Good Morning NUNAverse,
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is ordering a federal panel tasked with naming geographic places to implement procedures to eliminate what racist terms from federal use. The decision provides momentum to a movement that has included the dismantling of other historical markers and monuments considered offensive across the country. Under Secretary Haaland’s order, a federal task force will find replacement names for geographic features on federal lands bearing the term “squaw,” which has been used as a slur, particularly for Indigenous women. A database maintained by the Board on Geographic Names shows there are more than 650 federal sites with names that contain the term. The task force will be made up of representatives from federal land management agencies and experts with the Interior Department. Tribal consultation and public feedback will be part of the process.
Additionally, Secretary Deb Haaland on Saturday said progress has been made by Indigenous people during a visit to Alcatraz Island, which became a symbol of the struggles of Native people for self-determination following its takeover in the 1960s, but more remains to be done. Haaland visited the island off of San Francisco’s coast on the 52nd anniversary of the occupation by Indigenous students who were demanding that the U.S. government recognize longstanding agreements with tribes and turn over the deed to the island. Secretary Haaland said that thanks to the actions of those activists, Native peoples no longer have to resort to extreme measures to be heard.
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native person to lead the agency. The National Park Service oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks, monuments, battlefields, and other landmarks. It employs about 20,000 people in permanent, temporary, and seasonal jobs, according to its website. Sams said he would work to ensure the Indigenous history of National Park Service lands is broadly reflected, in addition to incorporating Indigenous views and knowledge in decision-making. He said it is important to work with Native peoples on traditional ecological knowledge “based on 10,000-plus years of management of those spaces to ensure that they’ll be here for future generations to enjoy.”
Seven tribes are asking an Alabama university to return the remains of nearly 6,000 people excavated over the years from what once was one of the largest Native settlements on the continent. The Oklahoma-based Muscogee Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and five other tribes have filed a petition under a federal law for the return of 5,982 “human remains of our ancestors” and funerary objects now held by the University of Alabama and its Moundville Archaeological Park.” In a Friday letter to tribal officials, James T. Dalton, Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Alabama said that the university hopes to work with the tribes. The 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires federally funded institutions, such as universities, to return Native remains and cultural items to lineal descendants, tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Native Mascots:
Calling “Squaw” A Racist Term, Interior Secretary Haaland Calls For It To Be Removed From Geographic Place Names
Native News Online, November 19
For decades, Native Americans have found the term “squaw” as derogatory and offensive against Native women. On Friday, the first Native American ever to hold a secretarial position in a presidential cabinet, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, formally established a process to review and replace derogatory names of the nation’s geographic features. She also declared “squaw” to be a derogatory term and ordered the Board on Geographic Names – the federal body tasked with naming geographic places – to implement procedures to remove the term from federal usage. To accomplish the removal, Haaland issued Secretarial Order 3404 that formally identifies the term “squaw” as derogatory and creates a federal task force to find replacement names for geographic features on federal lands bearing the term. The term has historically been used as an offensive ethnic, racial, and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women.
Interior Secretary Seeks To Rid US Of Derogatory Place Names
AP News, Susan Montoya Bryan, November 19
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Friday formally declared “squaw” a derogatory term and said she is taking steps to remove it from federal government use and to replace other derogatory place names. Haaland is ordering a federal panel tasked with naming geographic places to implement procedures to eliminate what she called racist terms from federal use. The decision provides momentum to a movement that has included the dismantling of other historical markers and monuments considered offensive across the country. Under Haaland’s order, a federal task force will find replacement names for geographic features on federal lands bearing the term “squaw,” which has been used as a slur, particularly for Indigenous women. A database maintained by the Board on Geographic Names shows there are more than 650 federal sites with names that contain the term. The task force will be made up of representatives from federal land management agencies and experts with the Interior Department. Tribal consultation and public feedback will be part of the process.
Law:
Court Hears Destruction Of Indigenous Religious Site Appeal
Indian Country Today, Chris Aadland, November 19
A federal appeals court heard arguments in a years-old case brought by leaders from two Northwest tribal nations who say the federal government needlessly destroyed a sacred religious site in 2008 despite objections from them. A three-panel judge of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in Slockish v U.S. Federal Highway Administration, a case in which the lawyers representing the tribal leaders say has broader implications on religious freedom in the U.S. The case stems from the destruction of a sacred religious site near Mt. Hood in Oregon for a highway widening project, despite the federal government knowing it existed and over objections from tribal leaders who have alleged that the project violated religious, environmental and land preservation acts. Three leaders subsequently sued the federal government over the decision and on Tuesday asked the court to force the federal government to rehabilitate the site and protect it in the future.
