Good Morning NUNAverse,
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) announced on Friday the appointment of Sarah Wheelock, a tribal citizen of the Meskwaki Nation, to sit on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Wheelock will be the first Native person to sit on the state’s second-highest court. Governor Walz appointed Wheelock to fill the seat vacated by Carol A. Hooten, who is scheduled to retire on November 30, 2021. Currently, Wheelock serves as legal counsel for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Previously she worked as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline College of Law and as an appellate judge for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Court of Appeals. Her vast legal experience includes litigation in tribal, federal, and state courts, as well as economic development and finance work. Wheelock earned her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Iowa.
A new poll suggests that South Dakota residents are very firm in their support for inclusion of Native studies in public schools. The poll of 500 registered South Dakota voters in October showed that 88% of respondents were very or somewhat supportive of teaching Native history and culture in South Dakota schools. The poll showed that 6.4% of respondents said teaching Native studies was not too important, 2.6% said not at all important, and 3.2% were unsure. The poll results come at a time when the public school system in South Dakota is grappling with how to update its social studies standards and improve the teaching of civics and history. The discussion over what history to teach in public schools in South Dakota has raised concerns of some Native groups that Native history will be reduced, eliminated, or whitewashed to ignore the historic and modern traumas suffered by many Native peoples.
On Sunday, November 7, a large rock – a known place on Northwestern University’s student campus – was defaced with anti-Indigenous messaging, just days after it was painted by Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance (NAISA). It was the first time NAISA organized to paint the unofficial rock – dubbed The Rock – at Northwestern. NAISA painted The Rock on Thursday, November 4, and featured several messages in its design, including red handprints representing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in North America, a land acknowledgement for Anishinaabe tribes, and an image of a jingle dress dancer to signify healing. Vandals spray painted over the messages “Bring Our Children Home,” “Happy Native American Heritage Month,” and “It’s Native American Heritage Month and it’s time NU is accountable to its history,” with “Ojibwe? No Way!” and changed, “You are on Anishinaabe land,” to “You are on China’s land.” NAISA student leaders responded to the vandalism by applying pressure to the university’s administration, demanding an investigation. They also demand changes be made to make the university safe and more inclusive for Indigenous people.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Health:
White Mountain Apache Tribe Sees Rise In COVID-19 Cases
Native News Online, Valerie Vande Panne, November 14
White Mountain Apache Tribe, like much of the U.S. right now, is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases. At the time of this writing, the tribe has 353 new COVID-19 cases and are in their second weekend of a lockdown. Derrick Leslie, Policy Unit Coordinator for White Mountain Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center (EOC), says 68 percent of those in the community 12 years old and older have been fully vaccinated for the last month. Still, about 10 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations are fully vaccinated people as of last week. All are considered breakthrough cases. Now, he says, the tribe’s focus is on vaccinating those in the 5-11 year old category. As of last week Monday, November 6, 82 children had been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. “It’s reassuring that we have the vaccine for our 5-11 year olds. I hope parents will take the initiative to get the kids vaccinated,” said Lee-Gatewood.
Law:
Minnesota Governor Appoints Meskwaki Tribal Citizen Sarah Wheelock To Serve On State’s Court Of Appeals
Native News Online, November 13
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Ojibwe) announced on Friday the appointment of Sarah Wheelock, a tribal citizen of the Meskwaki Nation (Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi), to sit on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Wheelock will be the first Native American to sit on the state’s second-highest court. Walz appointed Wheelock to fill the seat vacated by Carol A. Hooten, who is scheduled to retire on Nov. 30, 2021. Currently, Wheelock serves as legal counsel for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, Minn. Previously she worked as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline College of Law and as an appellate judge for the White Earth Band of Chippewa Court of Appeals. Her vast legal experience includes litigation in tribal, federal, and state courts, as well as economic development and finance work. Wheelock earned her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Iowa.
Boarding Schools:
Search For Unmarked Graves Begins At Former Mohawk Institute Site In Ontario
APTN News, Allana McDougall, November 12
The search for the unmarked graves of children who attended the Mohawk Institute, also known as the Mushhole began Tuesday in Brantford, Ont., using two ground-penetrating radar units. The Survivors’ Secretariat from the Mohawk Institute has been working with a joint task force to organize a search of the grounds. According to Kim Murray, executive lead of the Survivors’ Secretariat at a news conference, the first search will last one week and a complete search plan will be finalized while other search areas will be prepared over the winter. The secretariat said the search will be led by survivors.
Politics:
South Dakota Lawmakers Pass New, Shaken-Up Legislative Map
AP News, Stephen Groves, November 12
South Dakota’s Legislature Wednesday approved new political boundaries that are likely to shake up the Statehouse after moderate Senate Republicans championed the proposal. The state’s population has shifted towards urban areas in the last decade, and the map’s proponents argued that new legislative districts had to reflect that change. House lawmakers unsuccessfully pushed a map that would have kept legislative lines similar to their current positions. Senators who pushed the map described it as a compromise that had to be made to reflect shifts in the state’s population over the last ten years. Lawmakers also had to ensure that the voting rights of Native American voters were protected to keep with federal law. In a crucial win for Native American representation, the northern area of Rapid City — which contains much of the Native American community — was included in a single legislative district with the eastern part of the city. Other districts that covered American Indian reservations were improved to ensure voting rights, said Brett Healy, who was lobbying for Four Directions Vote, a voting rights advocacy group.
