Good Morning NUNAverse,
First Lady Jill Biden made a visit to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Ziibiwing Center on the Isabella Indian Reservation on Sunday afternoon. It was her second trip to a reservation since becoming first lady in January. Also part of the first lady’s entourage was Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, who is the former leader of the Bay Mills Indian Community. In addition to wanting to know how Saginaw Chippewa students have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, she came to the reservation, with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to listen to a panel discuss the success of Project AWARE, which stands for “Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education.” The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is in its third year of a five-year, $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Indigenous advocates fighting to protect Oak Flat, a historic site in eastern Arizona sacred to the San Carlos Apache Nation and other Native communities, argued their case against a proposed copper mine in federal court last Friday. The legal efforts at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are being led by the grassroots group, Apache Stronghold. Native communities have long warned the massive copper mine would destroy Oak Flat, depriving them of their religious rights and other freedoms. The copper mine is being run by Resolution Copper, a joint venture of multinational mining corporations BHP and Rio Tinto.
The South Dakota State Senate Committee leading a redistricting effort in South Dakota voted Monday to allow for a wider deviation limit on population for two Native -heavy districts in the southwest and central regions, essentially signaling an undercount in the 2020 U.S. Census on tribal lands. The move will allow Districts 26 and 27, spanning the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations respectively, to remain largely unchanged from their current district boundaries, which have been two of the only Democrat-friendly districts in the state.
Yesterday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced the appointment of Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman to serve on the University of Washington Board of Regents. Chairman Forsman will become the first Native person to serve on the board, and said he aims to promote the construction of Phase II of the Intellectual House — a longhouse-style facility on the UW Seattle campus aimed at providing a multi-service learning and gathering space for American Indian and Alaska Native students, faculty and staff — as well as enhance and expand the university’s research efforts to serve Indian Country priorities such as climate change, Tribal education initiatives to recruit Native students, train Native teachers, develop Tribal curriculum and encourage more research projects that benefit Indian Country.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Environment:
Apache Nation Asks Federal Court To Halt Proposed Copper Mine At Oak Flat
Democracy Now, October 25
Indigenous advocates fighting to protect Oak Flat, a historic site in eastern Arizona sacred to the San Carlos Apache Nation and other Native communities, argued their case against a proposed copper mine in federal court Friday. The legal efforts at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals are being led by the grassroots group, Apache Stronghold. Native communities have long warned the massive copper mine would destroy Oak Flat, depriving them of their religious rights and other freedoms. This is Wendsler Nosie Sr., founder of Apache Stronghold and former chair of the San Carlos Apache Nation.
Politics:
Kyrsten Sinema Officiated At Wedding Where Guests Dressed Up In Native American Outfits
Newsweek, Darragh Roche, October 26
Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema officiated a costumed wedding in Arizona on Saturday where a pair of guests came dressed in Native American outfits. The wedding took place in Bisbee and guests arrived to the venue in their costumes, with one couple dressed as Native Americans with face paint and full headdresses.
Tim Walz, Peggy Flanagan Officially Seek Second Term
Indian Country Today, Ricardo Lopez, October 25
DFL Gov. Tim Walz is officially asking Minnesotans for a second term, announcing his reelection campaign Tuesday morning in a video highlighting his record handling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Walz, 57, is a former congressman from Mankato who taught high school social studies and coached football before running for Congress in 2006. He also served 24 years in the Army National Guard. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the first Indigenous statewide official, will rejoin him on the ticket. She is a citizen of the White Band of Ojibwe.
South Dakota Senate Committee Approves Map Preserving Boundaries For 2 Native American-Majority Districts
Jamestown Sun, Christopher Vondracek, October 25
In a surprise move, the Senate committee leading a redistricting effort in South Dakota voted Monday, Oct. 25, to allow for a wider deviation limit on population for two Native American-heavy districts in the southwest and central regions, essentially signaling an undercount in the 2020 U.S. Census on tribal lands.
Other:
Native American Groups Capitalize On Record Donations To Confront Chronic Hardship
The Guardian, Anthony Wallace, October 26
Leaders of non-profit organizations serving Native American communities in the US say they have been inundated with unprecedented financial support over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Native Americans are three times as likely to have died from the virus in the US as white Americans, according to the APM Research Lab. America’s largest Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation, has lost 1,471 residents to Covid-19 so far. That figure equates to a staggering death rate of 847 per 100,000 residents – double the rate in the worst-affected US state.
Leonard Forsman Named First Native American On UW Board Of Regents
The News Tribune, Natasha Brennan, October 25
Leonard Forsman will become the first Native American to serve on the University of Washington Board of Regents Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday, Oct. 25. “Leonard has deep appreciation for the importance of education for all communities. His leadership experience with Suquamish and tireless work on behalf of Northwest Tribal communities will be invaluable to UW,” Inslee said in a news release. “He is a leader in every sense of the word and l look forward to his continued service to our region as a member of the University of Washington Board of Regents.”
First Lady Biden Hears Success of Project AWARE, Which Provides Hope For The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, October 25
First Lady Jill Biden made a visit to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s Ziibiwing Center on the Isabella Indian Reservation on Sunday afternoon. It was her second trip to an Indian reservation since becoming first lady in January. Also part of the first lady’s entourage was Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland, who is the former leader of the Bay Mills Indian Community. In addition to wanting to know how Saginaw Chippewa students have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, she came to the reservation, with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to listen to a panel discuss the success of Project AWARE, which stands for “Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education.” The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is in its third year of a five-year, $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Nooksack Indian Tribe Talks Climate Plan
Indian Country Today, Natasha Brennan, October 25
The Nooksack Indian Tribe has contracted to study the impacts of climate change, timber harvests, temperature change and sediment loading on stream temperature, mass wasting (or slope movement), summer flows and winter glacial retention since 2010 and has created adaptation plans for fish, fish habitats, wildlife, Indigenous foods, water supply and water quality. The tribe and Whatcom County environmental leaders met via Zoom on Oct. 14, to discuss the Tribe’s Climate Adaption Plan. The group highlighted key actions to mitigate climate change and ways the community can help to an audience of over 70 community members.
PHOTOS Of First Lady Jill Biden’s Visit To Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, October 24
First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on Sunday afternoon visited the Ziibiwing Center and hold a listening session focused on youth mental health with citizens of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe on the Isabella Indian Reservation in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. Dr. Biden and Dr. Vivek participated in a panel discussion on 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.