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The US Bureau of Reclamation has awarded two communities in South Dakota with grants to help with water projects.

Kathleen Shannon has more.

Nearly $13 million in WaterSMART Drought Resiliency grants are slated for projects in Eagle Butte and Day County.

The Mni Wašte Water Company, run by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, will receive $2.8 million to pipe water ten miles northwest of the community to supply 17 existing residences and 20 being constructed.

Leo Fischer, executive director of the Mni Wašte Water Company and enrolled member of Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said the water company started planning this project in 1993 and, in the meantime, the people living there have had to haul their water.

“It’s more of a pain than it is anything, because you haul it in the back of a vehicle. In the wintertime, everything freezes up.”

Piped water is important in the region, because area groundwater wells are of poor quality, must run deep into the ground and have proven unreliable.

To the east, the WEB Water Development Association is slated to receive nearly $10 million to build about 40 miles of pipeline, supplying more than 700 people with drinking water in the city of Waubay and in rural Day County.

The Bureau of Reclamation has made WaterSMART grants in 11 states this year.

“Fancy Dance” is premiering this week in select theaters before streaming on Apple TV+.

The film follows Jax, played by Lily Gladstone, who is searching for her missing sister Tawi, while she also cares for her niece Roki, played by Isabel Deroy-Olson, on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma.

We talked to Gladstone about the film raising awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Gladstone says the film is bringing the issue to a larger scale by finding a home with Apple.

“You’re hard pressed to find any Indigenous person that’s not touched by this epidemic.

“We all know somebody, we’re all close with somebody, we’re all close with somebody who was close with somebody. So it’s nothing new to us, but I know that with Killers of the Flower Moon coming out last year, it was a bit of an introduction of this deeper history to a larger audience.

“And one of the things that came out of it, at least from my view, when you know, I was spoken to because of the character I was carrying and that the woman I was portraying and that people were left wanting more of her story, more of her sister’s story. And while Fancy Dance was, it premiered 10 months prior to Killers of the Flower Moon at Sundance in January that same year. It reached audiences first, although a smaller audience.

“By the end of the year after Killers had come out, people were talking about how they felt like these films needed to be seen in tandem.”

Gladstone says the film addresses missing and murdered Indigenous people in a compassionate way.

“When the audience is invited into the story, I think it’s a very important way to approach this issue because we don’t show any bodies being brutalized. It’s not about the ins and outs of the case. Nobody’s trying to prove Tawi’s humanity. It’s you learn about her and how missed she is, how valued she is, how loved she is by her absence and by the people who miss her you see what happens in reality, that it’s women and people from our own communities who take up the grassroots initiative to search for our missing relatives.

“When the jurisdiction falls with the FBI, they’re not the ones that are taking the necessary action. So it’s a way of learning about this epidemic in a very compassionate way, a very inside out way. You learn about the inequities, the obstacles the characters face.”

Fancy Dance premieres Friday in select theaters before streaming on Apple TV+ on June 28.

 

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Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota is pulling its share of funding from a clinic meant to provide women’s health services for enrolled members living in Rapid City.

One official says that’s because the clinic has not offered appointments for over a year.

SDPB’s Lee Strubinger has more.

The Native Women’s Health Clinic is contracted to provide obstetric and gynecologic services for eligible Indian women.

The clinic is located in the Oyate Health Center, but operates as a separate organization.

According to a report obtained by SDPB earlier this year, the clinic had 4,800 visits in 2021.

The number of visits plummeted to zero by April of 2023.

This April, both Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes put the clinic on notice — saying they would pull their funding shares if the clinic failed to start seeing patients.

Rosebud Sioux Tribal President Scott Herman says the tribe has concern about the women’s health clinic.

“It was stated at one of the meetings they haven’t provided that service for a year and a half. It became an issue with some of the leadership as far as how we’re going to provide that service down there.”

Herman says the Rosebud Sioux Tribe is trying to correct a problem.

