Good Morning NUNAverse,
Yesterday, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. The CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible. Distribution of pediatric vaccinations across the country started this week, with plans to scale up to full capacity starting the week of November 8th. Vaccines will be available at thousands of pediatric healthcare provider offices, pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and more.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report that says the federal response to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis needs improvement. “The Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women; New Efforts Are Underway but Opportunities Exist to Improve the Federal Response” GAO report concluded the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have missed numerous deadlines set by the Not Invisible Act and Savanna’s Act, and it recommended that the departments develop an action plan to ensure they’re doing all they can to combat the crisis.
The University of Minnesota will offer free or reduced tuition to many Native students attending its five campuses starting next fall. The cost waiver program had previously been offered only at the Morris campus, but now will be expanded to all five campuses, to also included Duluth, Rochester, Crookston, and the Twin Cities. Incoming first year and tribal college transfer students who are enrolled members of one of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations will be eligible for free or reduced tuition, depending on their family income level. They can’t transfer from other private or public colleges in the state.
Eight tribal nations from Alaska to Mississippi will get more power, along with millions of dollars, to choose the federal food eaten by Native households through a new Agriculture Department project. The Food and Nutrition Service allocated $3.5 million to participating tribal nations in the first-of-its-kind initiative, which grants more autonomy to these communities in carrying out the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, or FDPIR. FDPIR buys Agriculture Department food and sends it to tribal nations and state agencies to give to eligible households living on either reservations or other approved areas. Indigenous participants often opt for FDPIR over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, because of a lack of access to SNAP offices and stores that accept those benefits, the agency reports.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
CDC Recommends Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 5 to 11 Years
CDC, November 2
Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine. CDC now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.
MMIW:
GAO Report Says Federal Government Is Not Doing Enough To Deal With Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women
Native News Online, November 2
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly on Monday released a report that says the federal response to the missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis needs improvement. The Missing or Murdered Indigenous Women; New Efforts Are Underway but Opportunities Exist to Improve the Federal Response GAO report concluded the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) have missed numerous deadlines set by the Not Invisible Act and Savanna’s Act, and it recommended that the departments develop an action plan to ensure they’re doing all they can to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, called on the Biden administration to do more to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report finding that the government has not done enough to respond to the crisis.
How States Are Addressing Violence Against Indigenous Women
US News, Devon Haynie, November 2
State efforts to address the MMIW crisis started to get off the ground in 2019. That year alone, Minnesota, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico each launched a task force or study committee to address the issue; Idaho held a summit; and Oregon and Nebraska directed their state police to study the problem. Wisconsin and Utah established task forces in 2020. In 2021, South Dakota and Oklahoma moved to create offices to address missing Indigenous people, Kansas passed a law paving the way for relevant police training and Washington state’s attorney general announced he will lead a task force. Lawmakers and attorneys general have played key roles in creation of the task forces. Most have two goals: to address the scope of the problem and make recommendations for how to remedy it. They tend to consist primarily of lawmakers, tribal representatives, law enforcement officials, and advocates and service providers for Indigenous women and girls.
Native Mascots:
Cleveland Begins Removing Giant ‘Indians’ Sign Amid Transition To The ‘Guardians’
The Hill, Adam Barnes, November 1
The Cleveland Indians organization began removing its giant logo from the billboard at Progressive Field following their name change to The Guardians — the first change since 1915. Removing the 80-foot long sign is expected to take several days, and the organization plans to move it to storage before determining a permanent location. A “Guardians” sign is expected to take its place prior to opening day in 2022. Cleveland’s name change occurred amid a larger racial justice reckoning and follows other professional sports teams, like the Washington Football Team, who’ve replaced their potentially inflammatory monikers. Controversy over the use of Native American imagery in Major League Baseball (MLB) is on center stage at the World Series as the Atlanta Braves take on the Houston Astros. The Braves’ traditional game day “tomahawk chop” was endorsed by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who believes it has the support of local indigenous groups, last week.
Politics:
Why Political Clout, Financial Stability Could Be On The Horizon For Native American Community
USA Today, Charisse Jones, November 2
Native Americans saw their jobless rate soar during the pandemic, but a growing population, increasing entrepreneurship and more federal resources could give the community an economic boost, according to a new Wells Fargo report. The jobless rate among Native Americans living outside metro areas rose to nearly 20% during the pandemic as many service jobs disappeared and casinos in tribal communities were shuttered to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to the Wells Fargo commentary, which provided a financial snapshot of Indigenous Americans at the start of Native American Heritage Month. But the number of Americans identifying as indigenous increased by over 27% to 3.7 million during the last decade compared to a 7.4% uptick in the overall population, according to U.S. Census data. Another roughly 6 million Americans said they had some American Indian or Alaska native ancestry. With a median age of 32 compared to 38 for the broader population and rapidly rising numbers, the indigenous community may gain political clout that can lead to more funding for education and other areas, fostering improved financial stability.
