Good Morning NUNAverse,
Earlier this week a group of lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden advocating for the release of Turtle Mountain Chippewa member Leonard Peltier. The group of lawmakers are all members of federally recognized tribes and represent 10 separate state governments. The effort was largely organized by North Dakota Representative Ruth Buffalo. Buffalo is a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations and is the first female Native Democrat elected to the North Dakota Legislature. The letter of support for the Turtle Mountain Chippewa activist and political prisoner comes weeks after 11 members of Congress sent a letter to President Joe Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal, and Southeast Regional Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons J.A. Keller, requesting the expedited release and clemency for Peltier.
In an effort to improve tribal input and consultation with the federal government, the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) and the National Park Service (NPS) have entered into a cooperative agreement to help facilitate regular dialogue between tribes and the NPS. The cooperative agreement was entered into on Wednesday at the 23rd Annual American Indian Tourism Conference that is in session at the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort in Fort McDowell, Arizona. According to a recent survey conducted by AIANTA, tribal nations and communities engaged in tourism at National Park sites gateway communities have expressed an interest in working with the NPS. Results of AIANTA’s American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Gateway Communities Survey found 90 percent of respondents want to partner or work with the National Park Service and public lands agencies. Eighty percent of those responding indicated they provide support for visitors to public land attractions with food (71 percent) and lodging (61 percent) topping the list of services provided.
A former police chief of the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation’s tribal police department pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday of stealing more than $300,000 as part of a scheme to sell membership into the Manzanita Tribal Police Department to dozens of individuals. Anthony Reyes Vazquez, 49, admitted stealing the money through a scheme that sold fake badges to unqualified individuals, who could then have law enforcement privileges so they could carry concealed weapons. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego, Vazquez admitted that he and other tribal police officers recruited wealthy individuals in the Los Angeles area to become members of the Manzanita Tribal Police Department. Vazquez and recruiters who assisted him asked these wealthy individuals – known as the “VIP Group” – to make large payments, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, to obtain the fake badges.
Shelda Livingston and her family say the complicated background of her sister Pepita Redhair led Albuquerque Police Department officers to discriminate against her during their investigation into Redhair’s disappearance in March 2020. Similar concerns have been expressed by other advocates for Indigenous relatives who are missing that racism and stigma around hardships lead officers to treat MMIWG cases dismissively at first, as precious time ticks away after someone has disappeared. Source New Mexico raised these overall concerns with APD Chief Harold Medina, asking if APD was considering officer bias.Medina responded by saying distrust of law enforcement in some communities can lead to difficult interactions. He said he is working with a professor at the University of New Mexico to conduct a class for officers that helps officers understand that distrust.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Native Mascots:
Braves Bring Chop To World Series
AP News, Charles Odum, October 28
As the World Series shifts to Atlanta, some TV viewers may be offended to see Braves fans still chopping and chanting in force. After teams in the NFL and Major League Baseball have dropped names considered racist and offensive to Native Americans the last two years, the Braves chop on — with the support of baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. What matters most to Manfred is the Braves have the support of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, based in North Carolina about three hours from Atlanta. Manfred’s decision to accept input from only one Native American group doesn’t sit well with the Oklahoma-based Muscogee Nation. There is no indication the Braves plan to change their name or discourage the chop, which has been a tradition for their fans since the early 1990s. Former Braves outfielder Deion Sanders is credited with bringing the chop, which was part of his college football background at Florida State, to Atlanta.
MMIW:
Police Respond To Bias, Victim-Blaming Concerns In MMIWR Cases
Source NM,Shaun Griswold, October 28
Shelda Livingston and her family say the complicated background of her sister Pepita Redhair led Albuquerque Police Department officers to discriminate against her during their investigation into Redhair’s disappearance in March 2020. Similar concerns have been expressed by other advocates for Indigenous relatives who are missing that racism and stigma around hardships lead officers to treat MMIWR cases dismissively at first, as precious time ticks away after someone has disappeared. Source New Mexico raised these overall concerns with APD Chief Harold Medina, asking if APD was considering officer bias.
Medina responded by saying distrust of law enforcement in some communities can lead to difficult interactions. He said he is working with a professor at the University of New Mexico to conduct a class for officers that helps officers understand that distrust.