He says it’s too premature to say what the tribes plan to do with their shares allotted to the tribe to fund women’s health in Rapid City.

Patients are getting referred to midwives located at Oyate Health Center and floor below the clinic, as well as other clinics in Rapid City.

Herman says Rosebud’s resolution mirrors a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe resolution to pull its shares from Native Women’s Health Clinic.

Cheyenne River officials have not return requests for comment. Additionally, the tribe voted last month to pull its publicly available council meeting video feed.

Oglala Sioux Tribal president Frank Star Comes Out has also not returned requests for comment.

Diné College in Tsaile, Ariz. is starting a new program that will focus on Navajo law.

Clark Adomaitis has more.

Diné College serves primarily a Navajo student population, and focuses on Navajo language and culture.

The college is collaborating with Arizona State University in offering 20 undergraduate students a Bachelor of Arts program in Navajo law starting in the fall.

“When it comes to Western law, that process is important and it’s followed.”

Patrick Blackwater is a Dean at Diné College.

“To understand what law is from different perspectives, especially from the Navajo Nation side, meaning the cultural side that level of fundamental law that should also be incorporated into it.”

Blackwater says that Navajo Fundamental Law is an important but not well understood aspect of legal practice on the Navajo Nation.

It is a written way of Life for Navajo people, which provides principles that were once only passed down verbally.

“Navajo fundamental law is the way in which Navajos understand natural law in which we communicate, interact with each other, but also every being and resource within the universe in this world…that’s how we understand our beginnings and our laws. And that’s what is mostly going to be the foundation of this program.”

Students who complete the Navajo Law program will have opportunities to study higher level law at Arizona State University.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) has announced $1.75 million for the White Earth Nation in Minnesota to use energy storage to increase the tribe’s use of solar power.

The project will expand an existing solar array at an elementary school and community center in efforts to help lower electricity costs.

The funding is from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity.

 

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The Nebraska Santee Sioux Tribe is hopeful a solution to its five-year water ordeal may be on the way.

As Deborah Van Fleet reports, tap water has been unusable for drinking or cooking since 2019, when unsafe manganese levels led the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a “no drink” order.

Kameron Runnels, vice chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation, said a bill passed in the Nebraska Legislature allows them to tap into the state’s Water Sustainability Fund for possibly as much as $20 million, although it is not a long-term solution. Ultimately, the tribe hopes to connect to the Randall Community Water District in South Dakota, which will cost roughly $53 million.

“Connecting to that water system would provide us that generational change to our water system and give us clean water for the next, who knows, maybe forever,” Runnels explained.

The tribe is waiting to hear the status of its Water Sustainability Fund application, and a $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant it applied for more than a year ago. For now, they continue to provide bottled water for the 800 members who reside on tribal lands, at a cost of nearly $15,000 a month.

A Bureau of Indian Affairs grant that covered the water costs for about a year recently ran out, but Runnels said they were just awarded a grant from the Omaha-based Sherwood Foundation which should cover another year of bottled water. He noted nobody knows why the manganese levels are so high and pointed out the Indian Health Service went to great lengths to try to find available safe water.

“They used ground-penetrating radar, using airplane flights, looking for pockets of water all over our tribal lands,” Runnels recounted. “They did exploratory drilling in about 20 different sites but they could never find quality or quantity of water.”

Runnels added the Water Sustainability Fund and the attention they are getting from state and federal lawmakers has been encouraging. He regrets other Nebraska Tribes were not helped by the new state law and said water issues are rampant in Indian Country.

“Somewhere around 50% of tribal households have some kind of water quality situation,” Runnels reported. “They either don’t have water or they just don’t have clean drinking water.”

The superintendent of Rapid City Area Schools in South Dakota issued an apology connected to comments during a recent Department of Education investigation.

C.J. Keene reports.

