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Some day, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community in Wisconsin hopes to have a full list of all Tribal children forcibly taken to Indian boarding schools in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Compiling that list – and providing answers for current Tribal members – could take years.

But it is now at least started, as Ben Meyer reports for WXPR.

As part of an attempt to force the assimilation of Native children into white culture, the United States government operated or supported 408 boarding schools, largely in the last decades of the 1800s and first decades of the 1900s.

At least ten of those schools were in Wisconsin.

But records of the schools – and what became of the children who attended them – are shoddy and haphazard.

Michael LaRonge is the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Sokaogon Chippewa Community.

“They were not considered ‘Native enough’ to fit back into the community and they weren’t, essentially, ‘white enough’ to fit into society outside of some subservient roles.”

The Tribe has started the long process of trying to identify all Tribal children who attended boarding schools.

It has now digitized the records of Wisconsin’s Catholic boarding schools, which were housed at Marquette University.

 

LaRonge and volunteers still must painstakingly find, review, and sort the records of other church-operated and federally operated schools, searching for Sokaogon children.

LaRonge anticipates they will find some somber results.

“The writing’s on the wall. I think it’s pretty clear, based on what happened in already in Canada, that we are going to identify unmarked gravesites at some of these boarding schools and then have to deal with, do you move any of those individuals? Can you identify them by person?”

In the last three years, the likely sites of unmarked child graves were located at dozens of Indian boarding school sites in Canada.

In the United States, the records are so scattered that LaRonge cannot even guess how many Sokaogon children were taken to boarding schools or how long his work will take.

That work may bring closure to some families and heartbreak to others.

“It’s a path forward, but it’s a path forward to some sad news.”

The White Buffalo Recovery Center helps Native community members who are recovering from addiction – and it’s launching a new family-oriented program in June.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann has more, in the second and final part of her special series.

It’s a version of Mending Broken Hearts, a bi-monthly, three-day workshop that provides culturally-informed healing from grief, loss, and intergenerational trauma.

The new iteration of the program is open to teens – and their parents or guardians.

Luke Brown is a peer specialist and will help run the first workshop.

He says the hope is that families can heal together.

“Mending broken hearts itself is an effort to help resolve unresolved grief and to complete some incomplete relationships. It helps us to look at where our trauma has stemmed from, a lot of it is from historical trauma, from colonialism.”

The center offers clinical support and other services run by peer specialists – including drum sessions, recovery support meetings, and a 12-step Medicine Wheel program.

It’s based in Arapahoe, Ethete, and Riverton, Wyoming and serves enrolled tribal members and tribal descendants.

The American Indian Policy Institute at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has announced the launch of the Center for Tribal Digital Sovereignty.

The center is dedicated to providing tribal governments and communities with resources and support needed to establish a digital sovereignty plan, which includes managing their own data.

The announcement was made this week at NCAI’s mid-year convention taking place in North Carolina.

 

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A new clinic has recently opened on the Grand Ronde reservation in eastern Oregon to address gaps in care for tribal members.

Eric Tegethoff has more.

The Cheryle A. Kennedy Public Health Clinic expands the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s health system and will provide a range of benefits, including preventative services like vaccinations, dental care, and nutrition classes.

Kelly Rowe, health director for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, says the the goal of the clinic is to ensure tribal members have health services nearby.

“The whole thought behind the big clinic was to bring everything here to Grand Ronde so people could get it without having to travel.”

With the clinic, members won’t have to drive long distances for most of the their health-care needs.

The closest city is 50 miles away.

Enrolled members of the Grand Ronde can get free health services from the hospital.

Tribal members say self-reliance is nonnegotiable because of their long history of mistreatment by the federal government.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde were created in 1857 after the federal government forcibly removed the 29 distinct bands of the Tillamook people from the Oregon coast.

Rowe says the goal is to add even more health services to the clinic.

“They’re very committed to making sure that they’re providing health care and providing as much as possible for the membership.”

This story is a collaboration with Oregon News Service and Daily Yonder

About the only signs of the rare white raven that entertained Anchorage last winter are pictures posted on a Facebook page, taken before it disappeared.

It’s a photo parade of the bird’s greatest hits, with its trickster nature on full display as it relished pieces of toast and tater tots from restaurant dumpsters.

Thousands and thousands of photos were taken and yet, as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, the bird remains a mystery.

