Good Morning NUNAverse,
The FBI has confirmed that remains found in Wyoming on Sunday are the body of 22-year-old Gabrielle Petito. The mystery around the death of the young white woman with a carefree social media presence has been headline news across the country. And that’s frustrating to people who say the media ignores an epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Wyoming, and across the country. Since 2000, Indigenous people have made up 21% of homicides in Wyoming, even though they are only 3% of the population, according to a state report released in January. Cara Chambers, chair of the task force that released the report, says only 30% of Indigenous homicide victims had any media coverage. That number is closer to 51% for whites. Chambers says those kinds of portrayals can deter people from reporting that their loved ones are missing to the media or police.
Documentary film studio XTR announced on Tuesday it is making Lakota Nation vs. the United States, a feature-length documentary chronicling the Lakota people’s present-day quest to reclaim the Black Hills. XTR is partnering with actor Mark Ruffalo and actress/author/activist and Emmy Award-winner Sarah Eagle Heart (Oglala Sioux) as executive producers on the documentary. Jesse Short Bull (Oglala Sioux) is directing the documentary alongside Laura Tomaselli. Benjamin Hedin is producing. The Black Hills are considered sacred to the Lakota people, who say the land was stolen in violation of treaty agreements. The film, which is currently in production, is the first documentary to amplify the history of the land claim.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday lifted stays in two cases it overturned based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state has no jurisdiction over crimes committed on tribal lands by non-Natives against Native people. The court lifted stays of its previous reversals of the murder conviction of Shawn McDaniel and the child neglect conviction of Victor Castro-Huerta. The ruling comes after state Attorney General John O’Connor filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme appealing the state court’s decision that Oklahoma did not have concurrent jurisdiction in Castro-Huerta’s case. O’Connor argued the state has concurrent jurisdiction in cases in which the crime was committed by someone who is non-Native, although the victim is a member of Cherokee Nation.
Six tribes sued Wisconsin on Tuesday to try to stop its planned gray wolf hunt in November, asserting that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred. The Chippewa tribes say treaties give them rights to half of the wolf quota in territory they ceded to the United States in the mid-1800s. But rather than hunt wolves, the tribes want to protect them. The tribal lawsuit comes three weeks after a coalition of wildlife advocacy groups sued to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and void a state law mandating annual hunts, arguing that the statutes don’t give wildlife managers any leeway to consider population estimates.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Casinos:
Gun Lake Casino Cuts Ribbon On $100M Expansion
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, September 21
Gun Lake Tribe Chairman Bob Peters and tribal council members cut the ribbon on the Gun Lake Casino’s $100-million expansion last Friday morning. The new 72,000-square foot expansion features more seating for live concerts and sporting events, additional gaming space, outdoor fire-lit entertainment, and dining space, enhanced exterior features, and the ability for a guest to place wagers on their favorite sporting event. Since opening, the tribe has invested $415 million in the property, including with the latest expansion, which adds 450 more slot machines and electronic table games. The expansion was built on the south side of the facility, making the new restaurants and entertainment areas closer to 129th Avenue for greater convenience and enhanced “curb appeal.”
Law:
Oklahoma Court Lifts Stays In 2 McGirt-Related Decisions
AP News, September 21
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday lifted stays in two cases it overturned based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state has no jurisdiction over crimes committed on tribal lands by non-Natives against Native people. The court lifted stays of its previous reversals of the murder conviction of Shawn McDaniel and the child neglect conviction of Victor Castro-Huerta. The ruling comes after state Attorney General John O’Connor filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme appealing the state court’s decision that Oklahoma did not have concurrent jurisdiction in Castro-Huerta’s case. O’Connor argued the state has concurrent jurisdiction in cases in which the crime was committed by someone who is non-Native, although the victim is a member of Cherokee Nation.
Tribes Sue To Try To Stop Wolf Hunt
AP News, Steve Karnowski, September 21
Six tribes sued Wisconsin on Tuesday to try to stop its planned gray wolf hunt in November, asserting that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred. The Chippewa tribes say treaties give them rights to half of the wolf quota in territory they ceded to the United States in the mid-1800s. But rather than hunt wolves, the tribes want to protect them. The tribal lawsuit comes three weeks after a coalition of wildlife advocacy groups sued to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and void a state law mandating annual hunts, arguing that the statutes don’t give wildlife managers any leeway to consider population estimates.