In a letter discussing truancy rates, the superintendent was quoted saying tribes don’t value education and said the district struggles with so-called “Indian time.”

In response, community members expressed anger at the comments at a school board meeting.

Community member, Sunny Red Bear, described the comments as unacceptable and called for the school board to reassess the role of superintendent. Others say the comments reaffirm the claims of racism leveled at the district.

Earlier this month, superintendent Nicole Swigart said she did not intend to make statements dismissive of Native cultures or values.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is commending the announcement by the province to take preliminary steps to begin the search of the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris.

The government announced this week the approval of a license to search the landfill located outside of Winnipeg.

Native leaders, the family of the women and community members have been calling for the landfill to be searched to bring the women home.

Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26, were victims of an admitted serial killer, who’s on trial for their murders, and their remains are believed to be in the landfill.

In a statement, Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Cathy Merrick said she’s pleased the government is initiating the search, but also says it needs to include the families and be Indigenous-led.

Melissa Robinson, cousin to Morgan Harris, in a statement said moving forward, they’re insisting both families, as well as the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, are involved in the process.

Listen to our past coverage of the story:

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

 

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Supporters of Leonard Peltier calling for his release spent the parole hearing outlining his re-entry plan and what his release would mean for Indian country.

As South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger reports, the parole board is expected to decide by early July.

Nick Tilsen is the president and CEO of NDN Collective.

He was one of two witnesses who testified in favor of Peltier’s release at a parole hearing on Monday.

Peltier is serving two life sentences in federal prison after being convicted for taking part in a fatal shootout between American Indian Movement members and FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975.

Tilsen says the fight for Peltier’s release is an uphill battle, but he says he left the parole hearing with a little hope.

“One of the reasons why we fight for Leonard so fiercely is that how Leonard was treated during his prosecution and continued prosecution is consistent with how they have treated Indian people throughout history.”

Tilsen says NDN Collective has purchased a house for Peltier on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota, where Peltier is enrolled.

He says he outlined Peltier’s re-entry plan, including helping Peltier get signed up for programming services through Indian Health Service (IHS) community health as well as building a sweat lodge near the home.

Kevin Sharp is Peltier’s lawyer.

He says if parole is approved, he expects an appeal from those opposed to his release.

Then, he says, Peltier would start re-entry.

“Leonard would likely be transferred to a medical facility while we work on getting the process inside the bureau of prisons taken care of. Could likely take months to get him out. If it is denied, then our next step is to appeal to the national appeal board.”

If they lose the parole hearing, Sharp says it could take years to appeal through the courts.

“Any appeal of any case ends up taking way too long.”

Peltier’s supporters feel time is of the essence. Sharp says Peltier’s health is failing.

His next parole hearing would be in fifteen years, which, he says, Peltier likely would not make it to.

Those opposed to Peltier’s release say he has not earned parole and should serve out his two life sentences.

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota has passed a formal resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and humanitarian efforts in Palestine.

C.J. Keene has more.

Among things, the tribe calls for the US government to enforce the ceasefire, and guarantee the right of return to Palestinian people.

Secretary EvAnn White Feather signed the resolution this month.

After receiving more than 27,000 comments, Yellowstone National Park has released an updated bison management plan.

Olivia Weitz with Wyoming Public Radio at the Center of the West reports.

In a Final Environmental Impact Statement, the park has chosen an alternative that aims to keep the bison population between 3,500 to 6,000 animals after calving, an increase over the park’s current estimate of about 5,000.

To manage the herd’s size, the park says it will prioritize transferring live bison to tribal nations through the Bison Conservation Transfer Program and rely on tribal treaty hunts that take place outside the park, as well as occasionally slaughtering bison to give meat and hides to tribes.

The park had considered two other management alternatives.

One would have continued following the existing Interagency Bison Management Plan crafted in 2000 and would have maintained the herd at 3,500 to 5,000, similar to the past 20 years.