Anchorage’s love affair with the white raven began last October, when it was spotted in a neighborhood called Spenard, with lots of restaurants and lots of dumpsters.

To the delight of photographers, the bird seemed to enjoy playing to the cameras and was quite vocal.

The bird went silent in April, when it left town with most of the ravens that had wintered there.

Biologists say this is normal – that ravens fly far afield in the summer in search of solitude to nest and raise their young.

Even so, the White Raven’s departure has left a hole in the heart of Spenard.

“We were able to realize and see something that had been foretold.”

Charlene Apok says Alaska Natives have many stories about how the White Raven would someday appear as a messenger of hope and healing.

Last winter, she says she saw the bird a lot from her office building, where White Raven’s visits caused considerable excitement.

“Oh, White Raven out this window. Then you hear the whole building, thump, thump thump. Everyone would run across the building to see the raven.”

Apok says she misses White Raven, but says bird’s absence leaves time and space to reflect.

Aaron Towarak: “I couldn’t really believe it. It was kind of surreal in the moment.”

Towarak may have been one of the first people to photograph the bird.

He saw it on October 20, as he walked along Spenard.

At first, he thought it was a seagull.

“But then I looked a little closer and there’s another raven with it, and then it cawed. And I was like, is that a White Raven?”

Towarak does know something about raven sounds. He spent his childhood in Unalakleet learning how to talk to the birds.

Towarak says White Raven marks an important turning point in his life. He was living in a hotel, waiting to get into an alcohol and drug treatment program, but relapsed and was kicked out.

“It’s a tough when you’re in your addiction to feel much outside of wanting that high. But in that moment, it kind of re-awoke something in me. I felt wonder.”

Towarak eventually got into a treatment program, found sobriety, got a job, and reunited with his children, a journey that began with a call from White Raven.

Towarak never did try out his raven call on the bird. But perhaps if it returns to winter in Anchorage, he’ll get a chance to say “thank you.”

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Canada’s top Native leader levels criticism at all levels of government for what she calls slow progress to stop the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

As Dan Karpenchuk reports, her comments come on the fifth anniversary of a national inquiry’s report on the issue.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak didn’t hold back saying that only two of the more than 159 calls to action, in the wake of the inquiry, have been implemented since 2019.

And she says that’s despite calls from advocates for more money from government for Indigenous housing, justice, and programs aimed at keeping women and girls safer.

The inquiry concluded that Indigenous women were twelve times more likely to end up missing or murdered than non Indigenous counterparts. And the commission recommended 231 calls to action to help curb what was described as an epidemic.

Nepinak says inaction is not acceptable to First Nations.

“As we mark the start of Indigenous history month in Canada, the government’s response to the national inquiry into missing and murdered women and girls represents a historic low point. It echoes a persistent pattern of failure, chronicled most recently in the auditor general’s March 20224 on housing and policing programs. Significant and substantive action is needed now more than ever to enhance the safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLBGTQ+ people.”

In Ottawa, the opposition New Democratic Party also voiced concerns saying that sustainable long term funding is lacking.

But the Crown Indigenous relations minister says even though progress is not coming as quickly as some would have it, the government remains committed to addressing the issue.

An outpatient treatment center in Riverton and on the Wind River Reservation is launching a new program that aims to work with Native families to address grief and loss.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann has more.

Mending Broken Hearts is a recurring, three-day workshop hosted by the White Buffalo Recovery Center, which offers culturally-informed addiction treatment.

It’s all about creating a space for participants to process the impacts of intergenerational trauma – and heal in community.

In the past, Mending Broken Hearts has been just for adults, but this June, the center is expanding the workshop to include the whole family.

Kenzie Monroe is Northern Arapaho and is the certified adolescent peer specialist at White Buffalo. She’ll be co-facilitating the new program.

“A lot of our adolescents are struggling and they don’t understand where the grief is coming from, or understand their feelings or healing. And so I think that’s good to be a part of that.”

The first families workshop will take place from June 12-14 in Riverton.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is kicking off its biennial Celebration this week, marking 42 years of the dance and culture event held in Juneau, Alaska.

It’s a four-day event, which draws thousands of people celebrating cultural survival of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people, and the sharing of their cultures.

Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl says their cultures are vibrant and the people are strong, and that it’s a time to celebrate.

She says the general public is also welcome to attend.

More than 1,000 dancers from 36 dance groups are expected to participate this year.

Celebration also includes an art show, Native art market, Native food contests, a fashion show, and other events.