Other:
Haaland Embraces ‘Indigenous Knowledge’ In Confronting Historic Climate Change Impacts
ABC News, Michelle Stoddart, Julia Cherner, and Devin Dwyer, September 22
A relentless drought and wildfire season in America’s West and a tense standoff over federal leases for oil and gas drilling have been early tests for the Biden administration’s climate policy and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native person to hold the job and first Indigenous member of a White House Cabinet. “I can’t speak for every tribe or even my tribe, but I can make sure that tribal leaders have a seat at the table,” Haaland said. “Certainly, in this time of climate change bearing down upon us, that indigenous knowledge about our natural world will be extremely valuable and important to all of us.” “Indian tribes have been on this continent for millennia, for tens of thousands of years,” she added. “They know how to take care of the land … that’s knowledge that’s been passed down for generations and generations.”
Media Fascination With The Petito Mystery Looks Like Racism To Some Native Americans
NPR, Kamila Kudelska, September 21
The FBI has confirmed that remains found in Wyoming on Sunday are the body of 22-year-old Gabrielle Petito. The mystery around the death of the photogenic young white woman with a carefree social media presence has been headline news across the country. And that’s frustrating to people who say the media ignores an epidemic of missing and murdered Native women in the state. Since 2000, Indigenous people have made up 21% of homicides in Wyoming, even though they are only 3% of the population. That’s according to a state report released in January. Cara Chambers, chair of the task force that released the report says only 30% of Indigenous homicide victims had any media coverage. That number is closer to 51% for whites. Chambers says those kinds of portrayals can deter people from reporting that their loved ones are missing to the media or police.
Mark Ruffalo, Sarah Eagle Heart Co-Producing Film On Present-Day Fight For Black Hills
Native News Online, September 21
Documentary film studio XTR announced on Tuesday it is making Lakota Nation vs. the United States, a feature-length documentary chronicling the Lakota Indians’ present-day quest to reclaim the Black Hills. XTR is partnering with actor Mark Ruffalo and actress/author/activist and Emmy Award-winner Sarah Eagle Heart (Oglala Sioux) as executive producers on the documentary. Jesse Short Bull (Oglala Sioux) is directing the documentary alongside Laura Tomaselli. Benjamin Hedin is producing. The Black Hills are considered sacred to the Lakota people, who say the land was stolen in violation of treaty agreements. The film, which is currently in production, is the first documentary to amplify the tragic history of the land claim.
Changes To Social Studies Standards Should Be Delayed
AP News, September 21
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem said Monday she told the state Department of Education to delay changes to social studies standards up to one year to allow more people to weigh in on the recommendations. Noem’s move follows recent calls by the South Dakota Education Equity Coalition for her to resign and the decision to postpone the first scheduled hearing a month and move it to a larger venue. The DOE reports it has received nearly 600 public comments on the standards. The Argus Leader reported that a review of the comments show the majority are in opposition to the proposed standards, in which the DOE removed more than a dozen explicit references to Native education on the Oceti Sakowin that were initially included in an early draft proposed by members of a working group. Noem intends to ask the South Dakota legislature to place into law an executive order she signed in late July that prohibits any curriculum requiring or encouraging students to take positions against one another on the basis of race, sex or the historical activity of members of a student’s race or sex. Noem also plans to ban critical race theory and action civics as the basis for instruction in South Dakota schools.
Tribe Wants Boston University To Change Dorm Name
AP News, September 21
A tribal nation is calling on Boston University to change the name of a dorm that honors Myles Standish, the military leader of the Pilgrims. The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag says Myles Standish Hall should be renamed Wituwamat Memorial Hall after a leading Native figure massacred with other tribal members by Plymouth Colony settlers in 1623. According to the tribe’s history, Standish and his men killed Wituwamat and other members of the Neponset Band of the Massachusett Tribe because Standish suspected Wituwamat of plotting against the fledgling English colony. Wituwamat was beheaded and his head displayed atop Plymouth Colony’s meetinghouse as a warning. The online petition also argues that Standish has no connection to the university or the stately Back Bay neighborhood where the dorm is located. Instead, the dorm takes its name from the building’s origin as the Myles Standish Hotel.