Good Morning NUNAverse,
President Joe Biden will restore two national monuments in Utah that have been at the center of a long-running public lands dispute, and a separate marine conservation area in New England that has been used for commercial fishing, according to people who have been briefed on the plan. Utah Governor Spencer Cox released a statement Thursday expressing disappointment in Biden’s decision to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, which were downsized significantly under President Donald Trump. Cox’s office said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland informed the governor of Biden’s decision. The monuments cover vast expanses of southern Utah where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and cliff dwellings and distinctive twin buttes bulge from a grassy valley. The Trump administration had cut Bears Ears, on lands considered sacred to tribes, by 85% and slashed Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half.
On Wednesday, the American Indian College Fund announced it has received a $5.3 million grant from the Bezos Family Foundation. According to a press release the grant will support the College Fund’s Indigenous Early Childhood Education program at tribal colleges and universities over the next four years. The grant will support faculty development, family engagement, and develop a community of practice at 10 tribal colleges.
Native News Online reporter Jenna Kunze and audio journalist Alice Qannik Glenn (Iñupiaq) were honored for their environmental reporting during the inaugural Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards this afternoon. Kunze and Quannik Glenn were selected as winners in the Audio/Radio category for “Alaska Natives on the Front Line” a 2020 podcast series that provided an insider’s look at the impact of climate change on the Indigenous community of Utqiagvik, Alaska. Their entry was one of 12 winners selected from more than 600 entries from 38 countries. Hosted by NBC News journalists Al Roker and Savannah Sellers during a livestream from Rockefeller Center in New York, the awards “not only represent outstanding reporting, they connect you with the people living the climate story and provide science-driven, solutions focused coverage to meet the crisis facing humanity,” Sellers said.
A new initiative to address the opioid epidemic in tribal communities launches this week in South Dakota. The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board received a grant to fund an opioid response program to provide prevention, treatment, and recovery support services. They coordinated with a communications firm to produce the “Skyhawk Reborn” comic series, which focuses on opioid misuse and abuse. Skyhawk Reborn is a fully–animated digital and print comic series that uses Indigenous culture and tradition to connect with readers. The cultural element is something Eagle Elk believes is key to reaching the intended audience, and is the reason Skyhawk Reborn is printed in three languages: English, Lakota, and soon Dakota.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Joe Biden Expands Sacred Bears Ears
AP News, Lindsay Whitehurst, October 7
President Joe Biden will restore two sprawling national monuments in Utah that have been at the center of a long-running public lands dispute, and a separate marine conservation area in New England that recently has been used for commercial fishing, according to people who have been briefed on the plan. Utah Governor Spencer Cox released a statement Thursday expressing disappointment in Biden’s decision to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments, which were downsized significantly under President Donald Trump. Cox’s office said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland informed the governor of Biden’s decision. The monuments cover vast expanses of southern Utah where red rocks reveal petroglyphs and cliff dwellings and distinctive twin buttes bulge from a grassy valley. The Trump administration had cut Bears Ears, on lands considered sacred to Native American tribes, by 85% and slashed Grand Staircase-Escalante by nearly half.
Sports Betting Rollout: ‘The Giant Has Woken Up’
AP News, Carina Dominguez, October 7
Tribal gaming experts across the nation are monitoring the situation closely with excitement and skepticism. More than half of the country is currently offering sports betting in some form, with even more states expected to offer it in 2022 and 2023. Ten states are offering in-person sports wagers only, with an additional 11 offering full mobile betting with multiple options and six others have limited mobile betting options, according to Action Network.
Boarding Schools:
Justin Trudeau Says He Regrets Vacation On Reconciliation Day
AP News, Rob Gillies, October 7
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday he made a mistake traveling for a vacation last week on a day meant to honor Indigenous survivors of Canada’s residential schools system. The newly reelected prime minister has faced intense criticism for the Sept. 30 trip after he was filmed on a beach on Vancouver island. His itinerary initially reported he was in Ottawa for private meetings. Trudeau thanked a local chief for taking his call on the weekend so he could apologize for not accepting an invitation to her community on the day. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was declared by Trudeau’s government after the discovery of 215 children found buried at a former Indigenous residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia, attracted worldwide attention this year.
MMIW:
Native Athlete Crosses America For MMIW Awareness
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, October 7
Over the last two months, Duane Garvais Lawrence has been in motion, traveling by bike, foot, and RV across the country to raise awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigneous Women (MMIW). The 55-year-old athlete was propelled into action by this statistic: Native women and girls are more than 10 times more likely to go missing or be killed than any other ethnic group, statistics from the CDC show. Along his journey from Washington state to the Capitol building in Washington DC, Garvais Lawrence —a descendant of the Colville, Assiniboine, Gros Ventre, Oglala, and Chippewa Cree Tribes—stopped at 17 reservations to complete bike rides and runs with local tribal members. Garvais Lawrence completed the trip on October 1, then met with various lawmakers at the nation’s capital to talk policy reform for the MMIW crisis.