New this year: a film festival, elder photo booth, and blanket toss.

It will be broadcast statewide on TV and webcast.

Celebration is being held Wednesday through Saturday.

 

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Two California tribes have entered into a co-stewardship agreement to manage and care for newly protected sacred land known as Molok Luyuk.

It’s part of President Joe Biden’s expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California.

Christina Aanestad reports.

The 13,000 acres new to the National Monument are known as Condor Ridge — or Molok Luyuk — sacred land to the Yocha Dehe and Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nations.

As part of a federal agreement, the tribes are now co-managers of the land.

Here’s Yocha Dehe Tribal Chairman Anthony Roberts.

“This land has deep meaning for our people and it has for centuries. For countless generations we have been stewards of this land, we’ve been taught by our ancestors, our elders to make sure we take care of this land and for years and generations the land will take care of us. And, as we see that coming to fruition today it’s beyond words. We’re just extremely grateful.”

Molok Luyuk is also home to many endangered or sensitive flora and fauna including the Indian Valley brodiaea herb, the small white flowers of the drymary dwarf flax, McNab Cypress, tule elk, foothill yellow-legged frogs, and spring fed wetlands this wildlife depends on.

As KUCB’s Sofia Stuart-Rasi reports, locals are transplanting mussels around the island to study whether this reduces the chances of the shellfish becoming toxic.

Traditionally, blue mussels have been a part of subsistence in Unalaska. But in recent years, reduced numbers and concerns about paralytic shellfish poisoning — or PSP — have limited how much locals can safely harvest.

The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska wants to change that.

The Tribe is partnering with Alaska consulting group Two Bears Environmental.

Together, they’re running a pilot study to see if moving blue mussels around the island affects the levels of paralytic shellfish toxins or PST.

According to the tribe, PST levels can differ greatly in neighboring locations. And it can be hard to detect – people cannot smell, taste, or see PST, and it cannot be cleaned or cooked out.

In mid-May, scientists collected mussels from the Dutch Harbor Spit and transplanted them to other parts of the island.

They plan to wait till September to collect the mussels again and test them for toxins.

The big questions are whether the mussels will survive and populate after being moved, and if they do, will they be safe to eat?

In 2020, a person died in Unalaska after eating mussels and snails with high levels of PST.

Scientists say climate change is playing a role in blue mussel quality, like higher toxin levels.

According to locals, there aren’t as many blue mussels on beaches as there used to be.

The Tribe says they hope transplanting the mussels will allow them to populate new areas.

Scientists say if the conditions are right, mussels can grow like weeds.

This pilot study is part of a larger program to restore or help subsistence foods in Unalaska.

The tribe wants to research other subsistence foods like aquatic snails and clams. But this summer, they say they hope this pilot project will be the first step to restoring blue mussels as a safe and sustainable food source like it was once before.

 

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A resolution ends a long-term investigation into the Rapid City Area School (RCAS) district orbiting claims of discrimination toward Native students.

Some of the findings, published this week, are 14 years in the making.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene reports.

Beginning in December of 2010, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights started looking closely at the districts disciplinary record toward Native students.

The investigation found Native students were disciplined more harshly than white counterparts.

Superintendent Nicole Swigart says the district has been complying with the Department of Education’s investigation for over a decade.

She also says the district is already making efforts to address issues noted in the resolution.

“Since 2010 we have changed a ton of things including our attendance policy, our truancy referrals, our discipline matrix, we’ve added restorative justice, we’ve added conscious discipline – we’ve really worked at making sure all our staff is trained in that work.”

Swigart has a background as a title 1D principal and was not the superintendent in 2010 at the onset of the investigation. Title 1D is a Department of Education program focused on at risk youth.

“I’ve always said a kid could walk out the door 18 times and get dropped for non-attendance, but that 19th time might be the time they’re going to be successful. We’ve really worked at re-enrolling kids. When they come back, we’re going to re-enroll them. We are not a push-out program, we are a pull-in program.”

RCAS has the highest demographic of Native students out of any district in the state except those on reservations.

As a result, Swigart says ensuring Native students and parents feel seen is critical to the districts’ mission.

“I’ve really had an open-door policy for Native American issues – let’s sit down, what can we do together? I’ve gone down when a parent feels a situation at a building wasn’t handled correctly. I’ve met with them outside the school or outside of my office because I don’t want it to be an intimidating conversation. I want to hear what they have to say.”

