Good Morning, NUNAverse,

Covering the Oklahoma Gubernatorial election, AP News writes that many of the state’s 39 tribes are wielding their considerable influence to oppose a second term for Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, himself a Cherokee citizen, who is facing a tough reelection challenge after feuding with the tribes for nearly his entire first term. With the election just weeks away, five of the state’s most powerful tribes jointly endorsed Stitt’s Democratic opponent, Joy Hofmeister, the state’s public schools superintendent.

Three White couples who sought to adopt Indigenous children will have their legal cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next month. Each of the foster families, including a couple from Minnesota, says the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) discriminated against them because of their race. The outcome of the case challenging ICWA, Brackeen v. Haaland, has far-reaching implications: not only for the battle against family separation in Indian Country, but potentially for the foundational rights of tribes in relation to the U.S. government.

The San Francisco Chronicle published a column by Jaqueline Keeler alleging that Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native actress who famously took the stage at the 1973 Oscars dressed in a beaded buckskin dress in place of Marlon Brando, is not actually Native. Keeler writes that she spoke to Littlefeather’s biological sisters who claim that she fabricated her Native ancestry. Littlefeather passed away on October 2 of this year. 

Keep reading for a full news update. 

MMIW:

There Are Nearly 200 Missing Native Americans From New Mexico And The Navajo Nation. The FBI Is Working To Tackle Unsolved Cases

CNN, Josh Campbell, October 22

Politics:

Native People Angry After Bloody Indigenous Peoples’ Day Tweet By Kari Lake Campaign Aide

AZ Central, Debra Utacia Krol, October 21

Feud With Tribes Threatens Oklahoma Governor’s Reelection

AP News, Sean Murphy, October 20

Law:

A Native Grandmother’s Custody Battle Reaches The Supreme Court

Indian Country Today, Nancy Marie Spears, October 23 

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Challenging Policy Barring Native Americans From Accessing South Dakota Hotel And Sports Lounge

US DOJ, October 19

Boarding Schools:

University Of Kansas Returning Native American Remains

AP News, October 18

Kansas To Search Grounds Of Former Native American School

AP News, October 17

Other:

Native Americans Are Getting Left Behind In The Remote Work Economy

Brookings, Matthew Greg, October 24

2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit Set for November 30 & December 1

Native News Online, October 22

New Policy Brief Cites Geographic Information System As Tool For Landback Strategies

Native News Online, October 20

Speaking From Orbit, The First Native-American Woman In Space Reflects On Earth’s Fragility

Time, Jeffery Kluger, October 20

Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann Answered Questions From Native Students, Indigenous Media In Live Interview From Space Station

Native News Online, October 19

Sacheen Littlefeather Was A Native American Icon. Her Sisters Say She Was An Ethnic Fraud

San Francisco Chronicle, Jacqueline Keeler, October 22