Another option would have increased the population range to 3,500 to 7,000 or more animals after calving and relied more heavily on natural selection.

Superintendent Cam Sholly commented on the plan prior to its release.

“We’re not going to blow the doors off the population even though a lot of people want me to do that. We’re not going to go down to super low numbers of bison, even though there’s people that want me to do that as well.”

Jason Baldes manages buffalo restoration on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

He wanted to see the herd increased to 7,000 animals so more bison could be transferred to tribal lands.

“Buffalo have been subjected to the whims of the stockgrowers and the cattle industry forever since cattle arrived. That status quo is something that needs to be challenged and that good old boy way of thinking needs to be challenged.”

Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) executive director Scott Christensen said in a statement that the plan is an improvement from the Interagency Bison Management Plan signed in 2000, calling it “outdated and politically driven.”

“While we and many others asked for a higher population range, we also understand the park’s constraints with continued opposition from the State of Montana and limited habitat currently available to bison beyond park boundaries,”

The state of Montana has threatened to sue the park if it increases the herd size above 3,000 animals over concerns of potential disease transmission to cattle, among other issues.

There has not been a documented case of this happening through Yellowstone bison.

The plan’s release starts a 30-day wait period, after which the National Park Service will sign and publish a Record of Decision detailing the selected action.

 

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Many are calling for the release of 79-year-old Leonard Peltier from federal prison.

Peltier, who had a parole hearing Monday, has spent most of his life in federal prison.

His attorney says his health is failing.

As South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger reports, some say Peltier’s incarceration stands in the way of reconciliation

Peltier is serving two life sentences after being convicted for the murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the 1970’s.

In 1975, two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ron Williams, were killed on the Pine Ridge Reservation during a shootout near the town of Oglala.

“Somebody had to pay the price, and I think that’s where Leonard Peltier is sitting.”

Milo Yellow Hair is an Oglala Lakota who was part of the American Indian Movement and 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation.

Yellow Hair is a friend of Peltier’s and says nearly 50 years later it’s time for forgiveness and to move forward.

“As long as Leonard is in prison there will always been that deep, deep distrust of the American judicial system by the people that it affected the most. And that is the Indigenous people of North American, especially—in particular—the US.”

Many critics of Peltier’s conviction call him a political prisoner who has served more time than South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.

Others argue Peltier should serve out his life sentences. That includes Ed Woods, a retired FBI agent with the organization No Parole Peltier.

In a letter to the Parole commissioner, Woods says Peltier has not earned release.

Woods adds the two FBI agents were robbed of their opportunity to fulfill their own lives.

“Leonard Peltier and his supporters claim he is a ‘political prisoner.’ This could not be further from the truth. Through decades of folklore and myth Peltier has attempted to change the narrative and alter the truth, however, the facts tell an entirely different story.”

Peltier’s last parole hearing was in 2009.

In 2017, then-President Barack Obama denied a clemency request. Another request is pending before President Biden.

A parole decision is required in the next three weeks.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled the federal government has been underfunding tribes that run their own healthcare programs.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more on what this means for tribes.

The issue is the overhead costs that tribes take on when they bill private insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act requires the federal government to cover those costs.

It’s a victory for the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming and the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona.

Both sued the government after facing millions in overhead costs in recent years.

Morgan Saunders is an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit law group.

“Tribal nations are in the best position to determine what’s best for their communities. And this funding is necessary to fulfilling you know, that exercise of sovereignty that tribes are making when they elect to contract to take over these programs.”

The ruling could mean up to $2 billion per year for tribes.

Saunders says the money can help address some of the inequities in healthcare funding.

Events are being planned across Canada for National Indigenous Peoples Day.

The day recognizes and celebrates the history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.

It takes place on June 21 or around that time of year.

The month of June is also recognized as National Indigenous History Month as an opportunity to learn about the cultures, traditions, and experiences of Indigenous people.

