Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo courtesy Watonga Public Schools / Facebook

Across many parts of the U.S., Native American students miss school at rates higher than the national average.

KLCC’s Brian Bull talked to one educator in Oklahoma, who’s worked to bring down absenteeism and truancy in her community.

Hollie Youngbear (Cheyenne Arapaho) works as the Watonga Schools Indian Education Director.

“I retired two years ago, but they couldn’t find anybody take my place, so I stepped back in and the school let me come back to work three days a week.”

Youngbear says her district’s absenteeism rate is the lowest in Oklahoma. She says she knows all the families and has come by to pick up absent students from challenging home environments.

“Parents who have drug problem or alcohol problems, and they just don’t get their kids up on time. I go out to the homes and pick them up, take them to school. You know, just work with the parents to get them to school.”

Youngbear adds that the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes also help with school supplies, class fees, and rewarding good grades and attendance.

Special programs also help students avoid trouble.

“They have ‘tradition, not addiction’, and they come in and meet with the kids every month and talk about, you know, not smoke or drink or vape.”

The tribal jurisdictional area for the Cheyenne-Arapaho has generations of families, some who were subjected to the boarding school system.

Besides the attempts at assimilation and abuse many encountered, Youngbear says this also may have caused challenges when some boarding school alumni started families.

“They never knew how to actually parent when they got out of school, and so if you don’t know how to parent, then you might not want your kids to go to school. It wasn’t a priority. I guess you could say.”

Youngbear’s advice to school administrators who may be dealing with absent Native students is to work with families, and try to get counselors or education directors from Indian education backgrounds.

“You know, have good grades, and lead them on the path to maybe go to college or vo tech or, you know, just keep ‘em motivated.”

Other challenges that can affect Native American attendance include racism, poverty, or lack of support services.

Does your insurance company make you 😳🤪😤😡? Contact our consumer advocates for help! 🤗https://t.co/0aQMufqZ87 #AskKreidler #NationalEmojiDay pic.twitter.com/buesDex41h

— WA State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (@WA_OIC) July 17, 2018

The state of Washington is helping Native Americans access health care after decades of barriers.

Eric Tegethoff has more.

Health insurers have made it difficult for tribal members to get care covered, despite state and federal laws that bar this.

Vicki Lowe is head of the American Indian Health Commission, which has led efforts to remove hurdles for Native Americans.

She says health insurers would try to make tribal clinics charge out-of-network rates and wouldn’t honor their referrals.

However, the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has come out with guidance to prevent this.

“Not only will tribes have more money to help pay for services for their tribal members, tribal members will get care in a more timely manner. So those two things just are really important, and insurance companies have been a barrier for that for decades.”

Washington is among the first states to move forward with guidance for insurers and also enforcement of the law, so that insurers will stop putting up roadblocks for tribal members to get care in the state.

Todd Dixon is the tribal liaison for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

He says one reason for releasing the guidance was that the agency has seen an uptick in complaints – the number one complaint typically coming from billing managers at clinics.

“It says, ‘Hey, we have an enrolled member. He or she was seen at our clinic. We billed the insurance company. They said we’re out of network and so we’re only paying 60%.’ And then they send a bill to the enrolled member. It’s not how it works.”

The Insurance Commissioner’s office has been sending notices to insurers who violate protections for Native Americans.

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo: Darryl George. (Courtesy MOBB United for Social Change, Inc. / Facebook)

Several multicultural organizations have submitted an amicus brief – or friend of the court filing – in a case involving a Black family and a Houston-area school district.

The brief endorses Darryl George, a Black high school student who supporters say was suspended from the Barbers Hills Independent School District in his junior year, due to his long hair.

Attorneys for the family say this violates the 2023 Texas Crown Act, which prohibits schools from discriminating against hair styles and textures associated with race and cultural identity.

Malia Gesuale is with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF).

She says with the law on the family’s side, she expects George to win in Texas appellate court.

Gesuale added that this case is relevant for hundreds of Native American tribes as well.

“Hair is incredibly important for many Native people. Hair is deeply associated with cultural and religious beliefs. It’s a symbol of moral strength. It can be a very personal choice, for how a Native person wants to present themselves. We understand that students across the country, and particularly in Texas want to be able to wear their hair long in representation of that heritage.”