Law:
Fake American Indian Medicine Man Was Sentenced To Life In Prison For Sexual Abuse And Illegally Possessing Eagle Parts
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, October 7
A man who pretended to be an American Indian “medicine man” so that he could sexually abuse an American Indian minor was sentenced to life in prison. Described by a federal prosecutor as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” during his trial, Carl Ortner, 57, of Quapaw, Oklahoma was convicted in May of sexually abusing a Native female child and of illegally possessing eagle parts. U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III sentenced Ortner to life in federal prison and ordered him to pay a $100,000 fine. In 2016, Ortner began sexually abusing the minor. While some of the abuse allegedly occurred within the state of Oklahoma jurisdiction, Ortner also abused the victim on Indian land, which falls within federal jurisdiction. Further, at one point, Ortner drove the victim to Joplin, Missouri, to engage in criminal sexual activity with the minor victim. Crossing state lines to engage in illegal activity falls within federal jurisdiction.
Other:
American Indian College Fund Receives $5.315 Million To Support Indigenous Early Childhood Education From Bezos Family Foundation
Native News Online, October 7
On Wednesday, the American Indian College Fund announced it has received a $5.3 million grant from the Bezos Family Foundation. According to a press release the grant will support the College Fund’s Indigenous Early Childhood Education program at tribal colleges and universities over the next four years. The grant will support faculty development, family engagement, and develop a community of practice at 10 tribal colleges.
Tribal Leaders Seek Hearing On Drilling Dispute
Indian Country Today, Susan Montoya Bryan, October 7
Top officials with the largest Native nation in the United States are renewing a request for congressional leaders to hold a field hearing before deciding on federal legislation aimed at limiting oil and gas development around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Navajo Nation has struggled for years with high poverty rates and joblessness, and the tribe’s legislative leaders say individual Navajo allottees stand to lose an important source of income if a 10-mile buffer is created around the park as proposed. They’re calling for a smaller area of federal land holdings to be made off limits to oil and gas development as a compromise to protect Navajo interests. Navajo Council Speaker Seth Damon and other council members recently sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy outlining their concerns about pending legislation and the need to fund a comprehensive study of cultural resources throughout the region.
Third Annual Native American Virtual Animation Lab Opens Call For Applications
Native News Online, October 7
The Native American Media Alliance is accepting applications for the third annual Native American Virtual Animation Lab, to be held December 6-10, 2021. The lab is an intensive workshop that develops Native writers, filmmakers and artists with a current animation project, and is designed to offer new access for Native interested in breaking into animation. It is an in-depth workshop for Native Americans with a script, treatment, animated film, original comic book, or other visual materials they want to develop into an animated series or feature film. Participants will workshop one animation project through one-on-one mentoring, group sessions and peer workshops. The lab concludes with an intensive pitching session for each participant.
Joe Biden Reactivates Arctic Executive Steering Committee
Indian Country Today, Vincent Schilling, October 7
President Joe Biden has reactivated a critical agency of Indigenous leaders that will help to guide federal policies affecting Alaska Native peoples and territories. The Arctic Executive Steering Committee will be led by Deputy Director Raychelle Alauq Daniel, Yup’ik, who grew up in Tuntutuliak, Alaska. Daniel served with the Interior department for many years working to advance tribal climate policies in coordination with federal agencies. She will be the leading voice in connecting Indigenous voices within the committee.
NNO’s Kunze, Iñupiaq Journalist Glenn Win Environmental Reporting Award
Native News Online, October 6
Native News Online reporter Jenna Kunze and audio journalist Alice Qannik Glenn (Iñupiaq) were honored for their environmental reporting during the inaugural Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards this afternoon. Kunze and Quannik Glenn were selected as winners in the Audio/Radio category for “Alaska Natives on the Front Line” a 2020 podcast series that provided an insider’s look at the impact of climate change on the Indigenous community of Utqiagvik, Alaska. Their entry was one of 12 winners selected from more than 600 entries from 38 countries. Hosted by NBC News journalists Al Roker and Savannah Sellers during a livestream from Rockefeller Center in New York, the awards “not only represent outstanding reporting, they connect you with the people living the climate story and provide science-driven, solutions focused coverage to meet the crisis facing humanity,” Sellers said.
A creative new initiative to address the opioid epidemic in Indian Country launches this week
KNBN NewsCenter1, Darnesh Nelson, October 7
A new initiative to address the opioid epidemic in tribal communities launches this week in South Dakota. The Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board received a grant to fund an opioid response program to provide prevention, treatment, and recovery support services. They coordinated with a communications firm to produce the “Skyhawk Reborn” comic series, which focuses on opioid misuse and abuse. Great Plains wanted to find a creative way to engage and educate youth in Indian country.Skyhawk Reborn is a fully–animated digital and print comic series that uses indigenous culture and tradition to connect with readers. The cultural element is something Eagle Elk believes is key to reaching the intended audience, and is the reason Skyhawk Reborn is printed in three languages: English, Lakota, and soon – Dakota.