Year-over-year, the district reports a significant increase in the rate of Native students graduating, though Swigart says she wants to see that number climb further.

Read the full resolution

Native American Republican members of Congress from Oklahoma took to social media to respond to former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial where Trump was found guilty Thursday on 34 felony counts.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (Chickasaw Nation/R-OK) posted on Facebook, “This verdict against President Trump is a farce and weaponization of the courts. Thankfully President Trump is a fighter and will appeal and move forward. This is a sad example of political gamesmanship. We must restore faith in our Judicial system.”

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee Nation/R-OK) said on X: “This is a very dark day in American history. The far-Left has unleashed a disgraceful, unprecedented assault on the leading Republican candidate for president. President Trump will fight this sham of a conviction, and the American people will have the ultimate word this November.”

As of early Friday morning, there were no social media reactions from the Democrats’ Native delegation in the House, U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk/D-KS) or Mary Peltola (Yup’ik/D-AK).

Diné College and Arizona State University (ASU) have unveiled plans for a Bachelor of Arts in Navajo Law.

Officials say it’s a groundbreaking initiative aimed at fostering legal expertise within the Navajo Nation.

It’s being led by Patrick Blackwater, dean of the School of Business and Social Sciences at the tribal college, and advocated by Stacy Leeds, dean of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU.

Blackwater says there’s a need for legal professionals deeply versed in Navajo fundamental law, federal and state statutes, and Navajo Nation legal frameworks, which are crafted in the program.

Stacy Leeds says with the creation of the BA in Navajo Law, Diné College has taken a monumental step toward educating legal professionals who will address access to justice issues on the Navajo Nation and beyond.

The initiative was approved by Diné College Board of Regents in early May.

 

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The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium started a new program in May to test for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in their own lab.

Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra reports.

HPV, when untreated, causes 95% of cervical cancers, but, if caught early, health officials say infections can be easily treated in most cases.

Dr. James Tiesinga is medical director for the lab.

He says HPV testing in Alaska used to require sending samples out of state.

He says in-state testing will be especially meaningful for Alaskans living in remote areas.

“If we can get these results back to the provider in their communities before the woman returns to her village, all the better, because then we can schedule the appropriate follow up, maybe in some circumstances, even perform the requisite follow up before the woman has returned back to her village.”

Rates of cervical cancer have gone down over the past few decades but screening rates in Alaska are lower than the national average.

Alaska Native and American Indian women have the highest rate of cancer from HPV and are twice as likely to die from it.

This type of HPV test is relatively new and Tiesinga says the most promising part of the new program is that women will eventually be able to collect their own samples.

Self-collecting for the test was just approved by the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) in mid-May.

Tiesinga says he hopes people can self-collect in the state within the next six months. And that could reduce cervical cancer rates.

“I believe we’re going to see those high rates of cervical cancer and deaths from cervical cancer start to drop as women now in even the most remote areas are able to self-collect and send those samples in as often as they need to.”

Tiesinga says the lab is now accepting samples from all tribal partners in Alaska.

They can process samples in 24-48 hours.

Tiesinga says the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium has one of the first labs in the country to offer this type of HPV test in-house.

The Cherokee Nation and U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System officially opened a VA clinic this week, in Vinita, Okla.

The 1,300 sq ft of leased space with a VA Primary Care Team, inside the tribe’s Vinita Health Center, serves both Native and non-Native veterans in the region.

The tribe and VA celebrated the opening Wednesday.

The clinic served its first veterans Tuesday and is now open.

Every May, the Forest Service hosts an outdoor field camp for students from elementary schools on the Wind River Reservation.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann brings this report from the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

More than 100 5th graders run around and play games in an open grassy clearing. They’re surrounded by pine trees and the rushing Buffalo Fork River – and they’re here for the annual Blackrock Field Camp.

The two-day event started in 2016 – and today, the students are getting a chance to learn at stations put together by elders from both the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.

A group of students open with the Northern Arapaho Flag song to honor their vets. Then, another group says the Pledge of Allegiance – in Shoshone. Northern Arapaho elder William C’Hair says this kind of classroom – outside and intergenerational – is a welcome change.

“To this day, the State Departments throughout our country has yet to recognize our different values, our different ways of thinking, our different ways of learning.”

The students spent the day making art by the river, building teepees and listening to teachings from tribal elders.