Groups behind the amicus brief include the National Congress of American Indians which NARF represents, as well as Black Parents and Families Collective and the ACLU of Texas.

The school’s suspension of George is also regarded as a violation of the first and fourteenth amendments.

The Barbers Hills district has continued to defend its dress code.

Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal members protested outside of the office of U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) in Riverton, Wyo. Thursday.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Chris Clements reports the protest was over the defunct Pilot Butte Power Plant, which sits on the Wind River Reservation, but is currently owned by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Last year, Sen. Barrasso filed a bill that would transfer the plant to a non-tribal irrigation district so it can be used to generate power for Fremont County.

Residents of the Wind River Reservation say they were never consulted about the transfer, and that they oppose it.

Felicia Alvarez is Eastern Shoshone.

“No more taking, no more stealing. We sold enough. They’re doing this underhandedly, without our consent.”

Nicole Wagon is Northern Arapaho.

“The Pilot Butte Conveyance Act is another in a long line of violations against the 1863, 1868 Eastern Shoshone treaties.”

In an emailed response, Barrasso said he’s “been in contact with members of both … tribes as the bill has advanced in the Senate.”

There’s been a fight between county and state officials in Montana over who should fund law enforcement on the Flathead Reservation.

Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports a state supreme court ruling Tuesday settled the dispute.

Lake County officials have long said taxpayers can no longer afford the 4 million dollar price tag of providing law enforcement on tribal lands. Under a deal known as public law 280, the county is responsible for jailing and prosecuting tribal members accused of felony crimes.

The county sued the state arguing that because it’s also a part of the deal with the federal government, it bears some fiscal responsibility.

A lower court ruled that it’s up to state lawmakers whether they want to fund the county’s law enforcement on tribal lands.

State lawmakers did pass funding, but Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) vetoed the legislation.

The supreme court agreed with the lower court, and said the county can also opt out of providing law enforcement for tribal members altogether.

The county did try to do that, but Gianforte refused to sign off, claiming it didn’t file the proper paperwork.

 

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo: A sign at Camp Marcedes in Winnipeg. (Antonia Gonzales)

Audio available by 12 p.m. ET

A grim search is underway at a landfill site near Winnipeg for the remains of two murdered Indigenous women.

This is the fourth stage of a five-stage plan that is expected to continue until the spring.

More from Dan Karpenchuk.

Wab Kinew, the province’s first Indigenous premier, was on hand for the start of the work as teams began the huge task of sifting through nearly 8,000 square feet of waste.

They are looking for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran.

Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of killing them and two other Indigenous women – Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found in a different landfill, and a victim identified only as Buffalo Woman.

Premier Kinew was with the Myran and Harris families as the work began.

“This morning I was there with two family members as we watched that first blue truck of landfill material come down to the search facility. And it is an intense emotion.”

It was two years ago that the families found out that the two girls had been murdered by Skibicki.

Tons of material have already been excavated to bring the search to the approximate time the women’s bodies would have been left there.

Amna Mackin leads the project.

“As we start to find items of interest, such as receipts or papers that have dates and addresses we’ll be continually looking at that information to see what it’s telling us and whether or not we’re in the right location of interest.”

There are about 45 people in the search team, which includes family members, a forensic anthropologist, a health and safety officer, and a director of operations.

The search of the landfill will continue six days a week for the next several months.

Kinew says he prays to God that the search will succeed.

After nearly 70 years of work, fishery managers say lake trout have fully recovered in most of Lake Superior, a development that’s sure to please regional Native American tribes.

As Danielle Kaeding reports, that comes after a fish-killing invader decimated the trout’s numbers.

The lake trout population dropped dramatically during the mid-1900s due to overfishing and an invasion of sea lampreys.

The eel-like parasitic fish feeds on the blood of lake trout.

It spread to Lake Superior by 1938.

At that time, the commercial harvest of the lake’s top predator was four million pounds.

But, that dropped 95% by the mid-1960s.

Bill Mattes chairs the Lake Superior Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

“What we’re seeing in our assessments are that the numbers of fish in the lake are similar to that seen in the lake prior to lamprey invasion and over harvest.”