Other:
Native Lawmakers Ask President Biden To Release Leonard Peltier
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, October 28
On Tuesday, October 26, a group of lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden advocating for the release of Turtle Mountain Chippewa member Leonard Peltier. The group of lawmakers are all members of federally recognized tribes and represent 10 separate state governments. The effort was largely organized by North Dakota Representative Ruth Buffalo (D-Fargo). Buffalo is a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations and is the first female Native American Democrat elected to the North Dakota Legislature, in December 2018. The letter of support for the Turtle Mountain Chippewa activist and political prisoner comes weeks after 11 members of Congress sent a letter to President Joe Biden, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal, and Southeast Regional Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons J.A. Keller, requesting the expedited release and clemency for Peltier. He suffers from diabetes and an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He is 77 years old.
Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed To Climate Threats, Data Show
The New York Times, October 28
Tribal nations have lost 99 percent of their historical territory. Where they live now is more vulnerable to extreme weather, adding to the debate over how to address racial injustice.
Former Tribal Police Chief Steals Over $300,000 From Tribe By Selling Fake Badges
Native News Online, October 28
A former police chief of the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation’s tribal police department pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego, Calif. on Monday, of stealing more than $300,000 as part of a scheme to sell membership into the Manzanita Tribal Police Department to dozens of individuals. Anthony Reyes Vazquez, 49, admitted stealing the money through a scheme that sold fake badges to unqualified individuals, who could then have law enforcement privileges so they could carry concealed weapons. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego, Vazquez admitted that he and other tribal police officers recruited wealthy individuals in the Los Angeles area to become members of the Manzanita Tribal Police Department. Vazquez and recruiters who assisted him asked these wealthy individuals – known as the “VIP Group” – to make large payments, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, to obtain the fake badges.
Buy-Back Program Sends Offers To Landowners With Fractional Interests At The Blackfeet Reservation
Native News Online, October 28
The Department of the Interior announced on Thursday that nearly 5,000 landowners with fractional interests at the Blackfeet Reservation have been sent more than $130 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for tribal nations. Those landowners who are interested in selling have 45 days or until December 13, 2021 to submit their signed agreements. The Buy-Back Program implements the land consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement, which provided $1.9 billion to consolidate fractional interests in trust or restricted land within a 10-year period set to expire in November 2022. As of September 28, 2021, approximately $91 million remains.
Interior Preps Guidelines For Native Youth Service Corps
AP News, October 28
The Interior Department issued draft guidelines Thursday for a new conservation corps that will allow Native youth to work on projects that benefit their own communities. The department scheduled a series of consultations in late November and early December to get feedback on the guidelines from Native American tribes, Alaska Native corporations and Native Hawaiians. The Indian Youth Service Corps was created through a bill that expanded the Public Lands Corps Act in 2019. The Interior Department was tasked with coming up with the guidelines on how it will be implemented. Tribes and Alaska Native corporations will be able to work with the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce departments to carry out conservation projects on public land, tribal land and Hawaiian homelands. Projects can include restoring trails, removing invasive species, gardening, sampling water or soil, and preserving historic structures.
AIANTA & National Park Service Partner To Highlight Tribal History And Traditions
Native News Online, October 28
In an effort to improve tribal input and consultation with the federal government, the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) and the National Park Service (NPS) and) have entered into a cooperative agreement to help facilitate regular, robust and meaningful dialogue between Tribes and the NPS. The cooperative agreement was entered into on Wednesday at the 23rd Annual American Indian Tourism Conference that is in session at the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort in Fort McDowell, Ariz. According to a recent survey conducted by AIANTA, tribal nations and communities engaged in tourism at National Park sites gateway communities have expressed an interest in working with the NPS. Results of AIANTA’s American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Gateway Communities Survey found 90 percent of respondents want to partner or work with the National Park Service and public lands agencies. Eighty percent of those responding indicated they provide support for visitors to public land attractions with food (71 percent) and lodging (61 percent) topping the list of services provided.
For Tribes, ‘Good Fire’ A Key To Restoring Nature And People
AP News, John Flesher, October 28
Elizabeth Azzuz stood in prayer on a Northern California mountainside, arms outstretched, grasping a handmade torch of dried wormwood branches, the fuel her Native American ancestors used for generations to burn underbrush in thick forest. Others joined her. And soon dancing flames and pungent smoke rose from the slope high above the distant Klamath River. Over several days in early October, about 80 acres (32.4 hectares) on the Yurok reservation would be set aflame. The burning was monitored by crews wearing protective helmets and clothing — firefighting gear and water trucks ready. They were part of a program that teaches Yurok and other tribes the ancient skills of treating land with fire. Such an act could have meant jail a century ago. But state and federal agencies that long banned “cultural burns” in the U.S. West are coming to terms with them — and even collaborating — as the wildfire crisis worsens.