Good Morning NUNAverse,
Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 13-10 Tuesday to recommend emergency use authorization of a pill made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to help treat COVID-19. Members of the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee were split in their vote to recommend molnupiravir, which can reduce the relative risk someone will progress to severe disease or death by about 30%. The absolute reduction in risk of severe disease or death was 3% – 9.7% of people who took placebo died, compared to 6.8% of those given molnupiravir.
When a person goes missing or is murdered in a tribal community, multiple policy agencies take part in the investigation. New Mexico’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force is just one entity that has spoken through recent years about how this can stall justice for families seeking answers. Now, task force members have an ally with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office heading into the 2022 legislative session. The AG’s Office is pushing a bill that would not only establish the task force permanently but also forge a relationship with local communities to make it easier for all parties involved in a criminal investigation to consolidate efforts under the attorney general.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer abandoned a federal lawsuit Tuesday aimed at shutting down an oil pipeline that runs through part of the Great Lakesbut said the state would continue pursuing a separate case with the same goal. Whitmer’s legal maneuver followed a federal judge’s decision earlier this month to retain jurisdiction over the suit brought by Enbridge Energy after the state revoked an easement allowing Line 5 to cross the Straits of Mackinac. It further complicates a lengthy dispute over the 68-year-old pipeline, raising the possibility of simultaneous federal and state court cases alongside political negotiations involving Michigan, the Biden administration, and the Canadian government. Enbridge contends Line 5 is a federal matter, raising questions of U.S. law and commerce between the two nations. Whitmer’s administration says the key issue is Michigan’s right to protect the Great Lakes, much of which are within its boundaries.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, speaking at the annual American Indian Heritage Night ceremony under the rotunda in City Hall on November 18, announced that she would do “whatever it takes to make sure there is an American Indian Cultural Center.” Former mayors Willie Brown and Ed Lee both honored and recognized the city’s Native community, said April McGill, the Cultural Center’s executive director, but “Mayor Breed is the first mayor to give us equitable funds in order to continue work in each of our community organizations.” The $3.2 million approved by Mayor Breed this year is for cultural programming and behavioral health and wellness services. The funds will provide operating expenses to support programs at the new cultural center, within the American Indian Cultural District, established in the Mission in 2019. The grant will also help the Native American Health Center, the Friendship House Association of American Indians, and the International Indian Treaty Council in San Francisco.
Keep reading for a full news update.
COVID-19:
U.S. And Other Countries Tighten Travel Rules Over Omicron, EU Urges Vaccination
Reuters, David Shepardson and John Chalmers, December 1
Air travelers to the United States will face tougher COVID-19 testing rules to try to slow the spread of the Omicron variant and other countries tightened border controls as a European leader urged all concerned to “prepare for the worst”. A World Health Organization official said 24 countries may have reported cases of the variant so far but that some of the early indications were that most cases were mild, with none severe. Travel bans had consequences, he said, but there would be more mutations without other measures to contain its spread.
FDA Advisers Vote To Recommend Authorization Of A Pill To Treat COVID-19
CNN, Maggie Fox and Jen Christensen, November 30
Advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted 13-10 Tuesday to recommend emergency use authorization of a pill made by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to help treat Covid-19. Members of the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee were split in their vote to recommend molnupiravir, which can reduce the relative risk someone will progress to severe disease or death by about 30%. The absolute reduction in risk of severe disease or death was 3% — 9.7% of people who took placebo died, compared to 6.8% of those given molnupiravir.
MMIW:
Missing And Murdered Indigenous People Epidemic To Be Featured On Tuesday’s “Dr. Phil” Show
Native News Online, November 30
On Tuesday, November 30, 2021, daytime televison’s highest-rated show, the “Dr. Phil” show will feature the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) epidemic in Indian Country. Some of the guests include Rain, who directed Say Her Name and Somebody’s Daughter and Juliet Hayes (Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana), who narrated Say Her Name.
New Mexico Aiming To Consolidate MMIWR Investigations
Source New Mexico, Shaun Griswold, November 30
When a person goes missing or is murdered in a tribal community, multiple policy agencies take part in the investigation. New Mexico’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives Task Force is just one entity that has spoken through recent years about how this can stall justice for families seeking answers. Now, task force members have an ally with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office heading into the 2022 legislative session. The AG’s Office is pushing a bill that would not only establish the task force permanently but also forge a relationship with local communities to make it easier for all parties involved in a criminal investigation to consolidate efforts under the attorney general.