Mattes is also with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Lake Superior tribes use gill nets to commercially harvest fish, and he says the assessments show they can be used to sustainably catch fish.

“We’ve done a really good job of harvest management and of controlling those harvests over time.”

Mattes says those efforts along with lamprey controls has helped create a self-sustaining population.

A people’s celebration for the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River takes place Saturday in California’s Arcata Theater Lounge.

Regina Chicizola is with the group Save California Salmon.

She says previous events featured politicians and tribal councilors.

“What we want to do with this celebration is celebrate all the people and organizers and families. So we have a lot of elders coming out, and then we’re going to have a few bands play. All three of the bands are part of communities that helped fight for dam removal.”

The removal of the dams follow decades of lobbying by Native Americans and allies, who say salmon are already back to their traditional spawning grounds.

“It’s time to celebrate, and it’s time to bring our kids up there to see the salmon spawning, and just let the world know that you can win these really big fights even when it seems impossible, especially if people listen to the guidance of the native communities that have knowledge on how to get it done.”

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo: The Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho. (Staplegunther / Wikimedia)

With a second Trump term near, Native American tribes are concerned for environmental restoration efforts.

In his first term, President Donald Trump opened up lands considered sacred to Native people for development, as well as rolling back dozens of environmental protections.

In a press call with tribal officials last month, 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 has worked with President Joe Biden to restore fish runs.

William Ray Junior, chair of the Klamath Tribes, then spoke about protecting salmon and two species of sucker fish.

“Our biggest concerns about the incoming administration is how it’s gonna affect our endangered species of C’waam and koptu mullet species. If all the water delivery agreements are fulfilled at 100%, extinction becomes real viable.”

Trump has discussed diverting water from the Columbia River to California and has also questioned the need for protecting the endangered Delta smelt there.

President Biden has created more national monuments in a single term than any president since President Jimmy Carter left office in 1981.

Tribes and environmental advocates are pressing him to do even more.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Rachel Cohen reports.

After President Donald Trump shrunk the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante monuments in Utah, Biden’s first step was restoring them.

“And because of that, he really started thinking about monuments right from the get go. So you see much more activity than you usually see during the first term.”

Justin Pidot is a professor at the University of Arizona law school, who worked in the Biden and Obama administrations.

He says Biden has had a particular focus on monuments proposed by tribes. That includes Avi Kwa Ame established last year in Nevada. It’s a site sacred to the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, among others.

Before leaving the White House, Biden could designate more national monuments.

Local campaigns are advocating for protection of the Owyhee Canyonlands on the border of Oregon and Idaho and the Dolores Canyons in southwest Colorado.

A new report reveals Indigenous-owned businesses contribute more than $46 billion to the U.S. economy each year. And a lot of that activity is happening in the West.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more.

Research firm B2B Reviews analyzed the percentage of Indigenous-owned businesses within each state and how many people they employ, among other factors.

Researchers found that Oregon is the best state in the country for Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Nevada, Idaho, Washington, and New Mexico also cracked the top ten.

Arizona and California made the top 20, Colorado and Montana landed in the middle of the rankings, and Wyoming and Utah were near the bottom.

Zac Carman is a member of the Kaw Tribe, and CEO of ConsumerAffairs, a national user-review website.

He says Indigenous business owners face many challenges that politicians should address.

“Oftentimes state and federal are just completely disconnected from the realities of Indigenous peoples. I think you would need to start by listening and building resources and programs that fit their reality.”

He says that could help Indigenous entrepreneurs gain more access to funding, business education, and mentorship.

And 35 years ago, President George H.W. Bush proclaimed the week of December 3-9 as National American Indian Heritage Week, as Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford had done in their terms.

But the following year, President Bush would approve a Joint Resolution making November 1990 the first National American Indian Heritage Month.

It kept the name until 2009, when President Barack Obama issued a proclamation making November Native American Heritage Month.

 

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

(Photo courtesy Save the West Berkeley Shellmound / Facebook)

As thousands of shoppers took advantage of Black Friday deals last week, Indigenous Ohlone people and supporters gathered for the 28th annual Shellmound Prayer Walk in Emeryville, Calif.

