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Tribes in California are celebrating after state officials approved the renaming of more than 30 place names containing the derogatory S-Q word across 15 counties.
Jacob Resneck reports.
Most of the place names are county roads but also at least one cemetery and a building containing the S-Q word that only in recent years has universally been recognized for what it is: a racial slur against Native American women.
“It will undo the derogatory language that is not only defamatory but erases our history and hence us as a people.”
That’s Greg Sarris, chairman of the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria north of San Francisco Bay.
“And, you know, there’s a lot in that sentence, but it’s so true. I mean, I don’t think people understood that the S-Q word is comparable to for us to the N-word.”
The renaming initiative is the fruit of Assembly Bill 2022. Under the legislation passed two years ago the geographic places will be renamed in consultation with California tribes with priority given to honoring tribal cultures and Indigenous languages.
William Ray Jr., chair of the Klamath Tribes.
With a second Trump term near, tribes in Oregon and elsewhere are concerned for their environmental restoration efforts.
KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.
In his first presidential term, President Donald Trump opened up lands considered sacred to Native people for development, as well as rolling back dozens of environmental protections.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR)
In a call with tribal officials, Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) said she’ll stand with Oregon values as the White House changes hands again.
“My hope is that we’ll see respect and cooperation from the federal administration to work with our tribes.”
Gov. Kotek said she’s focused on the Columbia Basin Initiative, which worked with President Joe Biden to restore fish runs.
William Ray Jr., chair of the Klamath Tribe, then spoke about protecting salmon and two species of sucker fish.
“Our biggest concerns about the incoming administration is the water delivery systems and how it’s gonna affect our endangered species of C’waam and koptu mullet species. If all the water delivery agreements are gonna be fulfilled at 100%, extinction becomes real viable.”
President Trump has discussed diverting water from the Columbia River to California, and also questioned the need for protecting the endangered Delta smelt there.
Elk in Colorado. (Photo: Vince O’Sullivan via Flickr)
A new study shows that wildlife migration routes in the West will likely shift because of climate change.
That’s why researchers worked with biologists from the Southern Ute Tribe to find out how to tackle the problem.
The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel reports.
Researchers used GPS data from dozens of elk collared by the Southern Ute Tribe in southwestern Colorado.
They analyzed their current migration patterns – and projected how they will look in 2050 as temperatures rise and precipitation declines. They also considered continued growth and development and the traffic that comes along with it.
They found elk could be more spread out in the winters as snowpacks shrink. And in the summers, herds could be more compacted as their range is cut by about half.
That means new wildlife crossings – like bridges and tunnels – will be needed, says Caitlin Littlefield.
She’s with Conservation Science Partners and the study’s lead author.
“Wildlife crossings can enable continued access to new or expanding ranges, or continued access to resources like, say, forage that’s shifting in time and space.”
Littlefield says the study shows state and federal agencies the need to invest in wildlife crossings that consider the climate’s impact on animal movements.
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