 

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Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren is disputing sexual harassment accusations made by Navajo Nation Vice President Richelle Montoya against him.

In April, during a livestream on social media, Vice President Montoya publicly said she was harassed and bullied during a meeting, but did not name the alleged harasser.

“In the month of August 2023, I had to write a statement because I was sexually harassed.”

During a press conference Tuesday, President Nygren revealed the allegations were against him from a meeting in his office with Vice President Montoya.

President Nygren repeatedly disputed the accusations.

“I never sexually harassed or sexually assaulted the vice president or have disrespected her or have done anything she’s accusing me of doing.”

President Nygren says he asked the vice president to meet with him because he learned that her marriage was ending and he wanted to offer support.

In a written statement to the Office of the President, Vice President Montoya said the meeting made her feel “uncomfortable” and that she felt “objectified.” Vice President Montoya said she felt powerless, alleging she tried to leave President Nygren’s office multiple times and was told to “just sit there” and was hugged as she left.

During the press conference, President Nygren acknowledged the hug saying he put one arm around Montoya’s shoulder and gave her a partial side hug to show support, but denies any wrongdoing.

President Nygren says he wants the vice president to join him in a Peacemaking session to address the issues.

Meanwhile, there’s a tribal investigation underway.

UPDATE: VP Montoya responded to President Nygren’s press conference comments via local news station KOAT:

“As the first female vice president of the Navajo Nation, I am dedicated to bringing forth real solutions that will ensure the safety of all workers on the Navajo Nation from sexual harassment and assault. I also stand to protect all victims from offensive sexual advances. My story is only one of many. I thank the victims who’ve shared their stories of unwanted sexual advances and solicitations with me in the past several months. Together, we will move forward and bring real solutions with real enforcement to eliminate sexual harassment and assault in the workplace for our Navajo relatives. Victim shaming and character assassination is not a solution, but we will overcome those obstacles and others to create a safe working environment for all Navajo people.”

Dakota News Now reports that Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) has announced the state will host a Tribal Public Safety Crisis Summit.

The summit is expected to take place in Pierre in June.

The announcement comes amid tense relations between the administration and tribal governments.

A number of tribal governments located in South Dakota have banned Gov. Noem from their reservations.

 

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Statistics show homelessness in South Dakota may be down overall, but the state’s urban areas are an exception.

New programs in Sioux Falls aim to address it.

More from Kathleen Shannon.

The most recent point-in-time data show the number of people unhoused in Sioux Falls rose by 20% between 2022 and 2023.

Native people experience homelessness at a disproportionately high rate, making up nearly 40% of the unhoused population in the area.

So South Dakota Urban Indian Health launched the Wo’Okiye program last year, with case management services and help making and getting to medical appointments.

Program manager and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe member Monica Bailey says these wraparound services give staff a variety of options to respond.

“If they want to go to treatment or if they want to talk. We also provide smudging, therapeutic beading and sewing. We just meet people where they’re at on their journey.”

Bailey says the organization is averaging 1,300 contacts a month – an increase from about 260 last September, after launching its initial street outreach efforts a year ago.

The City of Sioux Falls also hired its first Homelessness Services Coordinator in April.

Bailey says Wo’Okiye will work closely with the coordinator, and has partnered with others in the city.

“For example, we have a great relationship with downtown Sioux Falls Library, where they can call us and we can go in and check on someone, and bring them to our space or see if we need to do a warm handoff.”

The unhoused population in Rapid City also grew last year, although homelessness across the state has decreased nearly 8% since 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) has launched the National Indian Boarding School Digital Archive, which is a database on Indian boarding schools.

Its aim is to preserve and bring to light the history of U.S. Indian boarding schools.

Over the last four years, the coalition has been compiling and digitizing records from Indian boarding schools.

According to NABS, through the database, survivors, families, researchers, educators, tribal leaders, and the public will have access to information that allows them to gain a better understanding of what happened at Indian boarding schools.

The digital repository includes documents, photographs, and oral histories, which will offer insights into the experiences of those who attended the institutions and the impact they’ve had on Native communities.

NABS CEO Deborah Parker says the initiative marks a significant milestone in their commitment to truth, healing, and justice.

She says the majority of all Indian boarding school records are currently not available to the public and that by making these records accessible, they’re taking a big step towards honoring the history and strength of Native peoples.

Their research has identified 523 Indian boarding schools across the U.S. Information and access to the digital archives can be found online.