The event is to bring attention to the shopping malls built on burial sites known as shellmounds.

Christina Aanestad reports.

Some 200 Ohlone activists and supporters gathered at the Berkeley shellmound for the Shellmound to Shellmound Prayer Walk, bringing attention to the Indigenous villages and burial sites from Berkeley to neighboring Emeryville, where shopping centers are built.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Save the Shellmounds (@savetheshellmounds)

Corinna Gould is tribal chair for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan.

“Bay Street (Emeryville) mall was placed on there in the late 1990’s and the city of Emeryville knew, even though they were cleaning up a brownfield at the time, that that was a sacred site and one of the largest cemeteries in the area, and yet they decided to do it anyway. We protested for many weeks, at city council and zoning meetings in Emeryville, and still they allowed that to happen. So it’s a reminder that even though there’s buildings on top, even though there’s asphalt, that these shellmounds, these burial sites, remain in our area and they’re covered by all these places.”

Gould first organized the rally nearly 30 years ago. Then, three years ago, she passed on the organizing to her daughter Deja Gould.

“We’ve started doing this walk to set prayers down, set intention down, but also to bring awareness to community, and people, that our people are still here, are still active.”

Now they march and stop at shellmound sites and villages along the way that were also developed or paved over.

Expansion of gaming across Oregon doesn’t seem likely, a development some tribes were hoping for.

During a recent press call with tribal officials, Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR) said she appreciated visiting with all nine federally-recognized tribes within Oregon this year. However, in terms of allowing more development of gaming venues…

“My position has not changed, and we have had fruitful conversations about the importance of gaming.”

The Coquille Tribe has expressed interest in an electronic bingo facility in Medford, Oreg., which Gov. Kotek said she opposed in 2023.

Her stance continues a “one tribe, one-casino” policy that’s been the mainstay for the state.

And for tribes across the Pacific Northwest, it’s an ideal time to burn hazel.

About a dozen Native people gathered yesterday to burn hazel growth in a rural spot used for Traditional Ecological Inquiry Programs (TEIP) near Eugene, Oreg.

Jerome Viles is a Siletz Tribal member, who led the burn demonstration.

He says this practice makes for better baskets for his people.

“When it burns, it stimulates a plant to send up really straight, long shoots. So when it doesn’t burn, we’re still able to get shoots, but they’re not as straight or long, so basket weavers really want those long, straight hazel shoots to weave baby baskets and all sorts of other baskets.”

Nearby, TEIP leader Joe Scott – also Siletz– pares down hazel with a hedge trimmer, as Jerome Viles’ father Drew explains.

“That’s one technique that we’ve resorted to since reservation times to tend the hazel with. It likes to put up straight shoots after coppicing, and that’s what Joe’s doing right now.”

The senior Viles appreciated his son taking his knowledge of hazel and basketry, and put it to use.

“Gives me encouragement and makes my heart a lot lighter when you see young people who are practicing their culture.”

In roughly a year and a half, the hazel will be harvested for baskets.

 

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

A new true crime documentary series looks at the murder of activist Annie Mae Aquash, whose body was found on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge reservation in 1976.

A Mi’kmaq Native from Nova Scotia, Aquash was a teacher and mother who was active in the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the 1970s.

Her disappearance and murder shook the Native community deeply for generations.

Yvonne Russo is the director and producer of Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae.

“I’ve always known Annie Mae’s story growing up because I was a kid on the reservation. And also, AIM was pretty prominent during that time. Decades later, who knew that, as a filmmaker, this project would be presented to me? So I said, ‘Yes, I’m definitely interested,’ but I knew that I needed to call home and seek some guidance with regards to this story and speaking to elders and community, because it was kept silent for decades, people were afraid of the truth.”

Russo worked on this four-part docuseries for six years.

She says nearly 50 years after her death, the fight for justice for Aquash never ended, especially for her family.

“There was a botched autopsy. There were lots of misinformation out there, we’ll just say, and they wanted to know the truth. When I learned about all the harrowing efforts they did to seek truth and justice, it made me realize, you know, in this day and age that the past is still present in Indian Country in terms of the crimes that happen on reservations, and the injustices that happen within our communities. And maybe question, why cases -as it pertains to missing and murdered Indigenous people – why aren’t they being solved?”