Other:
Free, Reduced Tuition Program Expanded To All UMinn Campuses
AP News, November 2
The University of Minnesota will offer free or reduced tuition to many Native American students attending its five campuses starting next fall. The cost waiver program had previously been offered only at the Morris campus, but now will be expanded to all five campuses, to also included Duluth, Rochester, Crookston and the Twin Cities. Incoming freshmen and tribal college transfer students who are enrolled members of one of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations will be eligible for free or reduced tuition, depending on their family income level. They can’t transfer from other private or public colleges in the state.
US Census Explains American Indian, Alaska Native Numbers
Indian Country Today, Joaqlin Estus, November 2
The 2020 Census has a few surprises. The United States overall is more diverse than earlier censuses had shown, with Whites at 57.8 percent, and other races and ethnicities at 42.2 percent. And there are significantly more American Indians and Alaska Natives than were counted in the 2010 census, although advocates and early estimates say they probably were still undercounted. The changed numbers are due to population changes and to new questions and processing of answers by the Census Bureau. Originally, the questionnaire included White, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander, plus “some other race.” It also tracked Hispanic/Non-Hispanic origins. In 2020, the bureau was more specific.
Zuni Culture Celebrated From One Artist To Another
Source New Mexico, Shaun Griswold, November 2
Mallery Quetawki signed onto the biggest art project of her life and couldn’t tell anyone. Google updated its homepage late Halloween night, hours before Native American Heritage Month officially began in November. Quetawki and anyone else visiting the website could finally see the interactive doodle that’s a lesson in Zuni Pueblo culture and highlights the notable late artist We:wa. The Google doodle project was a collaboration between the company and the tribe. The Zuni Pueblo council had to approve the artwork and story. The project also includes a YouTube video with further history about the project and We:wa. Curtis Quam and Cordelia Hooee with the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center in Zuni coordinated between the two parties and brought Quetawki into the mix to create paintings for the project.
Faith Groups Increasingly Join Fight Against Climate Change
AP News, Luis Andres Henao, November 2
On a boat ride along a bayou that shares the name of his Native American tribe, Donald Dardar points to a cross marking his ancestors’ south Louisiana burial ground — a place he fears will disappear. He points to the partly submerged stumps of oak trees killed by salt water on land where he rode horses as a kid, and to his mother’s home, gutted by Hurricane Ida. He and his wife have a mission: protecting Pointe-aux-Chenes and other communities at risk in a state that loses about a football field’s worth of wetlands every 100 minutes. For years, Donald and Theresa Dardar have joined forces with the Rev. Kristina Peterson. Working with scientists and members of Pointe-au-Chien and two other tribes, they’ve set out thousands of oyster shells to protect sacred mounds, obtained financing to refill abandoned oil field canals and built an elevated greenhouse to save their plants and medicinal herbs from flooding.
How The War Over Critical Race Theory Affects Native Americans
The Nation, Joshua Adams, November 2
Discourse about race in America often takes on a kind of black-white dichotomy, and the panic over “critical race theory” is no different. Yet we shouldn’t overlook how this manufactured moral panic affects Native American communities. Many of the laws passed by GOP-led state legislatures include language that has a direct effect on teaching about indigenous people, colonization, Western expansion, Native sovereignty and more. Rebecca Nagle, a Cherokee writer, activist and host of the This Land podcast, said that panic over CRT is just the latest version of an old reaction. Part of the reason the panic over CRT has so much purchase is because the term has been made into a nebulous, catchall bogeyman—encompassing anything that deals with diversity, inclusion, ethnic studies, and a range of subjects related to race that makes parents uncomfortable.
Tribes See Food Sovereignty Win With New $3.5 Million Project
Bloomberg Government, Megan Boyanton, November 1
Eight tribal nations from Alaska to Mississippi will get more power, along with millions of dollars, to choose the federal food eaten by Native American households through a new Agriculture Department project. The Food and Nutrition Service allocated $3.5 million to participating tribal nations in the first-of-its-kind initiative, which grants more autonomy to these communities in carrying out the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, or FDPIR. FDPIR buys Agriculture Department food and sends it to tribal nations and state agencies to give to eligible households living on either reservations or other approved areas. Indigenous participants often opt for FDPIR over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, because of a lack of access to SNAP offices and stores that accept those benefits, the agency reports.