Red Lake Nation College is celebrating its grand opening of its new campus is located in downtown Minneapolis, Minn.

According to college officials, its intent is to fill a void in higher education by offering affordable higher education grounded in Ojibwe language and culture to Native students in the heart of Minneapolis.

The college is an accredited two-year tribal college located on the Red Lake Nation in Northern Minnesota.

It’s delivered courses through distance learning to downtown Minneapolis students since 2021.

The new site, completed in the spring of 2024, will provide state-of-the-art facilities and education services to support student success.

Dan King, president of the college says the grand opening represents a significant step towards providing accessible education to Native American communities living in urban areas.

He says by establishing the Minneapolis location, they’re pioneering a new era of tribal college presence in major metropolitan centers – preparing students for success in the job market.

The grand opening will take place on June 6.

 

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A prized plant for regional Native Americans has been carefully cultivated for more than 3,500 years, according to an Oregon State University study.

KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

Camas is a first food staple for Native Americans, who traditionally bake the bulbs in earthen ovens.

Many dig up the bulbs across the Pacific Northwest in early summer like this group did in June 2023, led by a Siletz tribal member.

“Here’s some right here. Actually, the seeds haven’t quite gone to seed yet.”

Molly Carney is an OSU anthropologist and lead author on the study.

She looked up bulbs from around 3,500 years ago and saw Native gatherers were harvesting them selectively.

“We found by looking at the archaeological bulbs, that people were only harvesting these sexually mature plants. And we infer that they are replanting the immature plants that are popped out with those bulbs.”

Camas becomes harvest ready in three to five years, so Carney says this selective gathering shows careful stewardship of the plant.
The study is published in the journal Holocene.

At the recent Statewide Native Youth Olympic (NYO) Games in Anchorage, Alaska, students took home medals for traditional games like the Two-Foot High Kick and the Kneel Jump.

But they also had some unofficial competition with this sound.

Imagine hearing lots of these seal calls in a stadium full of people.

Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA sought out the source of these sounds, a tradition that is as old as the games themselves.

Long after the excitement of the Statewide Native Youth Olympic (NYO) Games has faded, students might still hear in their mind’s ear, the sound of the seal call.

As they competed for medals in traditional games like the Two-Foot High Kick and the Kneel Jump, intermingled in the cheers and applause were seal calls, that echoed across the stadium at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Samuel Mecham, a student from Anchorage, says he perfected the call during seal hunts in his hometown of Unalakleet, but now he’s happy to belt it out to a sea of people.

“It’s fun. It gets everybody riled up. And it gets people’s attention. It’s like our way of shouting and cheering on your teammate.”

Marjorie Tahbone, a longtime NYO veteran, actively encourages the use of the seal call.

As Master of Ceremonies for this year’s games, she used it to get the crowd pumped up.

She even took time to teach hundreds of athletes the art of the seal call between competitions, as judges made preparations to award the medals.

“You start off with a low sound, like ‘Ooh-ooh’. And then you learn how to make a high sound ‘Ooht’. And then you crack your voice. So, ‘Ooh-ooht’. And then you figure out how to do it, and eventually you’re able to go ‘Ooh-oot’, real easy.

Tahbone says seals are naturally curious creatures, so hunters used the call to distract them.

“The hunters would have to mimic a seal and get as close as they could, close enough where they could harpoon it.”

The seal call was also used to signal hunter success, a joyful sound that Tahbone says helps to bring the sounds of land and sea into the city.

During this year’s games, which were held from April 25 to 27, seal calls weren’t the only Indigenous sounds in the crowd.

Kids often walk the aisles making bird whistles.

Joey Cross’ specialty is the raven call.

“Organize your throat, your voice in a certain way.”

He makes almost a trilling sound, deep in his vocal chords and added caws to the mix.

Also, from his seat in the stadium, you can hear his call of the loon.

“I learned this from a friend (loon call). By doing that, I learned I could make it smaller. Also, a little whistle.”

Cross (Chenega) says seal calls are not part of the hunting tradition in Prince William Sound, but bird calls are another way to Indigenize gatherings.

On average, the NYO Games, hosted by the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, drew about 2,000 spectators a day.

The sounds from villages near and far added excitement to games like the seal hop, where athletes raced across the stadium in a push-up position, hopping continuously, as far as they could go.

The seal and bird calls managed to cut through the roar of the crowd.

