years, many tribes have felt their history has not been given its due by schools in Connecticut, a state that takes its name from an Algonquian word meaning “land on the long tidal river.” Soon, however, schools will be required to teach Native studies, with an emphasis on local tribes, under a law passed this year at the urging of tribes including the Mashantucket Pequot tribal nation, best known today for its Foxwoods resort casino. It has been a long-running goal of many Native people to have more about their history and culture taught in grade schools. New requirements have been adopted in Connecticut, North Dakota, and Oregon, and advocates say their efforts have gained some momentum with the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice since the killing of George Floyd. The legislation affecting schools has advanced alongside new bans on Native mascots for sports teams and states celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Christopher Columbus Day.
Dozens of tribes asked the Biden administration Tuesday to immediately enact emergency protections for gray wolves, saying states have become too aggressive in hunting the animal. Groups representing the tribes sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland asking her to act quickly on an emergency petition they filed in May to relist the wolf as endangered or threatened. They also asked Secretary Haaland to relist the wolf on an emergency basis for 240 days, ensuring immediate protection.
A Missouri cave containing Native artwork from more than 1,000 years ago was sold at auction Tuesday, disappointing leaders of the Osage Nation who hoped to buy the land to “protect and preserve our most sacred site.” A bidder agreed to pay $2.2 million to private owners for what’s known as “Picture Cave,” along with the 43 hilly acres that surround it near the town of Warrenton, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of St. Louis. The cave was the site of sacred rituals and burying of the dead. It also has more than 290 prehistoric glyphs, or hieroglyphic symbols used to represent sounds or meanings, “making it the largest collection of indigenous people’s polychrome paintings in Missouri,” according to the auction website.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Global Indigenous Council Sends President Biden And Others A Message On California Recall Vote
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, September 14
The Global Indigenous Council (GIC) continues to be at the forefront of tribal efforts to galvanize the Indigenous and allied BIPOC communities to “vote no” in the California recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom. Last week, GIC placed a striking and hard-hitting billboard on the 405 freeway in Long Beach, urging voters to allow Newsom to make good on his commitment to address the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW) tragedy in the state by voting no on his recall. President Biden got an unobstructed view of the billboard as several roads in and around Long Beach were closed Monday night to ensure the president’s safe and timely arrival at Long Beach City College, where he attended a rally to support Newsom. A staggering 91 percent of known MMIW cases in California remain unsolved. Newsom’s home, the Bay Area, accounts for 16 percent of MMIW cases in the state.
Boarding Schools:
Yuchi Pastor Calls On President Biden To Formally Apologize To Native Communities For Harms Inflicted
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, September 14
Negiel Bigpond (Yuchi), an Evangelical pastor, an Indian boarding school survivor and an activist. Since 2003, he’s worked with Sam Brownback—the former U.S. Senator, Kansas Governor and present U.S. Ambassador for Religious Freedom—to pursue a formal apology from the mouth of the United States president for atrocities committed against Native. His work nearly succeeded in 2009, when President Barack Obama signed a Department of Defense Appropriations Act that admitted to “ill-conceived policies and the breaking of covenants by the Federal Government regarding Native tribes.” But the bill, which also “urge(d) the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land,” never resulted in a spoken apology. Now, with news of Indian Boarding Schools generating awareness of injustices committed against Native Americans, Bigpond and Brownback’s initiative — called “The Apology” — has released a multiple-part film series on YouTube.
Other:
Dept Of Interior And Native American Leaders Will Meet To Return Tribal Lands
The Hill, Alexandra Kelley, September 15
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on Tuesday that it will launch new dialogues with Native tribes as part of a larger mission to restore native land ownership. With the invitation, federally recognized Native tribal leadership would consult with DOI officials on protecting and restoring Tribal homelands through the longstanding land-into-trust process, leasing, sacred sites and treaty rights. In April, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland — the first Native to helm the agency — issued a new ordinance that strengthened the land-into-trust application process for Native American tribes near reservations as an extension of federally-protected and designated tribal lands.
Push For Indigenous Curriculum Makes Gains
AP News, Susan Haigh, September 15
For years, many tribes have felt their history has not been given its due by schools in Connecticut, a state that takes its name from an algonquian word meaning “land on the long tidal river.” Soon, however, schools will be required to teach Native studies, with an emphasis on local tribes, under a law passed this year at the urging of tribes including the Mashantucket Pequot tribal nation, best known today for its foxwoods resort casino. It has been a long-running goal of many Native people to have more about their history and culture taught in grade schools. New requirements have been adopted in Connecticut, North Dakota and Oregon and advocates say their efforts have gained some momentum with the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice since the killing of George Floyd. The legislation affecting schools has advanced alongside new bans on Native mascots for sports teams and states celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day in place of Christopher Columbus Day.
Tribes Demand Emergency Protection For Wolves
AP News, Todd Richmond, September 15
Dozens of tribes asked the Biden administration Tuesday to immediately enact emergency protections for gray wolves, saying states have become too aggressive in hunting the animal. Groups representing the tribes sent a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland asking her to act quickly on an emergency petition they filed in May to relist the wolf as endangered or threatened. They also asked Haaland to relist the wolf on an emergency basis for 240 days, ensuring immediate protection.
Tribal Leaders Urge Interior Sec. Deb Haaland For Tribal Consultations To Protect Gray Wolves
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, September 14
Tribal leaders from throughout Indian Country are putting pressure on Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) to restore gray wolves to the federal government’s Endangered Species List. More than 200 tribal leaders representing tribes and advocacy organizations sent a letter to Haaland on Tuesday demanding emergency relisting of gray wolves. Today, the gray wolf is functionally extinct in more than 80 percent of its historic range, with only 6,000 surviving in the United States. Wolves figure prominently in the folklore of nearly every Native American tribe. In most Native cultures, the wolf is considered a sacred medicine being associated with courage, strength, loyalty, and success at hunting, according to the letter. The leaders want Haaland to overturn a 2020 Trump administration decision to delist gray wolves from the Endangered Species List, which is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency that operates within the Interior Department.
Missouri Cave With Ancient Native American Drawings Sold
AP News, Jim Salter, September 14
A Missouri cave containing Native artwork from more than 1,000 years ago was sold at auction Tuesday, disappointing leaders of the Osage Nation who hoped to buy the land to “protect and preserve our most sacred site.” A bidder agreed to pay $2.2 million to private owners for what’s known as “Picture Cave,” along with the 43 hilly acres that surround it near the town of Warrenton, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) west of St. Louis. The cave was the site of sacred rituals and burying of the dead. It also has more than 290 prehistoric glyphs, or hieroglyphic symbols used to represent sounds or meanings, “making it the largest collection of indigenous people’s polychrome paintings in Missouri,” according to the auction website.