Other:
Hopi At Crossroads Of Maintaining Language For Elected Posts
AP News, Felicia Fonseca, November 14
Candidates for Hopi chairman move easily between the tribe’s language and English as they make their case for votes from a high school auditorium. The audience is a mix of fluent speakers, Hopis whose language and culture were attacked at assimilation-focused boarding schools, Hopis who fear they might be mocked if they stumble over Hopi words, and others who want to learn. To be in the place of Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma or his challenger, David Talayumptewa, Hopis must be able to speak and understand Hopi. The rule in the tribal constitution was loosened in 2017 from being fluent, and Nuvangyaoma is pushing to eliminate any language requirement for the top leadership job on the 2,500 square-mile (6,475 square-kilometer) reservation. He contends nixing it would draw in younger Hopis who were told to leave their homeland, get an education and return to help their people with skills in technology, engineering, law and hydrology but cannot speak Hopi.
South Dakotans Overwhelmingly Support Teaching Of Native American History And Culture In Public Schools
South Dakota News Watch, Bart Pfankuch, November 13
South Dakota education officials have struggled to revise social studies standards that include guidelines for teaching Native American history and culture, but a new poll suggests state residents are very firm in their support for inclusion of Native studies in public schools. The poll of 500 registered South Dakota voters in October showed that 88% of respondents were very or somewhat supportive of teaching Native history and culture in South Dakota schools. The poll showed that 6.4% of respondents said teaching Native studies was not too important, 2.6% said not at all important and 3.2% were unsure. The poll results come at a time when the public school system in South Dakota is grappling with how to update its social studies standards and improve the teaching of civics and history. The discussion over what history to teach in public schools in South Dakota has raised concerns of some Native American groups that Native history will be reduced, eliminated or whitewashed to ignore the historic and modern traumas suffered by many Native Americans, the state’s largest minority group.
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Seeks To Reclaim Land
Shaw Local News Network, Katie Finlon, November 13
The DeKalb County board will again take up a request by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation during Native American Heritage Month to support the nation’s longstanding pursuit to reclaim nearby land. The nation is seeking to reclaim 1,280 acres of land near Shabbona State Park in the southern part of DeKalb County. Under the Federal Non-Intercourse Act, the U.S. Congress is the only governing body with the authority to designate land titles for Native nations. The nation has long sought to reclaim local land and has returned to ask for the County Board’s support in the venture, including that the board write a support letter to Congress. During the most recent DeKalb County Board meeting in October, Chairman John Frieders requested that the vote be tabled until Nov. 17 to give the board more time to determine where the matter sits at the federal level, first. The board was split on the vote, with 10 voting to pass the resolution.
In A First For Tribes, Chumash Marine Sanctuary Moves Forward
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, November 12
A 7,000 square mile area off the central coast of California that includes ancestral Native sites and unique biodiversity is underway to become the first tribal-led marine sanctuary in the U.S. On Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—the federal agency in charge of fisheries and marine mammal protection— forwarded the Northern Chumash Tribe’s proposal for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary to public comment, the first step in a designation process. The Chumash people have occupied the central coast area for more than 20,000 years, according to the Northern Chumash tribal records. The proposed site—adjacent to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and situated between two previously designated marine sanctuaries, Channel Islands and Monterey— would protect submerged villages of tribal ancestors. The proposal has been met with widespread support from local lawmakers.
Native Student Art Vandalized At Northwestern University
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, November 12
On Sunday, November 7, a large rock– a known place on Northwestern University’s student campus–was defaced with anti-Indigenous messaging, just days after it was painted by Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance(NAISA). It was the first time NAISA organized to paint the unofficial rock—dubbed The Rock—at Northwestern. NAISA painted The Rock on Thursday, November 4, and featured several messages in its design, including red handprints representing missing and murdered Indigenous women in North America, a land acknowledgement for Anishinaabe tribes—Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi tribes—and an image of a jingle dress dancer to signify healing. Vandals spray painted over the messages “Bring Our Children Home,” “Happy Native American Heritage Month,” and “It’s Native American Heritage Month and it’s time NU is accountable to its history,” with “Ojibwe? No Way!” and changed, “You are on Anishinaabe land,” to “You are on China’s land.” NAISA student leaders responded to the vandalism by applying pressure to the university’s administration, demanding an investigation. They also demand changes be made to make the university safe and more inclusive for Indigenous people.
Bridging Cultural and Political Gaps Through Indigenous First Foods
Underscore, Brian Oaster, November 12
A city isn’t the most likely place for an Indigenous crop revival. But across the greater Portland area in Oregon, municipalities like Metro and the City of Portland have been partnering with organizations and tribes to promote Native American land access and cultivation of first foods, the term used for traditional local foods that have nourished Indigenous people for centuries. In a city park, a drained lakebed, an old grazing lot, and along an urban creek, first foods are returning to areas where they once flourished before the land was covered by farms and urban sprawl. The partnerships are historically significant, considering Portland didn’t even allow Native Americans to live within city limits until 1920. Today, most American Indians and Alaska Natives live in urban centers, and Portland is home to the ninth largest urban Indigenous population in the country.