In the back of the room, you could hear the Mat-Su School District’s Caelynn Carter and her friends doing the seal call, responding back and forth to each other.

Although Carter won a first-place medal in the girl’s Scissors Broad Jump, she’s proud to have finally mastered the seal call.

“I just figured it out today, and I haven’t stopped. It’s a great way to cheer someone on. It’s a lot cooler than clapping.”

Each of the games has a story behind it that explains how it helped to hone skills and build endurance for hunting and fishing in the extreme cold.

The Seal Hop, for example, was a game of stamina, used to teach hunters to sneak up on seals on the sea ice.

Today, these traditions transfer to other areas of life and help students learn self-discipline and gain confidence.

Marjorie Tahbone says even the seal call has use in today’s modern world.

“When you’re walking down the aisle of Walmart – and you hear an ‘Ooht’ – other people will start doing it, three aisles down. If you can’t find me, seal call, and we’ll find each other.”

While it signals a different kind of hunter success, Tahbone says it’s very effective.

“Portraits in Red: Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Painting Project”, a national traveling exhibition, will be on view at The Museum at Warm Springs in Oregon, starting in June.

The exhibition features 40 paintings by Nayana LaFond (Anishinaabe, Abenaki, Mi’kmaq, French, and German descent), focusing on missing and murdered Indigenous relatives.

The opening reception will be held on June 5.

 

 

 

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At a Pierre, S.D. middle school, the 1870s came to life in the form of a cache of items that once belonged to Chief Spotted Tail.

The collection includes a full set of clothing, arrows, a sage bundle, and a full-sized sacred eagle feather headdress once worn by Spotted Tail himself.

SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more.

 

Spotted Tail was a Sicangu Lakota chief and political leader who served as a liaison between his tribe and the United States government on numerous occasions.

In the 1870s, Spotted Tail befriended Indian agent Cicero Newell.

Indian agents were government employees who worked to connect the US government with tribal entities – including the Lakota.

Spotted Tail gave Newell many gifts – and they stayed with the family ever since.

James Newell is a fifth-generation grandson of Cicero Newell. He lives in Washington state.

“My son, who was in his early 40s said, ‘You know dad, isn’t it time to take it out of the closet and give it back?’ I want to say that was probably 2015, and it took a lot of time researching to find out where it was going and who to take it to. ‘It never really belonged to us’ was his response.”

On the other end of the exchange is John Spotted Tail, who says it’s overwhelming to see these pieces in living color.

“Myself, I didn’t know this was out there. I was very skeptical when I got the phone call and after thinking about it, I knew it was real and we went and picked it up. We looked at this and we took it into ceremony, and everything was good with it.”

Spotted Tail has a theory for the origin of the items.

“I think it might have come from the Blue Water Battle down in Nebraska, he mainly wore it then. He wore this when he was a young warrior – before he became a chief.”

The Battle of Blue Water Creek – or the Battle of Ash Hollow – took place in Garden County in the Nebraska panhandle.

Led by Chief Little Thunder, Spotted Tail is believed to have been present for the battle, which took place in 1855. At that time, Spotted Tail would have been 32 years old.

Following the return ceremony, the collection of items will be put on display at the state Historical Society Museum in Pierre.

Legislation ranging from children and youth to public safety to small business cleared the Assembly Appropriations Committees Suspense file recently in the California Legislature.

The approval measures were authored by Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) and will be heard by the full assembly in the coming weeks.

Some of the approved bills include The Luke Madrigal Act, which requires a county social worker and probation officer to immediately notify parents or legal guardians, attorneys or parents, court-appointed special advocates, and others when they receive information that children receiving child welfare services, including non-minor dependents, are missing from foster care.

Another bill is about the year-old Feather Alert system, which notifies law enforcement when a Native American is missing.

The others include acts about California education and health care.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum in Massachusetts is opening two major exhibitions that focus on Native art and culture this June.

An art piece called “Breach” is the largest body of work to date.

“Breach” is an ongoing exploration of the historical and contemporary ties between place, community, whales, and the maritime environment.

The various iterations of the project, created for individual institutions and settings, look at the multiple definitions of the term “Breach”.

“The Wider World & Scrimshaw” is a piece organized by a diverse board of artists and culture bearers in partnership with NBWM curators, and asks how exploration and whaling impacts the production of material culture in this diverse region from the 1700s through today.

The exhibit will go from June 14 through November 11 of this year.

 

 

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