Good Morning NUNAverse,
A school district in Southern California has placed a teacher on leave after a video posted on social media showed her wearing a fake Native headdress and mimicking Indigenous dances during a classroom lesson. The Riverside Unified School District said in a statement Thursday the behavior was “completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices.” The district said it values diversity, equity and inclusion and was investigating the incident, which drew widespread criticism after being posted a day earlier.
For decades, the people on Navajo Nation have had no drinking water due to uranium mining. Today, the Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) submitted the additional documents needed for a petition it filed in 2011 against the United States over the issue to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In a Washington Post Live program on Tuesday, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said up to forty percent of Navajo people do not have running water or electricity in their homes, including his own family. The case, ENDAUM et al v. United States of America, seeks to hold the United States accountable for human rights violations by its acts and omissions that have contaminated and will continue to contaminate natural resources in the Diné communities of Churchrock and Crownpoint.
The White House announced on Thursday First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will visit the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan on Sunday, October 24, 2021. During their visit, Dr. Biden and Dr. Murthy will hold a listening session focused on youth mental health with citizens of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. A panel will discuss the success of a $9 million five-year grant project, entitled Project AWARE, from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe received the grant in April 2019 and is now in the third year of Project AWARE.
Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 construction has been completed after nearly 8 years of Indigenous and citizen opposition that saw numerous protests and arrests in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and a string of state, federal, and tribal court filings. As clean-up begins and more construction accidents come to light, water protectors are claiming victory on a number of fronts. Members of Indigenous advocacy organizations such as Honor the Earth and the Indigenous Environmental Network as well as tribal grassroots pipeline opponents say that the fight against Line 3 helped focus the world’s attention on what they describe as an untenable corporate push to build fossil fuel infrastructure projects at the expense of the environment.’
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
Diné Organization Files Petition Against United States, Citing Human Rights Violations
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, October 21
For decades, the people on Navajo Nation have had no drinking water, due to uranium mining. Today, the Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) submitted the additional documents needed for a petition it filed in 2011 against the United States over the issue, to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In a Washington Post Live program on Tuesday, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said up to forty percent of Navajo people do not have running water or electricity in their homes, including his own family. The case, ENDAUM et al v. United States of America, seeks to hold the United States accountable for human rights violations by its acts and omissions that have contaminated and will continue to contaminate natural resources in the Diné communities of Churchrock and Crownpoint.
Politics:
Montana Redistricting Chair Finds Faults In Partisan Maps
AP News, Iris Samuels, October 21
Montana’s redistricting commission is working to devise a new map dividing the state into two congressional districts, after the commission’s nonpartisan chair said she disapproved of all nine maps proposed by the two Republican and two Democratic commissioners. Maylinn Smith, who was appointed to the commission by the state’s Supreme Court, said during a commission meeting on Thursday that the four maps previously proposed by Republicans unnecessarily split counties or did not divide the state population equally between districts. Smith said the five maps proposed by Democrats made some counties vulnerable to be poorly represented because they were cut off from the rest of the district, and also raised concern that some of their maps put all of Montana’s seven Native American reservations in one district rather than ensuring both districts have strong Native American contingencies.
Native Mascots:
California Teacher Mimicking Native Americans Stirs Outrage
AP News, October 21
A school district in Southern California has placed a teacher on leave after a video posted on social media showed her wearing a fake Native American headdress and mimicking indigenous dances during a classroom lesson. The Riverside Unified School District said in a statement Thursday the behavior was “completely unacceptable and an offensive depiction of the vast and expansive Native American cultures and practices.” The district said it values diversity, equity and inclusion and was investigating the incident, which drew widespread criticism after being posted a day earlier.
Other:
Teacher Who Did A Poor Job Of “Playing Indian” In Video That Went Viral Is Placed On Leave
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, October 21
A Riverside High School math teacher may know a lot about trigonometry, but she lacks wisdom on life matters–especially when it comes to how to deal with Native Americans relations. A video that went viral on social media shows a Caucasian math woman teacher prancing among students in a classroom, wearing a headdress—with feathers—made from construction paper in an attempt to dance like an Indian. She even threw in a tomahawk chop. The video captured her making chanting-like statements and pretending to pray at her desk. The video was filmed by a Native American student during his trigonometry class on Tuesday.
Illinois House Resolution Supports The Return Of Lands To Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
Native News Online, Monica Whitepigeon, October 21
Late last week, the Illinois General Assembly convened and introduced House Resolution 0504, in support of returning the illegally sold Shab-eh-nay Reservation lands back to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN). The Kansas-based tribe was originally from the Great Lakes region and were stewards of the Illinois area. Currently, there are no federally recognized reservations in the state of Illinois, and this move could be a significant win for Indigenous people. The resolution acknowledges the sordid history between the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and white settlers by referencing treaties signed in the mid-1800s. The Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829 defined land ownership to the Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay and his band. After the Indian Removal Act in the 1830s, the 1833 Treaty of Chicago reaffirmed the lands reserved to Chief Shab-eh-nay; however, the lands were illegally sold while he was visiting relatives in Kansas.
First Lady Jill Biden To Visit Saginaw Chippewa Tribe With U.S. Surgeon General Murthy On Sunday
Native News Online, October 21
The White House announced on Thursday First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will visit the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. on Sunday, October 24, 2021. During their visit, Dr. Biden and Dr. Murthy will hold a listening session focused on youth mental health with citizens of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. A panel will discuss the success of a $9 million five-year grant project, entitled Project AWARE, from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe received the grant in April 2019 and is now in the third year of Project AWARE.
Line 3 Opposition Lives On, Clean-Up Begins
Indian Country Today, Mary Annette Pember, October 21
Enbridge’s controversial Line 3 construction has been completed. After nearly 8 years of Indigenous and citizen opposition that saw numerous protests and arrests in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and a string of state, federal and tribal court filings, it appears that the corporate giant has won. Not so, say Indigenous and non-Native water protectors. As clean-up begins and more construction accidents come to light, water protectors are claiming victory on a number of fronts. Members of Indigenous advocacy organizations such as Honor the Earth and the Indigenous Environmental Network as well as tribal grassroots pipeline opponents say that the fight against Line 3 helped focus the world’s attention on what they describe as an untenable corporate push to build fossil fuel infrastructure projects at the expense of the environment.
Project Aims To Preserve Tribe’s Cultural History
AP News, Fred Mayson, October 21
Hidden away in Christmas Tree Pass near the Arizona-Nevada border, more than 700 petroglyphs can be found at Grapevine Canyon. The petroglyphs, which were carved into the canyon rocks sometime between 1100 and 1900 AD, are a reminder that the history of the Colorado River extends long before Davis Dam made its mark on the landscape. The Pipa Aha Macav, or “The People By the River,” once occupied lands stretching from Utah to Mexico, and east to west from modern-day Santa Barbara to Prescott. Now known as the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, the group’s land was reduced by settlers and now stretches from Mojave City to Topock, and straddles the Nevada, California and Arizona borders.