 

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Native leaders are urging for the release of Leonard Peltier as his parole hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Peltier, who’s spent nearly 50 years in prison, is said to be in deteriorating health. He was convicted in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He has long maintained his innocence.

Leaders say the hearing may be his last opportunity for freedom.

Nick Tilsen, President and CEO of NDN Collective and Judith LeBlanc, Executive Director of Native Organizers Alliance, are urging for his freedom through compassionate release.

Amnesty International is also urging for his parole.

The Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Navy christened a new ship named in honor of Cherokee people who served in the Navy and Marine Corps.

The ceremony was held Saturday in Houma, La.

The USNS Cherokee Nation is about 10,000 tons, built for a crew of more than 60, and will be operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. says Cherokee people have served in every major battle and war, and continue to serve in the Armed Forces at high rates.

In remarks at the ceremony, Chief Hoskin talked about the ship’s name.

“I think what it stands for in terms for its link to the Cherokee people, this day forward, as long as she sails is resilience, service and friendship.”

The ship is said to be the fifth U.S. ship to be named in honor of Cherokee people, according to Navy officials.

The USNS Cherokee Nation is nearly complete and will play a role in the country’s national defense strategy, providing a wide range of missions.

A mother-daughter duo — a weaver and an engraver — won Best of Show at Celebration’s Juried Arts show. Their winning entry was a spruce root hat called Dancing in the Summer Rain.

The four-day festival held last week in Juneau, Alaska, honors and uplifts the culture of Lingít, Haida, and Tsimshian people.

KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey has more.

At her table at the Celebration Native artists’ market, Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler said she was surprised to win.

“I was totally shocked yesterday when we got the award, because I really was not expecting it. They asked me to say something. I just lost it. I was too emotional.”

She wove the spruce root hat.

Her daughter Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger wove light blue trade beads into the sides and engraved formline flowers on the hat’s copper top. Red beads line the crown and drip down the hat.

It’s not the first piece they’ve made together, but the copper crown was something Younger said she hadn’t seen in spruce root weaving before.

“I think we both just get super excited about doing something new that we hope is still honoring tradition. By doing, hopefully, fine weaving, proper formline engrave design, yeah, so we just kind of just did it.”

And the name of the piece – Dancing in the Summer Rain – comes from the way those new design elements come together musically.

“When I added those strings of beads on the hat, and I put it on my head, and just the sound it made – it wasn’t like a loud rattle, but it just sounded like the rain on a roof or something.”

The hat also won the endangered arts category.

Wheeler has been bringing new spruce root weavers into the practice for more than a decade now. She said she’s especially happy to teach students who come from the place that was known for the art two hundred years ago.

“I always wanted to bring spruce root weaving back to Yakutat, because Yakutat were known for the best spruce root weavers in the 1800s, and we lost it for many years. And now I have five students born and raised in Yakutat, young adults, and they are doing really good.”

Dancing in the Summer Rain and the other winning pieces of the juried arts show are on display in the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Sealaska Heritage Institute Walter Soboleff building until December.

 

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Tribal leaders and U.S. lawmakers say the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Thursday is a victory for Tribal Nations.

The court ruled that the federal government must reimburse the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe millions of dollars for administrative costs tied to years of tribal-run federal health care services.

In a statement, National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro said the decision is a victory for tribal self-determination and tribal sovereignty adding that the ruling ensures that Tribal Nations administering healthcare services to their citizens and communities do so with the full funding to which they are entitled under federal law and contracts with the Indian Health Service.

Leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs chair Senator Brian Schatz and vice chair Senator Lisa Murkowski said it’s a win for Indian Country.

In a statement, Schatz said the decision is a powerful reminder of the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.

Murkowski said she was encouraged by the ruling affirming tribal self-determination recognizing adequate resources are critical to addressing unmet health care needs of Native people.

The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the Indian Self-Determination Act mandates the Indian Health Service to reimburse tribes for contract support costs on third party revenues collected from Medicare, Medicaid, and other private insurance.