Law:
Michigan Drops Federal Suit Against Enbridge Line 5
Indian Country Today, Mary Annette Pember, November 30
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer abandoned a federal lawsuit Tuesday aimed at shutting down an oil pipeline that runs through part of the Great Lakes but said the state would continue pursuing a separate case with the same goal. Whitmer’s legal maneuver followed a federal judge’s decision earlier this month to retain jurisdiction over the suit brought by Enbridge Energy after the state revoked an easement allowing Line 5 to cross the Straits of Mackinac. It further complicates a lengthy dispute over the 68-year-old pipeline, raising the possibility of simultaneous federal and state court cases alongside political negotiations involving Michigan, the Biden administration and the Canadian government. Enbridge contends Line 5 is a federal matter, raising questions of U.S. law and commerce between the two nations. Whitmer’s administration says the key issue is Michigan’s right to protect the Great Lakes, much of which are within its boundaries.
Politics:
Tribal Coalition Left In The Dark As Redistricting Nears, Member Says
Source New Mexico, Patrick Lohmann, November 30
A New Mexico group is raising concerns about under-representation of Native Americans as lawmakers prepare to shape the political landscape here for at least another decade. Austin Weahkee (Cochiti, Zuni, Navajo), political director for New Mexico Native Vote, said some of the maps proposed by a nonpartisan committee last month don’t adequately reflect the sizeable and growing population of Native Americans here. He also said legislative leadership, particularly in the state Senate, has not been forthcoming about what to expect in the upcoming Special Session on redistricting. Lawmakers are expected to take up the once-a-decade redistricting process next week, though the Legislature has not yet announced a date. Where political maps are drawn has major implications for who is elected, where funding is allocated and whether New Mexico’s many diverse groups are well-served by their elected officials.
Other:
New American Indian Cultural Center Announced At San Francisco’s American Indian Heritage Night
Native News Online, Nanette Deetz, November 30
Mayor London Breed, speaking at the annual American Indian Heritage Night ceremony under the rotunda in City Hall Nov. 18, announced that she would do “whatever it takes to make sure there is an American Indian Cultural Center.” Former mayors Willie Brown and the late Ed Lee both honored and recognized the city’s Native American community, said April McGill, the Cultural Center’s executive director, but “Mayor Breed is the first mayor to give us equitable funds in order to continue work in each of our community organizations.” McGill is an enrolled member of the Round Valley confederation, and is of Yuki, Little Lake, Wailaki, Pit River, and Wappo heritage. The $3.2 million approved by Mayor Breed this year is for cultural programming and behavioral health and wellness services. The funds will provide operating expenses to support programs at the new cultural center, within the American Indian Cultural District, established in the Mission in 2019. The grant will also help the Native American Health Center, the Friendship House Association of American Indians, and the International Indian Treaty Council in San Francisco.
ANSCA At 50: Berries, Wildlife And Toxic Lands
Indian Country Today, Meghan Sullivan, November 30
When the Alaska Native Claims Settlement passed into law in 1971, 44 million acres of Alaskan land were promised to Alaska Native regional and village corporations. As it turned out, a significant portion of these lands were contaminated prior to their conveyance — berries poisoned and harvests tainted by long forgotten war relics abandoned on the outskirts of Alaska Native villages. Pollution and chemical runoffs aren’t exactly what most people would expect to find in Alaska’s wilderness, especially in the remote areas where affected villages are located. The explanation lies in an often overlooked chapter of the state’s past. Alaska served as a critical military outpost from World War II through the Cold War. It was an ideal location for strategists — the region was close to Russia yet still U.S. territory, it had large stretches of wilderness perfect for training, and there was little regulatory oversight. Simple combat drills soon turned more ambitious. In 1958, the U.S. government planned to explode an atomic bomb in the Arctic, just 26 miles away from the Inupiaq village Point Hope. The proposal, coined Project Chariot, was intended to create an instant harbor in the frozen coastal region.
Ch’aak’ti: ‘Willingness To Always Put Our People First’
Indian Country Today, Meghan Sullivan, November 30
Leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act on Dec. 17, Indian Country Today will be highlighting a wide range of these experiences, including insights from the elders who fought for the land, perspectives from current leaders today, and future goals from younger generations.