California Governor Pardons 2 In Native American Recognition
AP News, November 19
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said he had pardoned two members of California Indian tribes coinciding with Native American Heritage Month. The month “honors the vibrancy and resiliency of Native American culture,” his office said, and the pardons recognize the recipients’ “efforts and successes in rehabilitation post-conviction, as well as their extraordinary service to their communities.” Newsom said tribal leaders supported the pardons of Robert Morgan from the Koi Nation of Northern California and Frank Spa-ghe Dowd of the Resighini Rancheria. Both men were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
Morgan was convicted in Sonoma County in 2006 of striking two victims during a fight at a party, according to the governor’s office. He was sentenced to 91 days in jail and three years of probation. Dowd was convicted in Del Norte County in 2002 of striking someone with a bat, also during a fight at a party. He was sentenced to 270 days in jail and five months of probation.
Cannabis Bust On Indigenous Land Highlights Legal Divide
AP News, Morgan Lee, November 19
A federal raid on a household marijuana garden on tribal land in northern New Mexico is sowing uncertainty and resentment about U.S. drug enforcement priorities on Native American reservations, as more states roll out legal marketplaces for recreational pot sales. In late September, Bureau of Indian Affairs officers confiscated nine cannabis plants from a home garden at Picuris Pueblo that was tended by Charles Farden, a local resident since childhood who is not Native American. The 54-year-old is enrolled in the state’s medical marijuana program to ease post-traumatic stress and anxiety. Farden said he was startled to be placed in handcuffs as federal officers seized mature plants laden with buds — an estimated yearlong personal supply. New Mexico first approved the drug’s medical use in 2007, while Picuris Pueblo decriminalized medical pot for members in 2015. A new state law in June broadly legalized marijuana for adults and authorized up to a dozen home-grown plants per household for personal use — with no weight limit. The raid has cast a shadow over cannabis as an economic development opportunity for Indigenous communities, as tribal governments at Picuris Pueblo and at least one other reservation pursue agreements with New Mexico that would allow them to open marijuana businesses.
Police Move In On Wet’suwet’en Territory
APTN National News, Lee Wilson, November 19
A caravan of Royal Canadian Mounted Police cars moved up the Morice River Service Rd and made several arrests of First Nation land defenders who had set up roadblocks on Wet’suwet’en territory in British Columbia, Canada. Coastal GasLink says that 500 of its workers have been stuck behind the blockades that were set up on the road. Police called the operation “an effort to rescue hundreds of workers.” The blockade was set up Sunday by citizens of the Gidimt’en clan, one of five in the Wet’suwet’en Nation, cutting off access for more than 500 pipeline workers. The workers had been given eight hours’ notice to leave, the group said in a statement. Gidimt’en spokesperson Sleydo’, whose also goes by the English name Molly Wickham, said the court-ordered injunction has no authority on their land. A statement released Wednesday by the Indian Act elected Wet’suwet’en council said the protesters didn’t consult with them before blocking the road and their actions “can’t claim to represent the members of the Gidimt’en or any others in the First Nation.”
Other:
Indigenous Artist Joins Board Of Desert X
Indian Country Today, Sandra Hale Schulman, November 21
Indigenous artist Nicholas Galanin, whose powerful Never Forget artwork was the most-visited art in Palm Springs at Desert X 2021, has been named to the board of the organization. Desert X has drawn more than 1.25 million to its exhibitions in the Coachella Valley and has received critical acclaim and worldwide attention for the artwork curated across the Palm Springs area. Galanin is the only Native on the board, though artists at Desert X have been selected from all over the world. “Indigenous perspectives and representation are needed globally within institutional and cultural organizations at all levels, and not limited to the contributions of Indigenous artists,” Galanin, who is Tlingit and Unangax̂, said in an email.
At Alcatraz Island, Haaland Highlights Indigenous Progress
AP News, November 19
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on Saturday said progress has been made by Indigenous people during a visit to Alcatraz Island, which became a symbol of the struggles of Native People for self-determination following its takeover in the 1960s, but more remains to be done. Haaland visited the island off of San Francisco’s coast on the 52nd anniversary of the occupation by Indigenous students who were demanding that the U.S. government recognize longstanding agreements with tribes and turn over the deed to the island. The group was removed after a 19-month occupation but the takeover became a watershed moment in Native American activism. Haaland, who is from Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and the first Native American to lead a Cabinet agency, said that thanks to the actions of those activists, Native Americans no longer have to resort to extreme measures to be heard. Haaland highlighted the policies that came of out this week’s White House Tribal Nations Summit, which brought together President Joe Biden and leaders from more than 500 tribes in the United States, as an example of the progress made between tribes and the federal government.