On the Navajo Nation, a rare breed of sheep is treasured by herders and weavers.

The sheep were once nearly driven to extinction by the U.S. government.

Chris Clements and Clark Adomaitis visited a community celebration of the breed in southwest Colorado.

Navajo-Churro sheep, a breed considered sacred to the Navajo, are a source of community and artistic expression for a group of herders and weavers in the Four Corners region.

At Fozzie’s Farm in Lewis, Colo., Tyrrell Tapaha wove the beginnings of a Navajo tapestry with a loom.

He used wool from flocks of Churro sheep that he dyed brilliant shades of lavender, red, pink, and orange.

“In the summer times, I’ll pull 16-hour days weaving. It’ll be like 3 in the morning. This is my whole life. This is how I make my income.”

Tapaha, a member of the Navajo Nation, is part of a group of apprentice weavers in the Four Corners region who are herding Churro sheep.

In the late 1500s, Spanish colonists brought the Churro to the region, and Navajo people came to depend on them for the breed’s meat and uniquely durable wool.

But Churro sheep almost became extinct—twice.

During the Long Walk of the Navajo in 1863, the U.S. military forced the tribe to relocate as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

U.S. government livestock reduction policies during the Dust Bowl decimated the breed again.

Roy Kady is a master fiber artist and sheep herder from Goat Springs, Ariz.

He led the group of apprentices, including Tapaha. Kady spoke to around 20 community members at Fozzie’s Farm about the history of Churro sheep.

He and his apprentices were at Fozzie’s as part of a partnership with Montezuma Land Conservancy, a land trust that manages the farm.

They allowed Kady and his apprentices to graze their sheep at the farm. In return, the weaver provided education on the breed to the general public.

“Not all of the Navajos went on the Long Walk. The ones that didn’t were the ones that helped save this breed of sheep. They took it with them across the San Juan River, hid high in the mountains, and some down in Canyon de Chelly.”

Tapaha described the responsibility he feels to keep the tradition of sheep herding and fiber weaving alive.

“We don’t own it. It’s knowledge that we should pass on since we don’t have ties to it in that way. You don’t have to practice this. You don’t have to live this way, but just as long as you know.”

For lunch, the weavers roasted a sheep they slaughtered earlier in the morning.

Attendees gathered around the grill and watched the fire hiss and sputter as the mutton cooked.

Above the flames, wisps of grayish-yellow clouds slid over the farm and nearby Sleeping Ute Mountain.

Kady discussed sheep herding’s importance to generations of his family.

“I’m filling these big shoes that my mother wore as an agro-pastoralist. I continue those traditions with the next generations to come. In caring for the land, in turn, the land takes care of you.”

Kady said that today, younger generations don’t need to weave rugs and textiles solely to sell products, as was common during the trading post era.

“That was imposed on us as a part of colonization because this was being woven for the trading post, for their sole purpose to sell it to the tourists and to profit from three or four times fold. Now, you’re the artist. Now, you’re in control of your own artistry, your interpretation of what you want to design and to weave.”

Tapaha is one of Roy Kady’s many fiber-weaving apprentices. He’s grateful for Kady’s leadership.

“There’s always a teacher and a student, and I think that dynamic has always been positively enforced in my life.”

Kady added: “I was once them, their age, and I was once taking that unknown path and wondering where my life would be. Continuing that journey in my life into old age makes me happy. It fulfills me.”

The legacy of Navajo-Churro sheep herding and weaving will live on in similar community celebrations.

They’re happening all across the Navajo Nation, most recently at the Dził Ditł’ooí School of Empowerment, Action, and Perseverance (DEAP) in Navajo, N.M., where Kady visited last week to give weaving demonstrations to students.

Kady and his apprentices continue to educate the public about spinning and dyeing Churro wool, and the history that lives in between each thread.

 

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