Russo says she and her team wanted to get all sides represented, which included talking to people active in AIM and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But they had to also be shrewd with some accounts.

“As you know, in Indian Country, sometimes it could be a double-edged sword, because you hear many different accounts of what people think happened to her, and for us, the responsible way, at least, you know in the reporting is that we have to corroborate, but also give meaningful consideration to what people are saying. And it can’t be hearsay. One thing when you have somebody saying they heard something happen, because so and so and so and so told them, Well, okay, that’s fine, but that’s not actual proof.”

Russo says she’s very happy with the end result of this project. And she made sure that Aquash’s family, including her daughter Denise, was pleased with the results as well.

“What it meant for me was, it’s like repatriating her mom’s story, but repatriating also like her legacy and all of us understanding what Annie Mae stood for, and it was important that the story brings healing to the community. You know, healing in the form of even like a spiritual justice.”

Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae is now available on Hulu.

And today is Native American Heritage Day, an occasion to reflect and appreciate the contributions the First Peoples of the North American continent have provided, including serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

 

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

AI image generated by DeviantArt

Today is the Thanksgiving holiday, which means many things to many people across the U.S.

For years, the event was portrayed as a cheerful feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans. But critics say this whitewashes the conflict and animosity that has marked the centuries since the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth Rock, and some Native people boycott the holiday.

Others use it to gather relatives and friends, to celebrate the resilience of Native Americans despite war, disease, and colonization.

However you celebrate Thanksgiving – or, alternately, Turkey Day – we at National Native News are grateful for your listenership and support.

The Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage is known for its exhibits and cultural programs.

But as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, the center’s Indigenous awareness programs are growing in popularity, especially during Native American Heritage month.

Almost 700 students filled the auditorium at East Anchorage High School this month to learn about Alaska’s many different Native cultures and their values.

The team from the Alaska Native Heritage Center had a warm reception from students for two separate programs this month.

“We do a lot of amazing stuff. It fills my cup.”

Chris Delgado manages the Heritage Center’s cultural awareness programs and says they can be customized to meet the needs of a wide variety of organizations.

“We have National Park Service. We’re working with the FBI. We are working with the United States Air Force.”

Maureen Cronin, an academics coach at East High, is not surprised that companies want to invest in programs that raise their employees’ cultural awareness.

She says cultural literacy is important everywhere, but especially at East, which has students from fifty different cultures and is one of the most diverse schools in the nation.

“It’s really important to demystify cultural generalities, and it’s important to develop cultural understanding.”

And cultural appreciation for what the Heritage Center calls the genius of Indigenous culture, or “Indigi-nuity”.

“That’s how we survived out in the Arctic, back in the day.”

Colton Paul, a six-time gold medalist at the Arctic Winter Games who demonstrates traditional Alaska Native games at the workshops, says the athletes and their feats of strength and endurance epitomize “Indigi-nuity.”

“They can jump so high. They can kick way above their heads. I remember when I was a little kid, I would see these other kids kicking way above their heads, I would think, ‘That is right above the stars. That’s so high.’”

The cultural awareness trainers at the Heritage Center say they’ve noticed that when people gather to learn about another culture, they also learn to build better relationships with each other.

Regrowth and renewal were the themes of a special replanting ceremony in Blue River, Oreg. this month.

The event was also to highlight the history of Native Americans in the McKenzie River Corridor.

About 30 people gathered to accept white oak seedlings that were blessed and sprinkled with tobacco.

Dietrich Peters of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde coordinated the event.

“Come on up, we’ll get you some tobacco, and you can offer your prayers as well.”

Katherine Wilson of the group McKenzie Reel said while much of this was to help restore Blue River’s landscape after the devastating Holiday Farm Fire of 2020, it was also to highlight the activity of Native people who crossed through before colonization.

She said there was one clear takeaway from the event by those present.

“Well, by the sounds of the sobs, the healing. The river and the land just seemed to be so joyous. It was healing, and I didn’t expect that.”