Sec. Haaland Visits Alcatraz; Island Proclaimed Birthplace Of Red Power Movement
Native News Online, Nanette Iron Eagle Deetz, November 20
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) made a special trip to Alcatraz Island, to meet with some of the original occupiers of the 1969-1971 Occupation of Alcatraz, known as the Indians of All Tribes. They were there to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the occupation of the island. Haaland spoke for over an hour about her heritage, and what it personally meant to her to visit the site of the first major civil rights event for American Indians. Today, the National Parks Service proclaimed Alcatraz to be the birthplace of the Red Power Movement. When asked how the Biden administration planned to handle the problem of lithium mining and other metals on tribal lands, her response was that there would be nothing done on tribal lands going forward without full and prior consultation and consent of tribal governments. She also spoke on the Biden administration’s commitment to language preservation.
Charles Sams, Umatilla, Confirmed As Director Of National Park Service
Native News Online, November 19
Charles F. “Chuck” Sams, III (Umatilla) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate late last night as the 19th Director of the National Park Service (NPS). He is the first Native American to lead the agency. He was nominated by President Joe Biden in August. The National Park Service is responsible for managing more than 420 park sites across the country. “Director Sams brings extensive knowledge and experience working with state and local agencies, Tribal governments and nonprofit organizations, and deep appreciation for the many communities connected to and affected by our national parks,” said The National Park Foundation in a statement.
Native American Confirmed As Head Of National Park Service
AP News, Andrew Selsky, November 19
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency. Some conservationists hailed Sams’ confirmation Thursday night as a commitment to equitable partnership with tribes, the original stewards of the land. The National Park Service oversees more than 131,000 square miles (339,000 square kilometers) of parks, monuments, battlefields and other landmarks. It employs about 20,000 people in permanent, temporary and seasonal jobs, according to its website. Sam said he would work to ensure the Indigenous history of National Park Service lands is broadly reflected, in addition to incorporating Indigenous views and knowledge in decision-making. He said it is important to work with Native Americans on traditional ecological knowledge “based on 10,000-plus years of management of those spaces to ensure that they’ll be here for future generations to enjoy.”
‘Back To Manahatta’
Indian Country Today, Stewart Huntington, November 19
One of the enduring fictions surrounding the founding of the United States involves the sale of Manhattan Island by its Lenape inhabitants to the Dutch for a handful of baubles. It’s an erasure Baker and his colleagues at the Lenape Center have been fighting for more than a decade through advocacy work in the land originally known as Lenapehoking that stretches from Philadelphia and up past New York City. The center has existed online since 2009 but is now entering a new phase as it explores establishing a physical presence in Manhattan to provide cultural and educational opportunities for Lenape descendants as well as members of the broader New York community. It’s a concept endorsed by New York City’s mayor-elect, Eric Adams. The Lenape Center’s expansion initiative coincides with the release of a new short documentary film produced by Chris Eyre, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, called “Back to Manahatta: The Return of the Lenape.” It was written and directed by Stewart Huntington.
Pocahontas Reframed Storytellers Film Festival Hosts Its 5th Year
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, November 19
On Friday November 19, the Pocahontas Reframed Storytellers Film Festival began its fifth year of festivities with both a live and virtual film festival highlighting Indigenous voices, stories, filmmakers, producers, and writers. The festival was hosted at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The festival includes 25 Native American-affiliated classic and recently released films that have been official selections of world-renowned film festivals including Sundance Film Festival, the American Indian Film Festival San Francisco, and the Toronto International Film Festival. In addition, the festival hosts panel discussions featuring writers, producers, and directors. Each year the festival hosts a film student to give them an opportunity to meet other filmmakers and share their film with a live audience. If chosen, the festival awards the student with a $1,000 scholarship to continue with their studies. This year’s recipient is Suni Sonqo Vizcarra Wood (Quechan and Pueblo) for the short film, “Yaku, The Water Spirit,” which was the winner of a Tribal College Journal’s student writing award. Vizcarra Wood is a visual arts student at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA).
Indian Tribes Seek Return Of Remains, Artifacts From Alabama
AP News, Kim Chandler, November 19
Seven tribes are asking an Alabama university to return the remains of nearly 6,000 people excavated over the years from what once was one of the largest Native American settlements in North America. The Oklahoma-based Muscogee Nation, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and five other tribes have filed a petition under a federal law for the return of 5,982 “human remains of our ancestors” and funerary objects now held by the University of Alabama and its Moundville Archaeological Park. Butler said tribes are seeking the return so the remains can be reburied with the funerary objects. In a Friday letter to tribal officials, James T. Dalton, Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Alabama said that the university hopes to work with the tribes. The 1990 federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act requires federally funded institutions, such as universities, to return Native American remains and cultural items to lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations. However, the return has been slow to happen.