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In what’s described as a “historic partnership”, the Coquille Tribe and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have agreed to jointly manage a five-county area. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.
The deal follows a push last year by local governments and groups near the Coquille River to help address drastically reduced numbers of salmon.
The campaign urged Governor Kate Brown to back the proposal.
John Ogan is a legal representative for the Coquille. He says that effort has paid off in this new partnership.
“The governor has sought to implement policies that correct historic injustices to the Oregon tribes as much as possible, or at least in part. There’s sad history with colonialization, settlement, and displacement, and disassociation from their culture values and resources like fish and wildlife, the environment, rivers, and such.”
The counties are Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, and Lane, with the possibility other tribes may seek similar agreements with the State of Oregon.
Native leaders spent much time this week at the annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations in Vancouver debating the suspension of their national chief.
In June, the organization suspended Chief RoseAnne Archibald due to complaints against her from staff.
Chief Archibald made history last year becoming the first woman to lead the powerful Native organization in Canada. She calls the suspension illegal saying the executive committee does not have the capacity to suspend.
During a speech streamed live by APTN National News (at 2:26:25), Chief Archibald told leaders it’s not a human resources issue, but an attempt to silence her because she’s trying to clean up corruption within the organization.
“The reason we’re here, the reason I’m giving this speech is because I refused to give $1 million-plus to staff in a staff payout. I refused, I knew it was wrong. This funding I’m entrusted with is meant to help you, all of your communities, all of your citizens. I can’t hand $1 million to four people. I can’t do it. It’s meant for you.”
Members of the executive committee maintain the suspension is due to staff complaints and say there’s an active investigation.
They asked leaders to allow the suspension to continue until the investigation is over, but that motion failed. Instead, leaders are debating a resolution for full reinstatement.
During debate Wednesday afternoon, some leaders expressed disgust with the situation saying it’s taking away time, resources, and action from the many important issues facing their communities.
Clean drinking water, child welfare, and the pope’s upcoming visit to Canada are among priorities.
Leaders are expected to continue debate on the leadership issue on Thursday, the final day of the gathering.
The University of Arizona recently announced it will provide tuition-free education for Native American undergraduates. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it’s part of the university’s plans to increase Native student access to higher education.
The program begins in the fall and will cover tuition and mandatory fees for enrolled members of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes at the university’s main Tucson campus. It applies to new and continuing full-time, degree-seeking undergrads in what university officials say is a first-of-its-kind program.
University President Robert Robins says serving Indigenous students is a crucial part of U of A’s mission and it’ll help hundreds of people access and complete college educations.
More than 400 students enrolled at the University of Arizona last year meet the criteria for the tuition waiver.
Officials say in the future the program may expand to graduate students along with those taking classes online and at other U of A campuses across the state.
Tucson is home to the Tohono O’Odham Nation and Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, in 2019 a quarter of Native Americans over the age of 25 had completed an associate degree or higher compared to 42% of the overall U.S. population.
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