Attendees took oak tree seedlings to plant across the region. Wilson says she’ll hold similar events soon, to complement Blue River’s natural rejuvenation as it keeps building homes and facilities.

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo: This is a station at the Navajo Nation Chinle Chapter where logs from national forests are chopped into firewood for tribal families to heat their homes in the winter. (Courtesy National Forest Foundation)

The U.S. Forest Service is spending another $20 million to remove flammable underbrush and logs from forests.

Some of the funding will be used to turn that chopped timber into firewood for Indigenous families to heat their homes.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more.

The National Forest Foundation’s Wood for Life project is similar to a food bank. But instead of food, it delivers firewood to tribal families – at no cost.

The nonprofit is receiving $250.000 to remove logs from forests in Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming.

That will produce firewood for half-a-dozen tribes – Shoshone Bannock, Shoshone Paiute, Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho, Ute Mountain Ute, and Navajo Nation.

Rosanna Jumbo-Fitch is the Navajo Nation Chinle Chapter president.

She says thousands of families in her community receive wood through the project.

“It’s a huge benefit, because it’s used for warming the home, cooking, and everyday needs. And our biggest population that we serve is our elderly population, those that are 65 and older.”

Nationwide, in counties with a high percentage of tribes, roughly one-third of households rely on firewood to heat their homes. That’s according to Census Bureau data.

Long before there was a designated day to give thanks, there was a time when expressing gratitude was a form of deep spirituality.

Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA looks at the word for “thank you” in three different Alaska Native languages, starting with Yup’ik, or Yugtun.

For Ossie Kairaiuak, Quyana is a word with deeper layers of meaning – one with roots to a culture of sharing food gathered from the land and the sea.

Ossie grew up near Bethel, Alaska in Chefornak, where he absorbed the true meaning of “quyana”.

“As I got older, I was able to help my father more. And I watched him butcher seals that my brothers caught. And then he would hand me the choice parts. which are the shoulders of the seal, and he would say, ‘Here. Gives these to these elders’.”

As Ossie carried the seal meat to his elders, he remembers how full his hands were.

“I gently use my feet to knock on their door, and the would open it up and they would say, ‘Oh, my. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.’”

“Gunalchéesh.”

X’unei Lance Twitchell (Lingít) has dedicated his life to spreading knowledge about the languages and cultures of Southeast Alaska, where he teaches Lingít at the University of Alaska Southeast.

“Some of our elders like the late Kingeesti, David Katzeek, used to talk about the power of this phrase, and how much emphasis and love you could put into it, sometimes by dragging out that last syllable, gunalchéesh.

Kay Wallis is Gwich’in, a traditional healer who believes “mahsi’ choo” carries great spiritual energy.

“It isn’t just a casual thank you. It’s mahsi’ choo. It means so much to me. Your kindness.”

She says her people’s long history has shown that gratitude helps to heal from sickness and trauma, and also, survive hard times.

“When I talk about my elders, most of them have passed. But they all remember hunger. They remember the starvation period. And then when somebody would just share a bone with them, a moose bone, a caribou bone, or a piece of fish, mahsi’ choo.”

Wallis says most of us today have never known such hardship and the importance of sharing what little you may have to give.

“Mahsi’ choo. You’re keeping me alive. You’re keeping my family alive. Thank you from my heart.”

She says the word, mahsi’ choo, comes from a time when gratitude was a way of life.

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Photo: Fin whale draws community to the mudflats. (Darian LaTocha)

A frozen whale is beached on the mudflats near Anchorage, Alaska.

The unusual sight draws hundreds of people every day to see and experience it firsthand.

Scientists have identified it as a rare fin whale.

After researchers took samples to find out what caused the whale’s death, they left nature to do its work.

As Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, some are hoping to salvage parts of the whale, before the tides take it back out to sea.

For the ocean to reclaim the whale, it will take high tides at their peak to move it off the mudflats.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Alaska whale stranding coordinator Mandy Keogh says that will probably happen sometime in mid-December.

“For the community of Anchorage, it’s probably an opportunity they won’t get again.”

Keogh says fin whale are listed as an endangered species and it’s rare to see them in the Upper Cook Inlet.

This one was a young female and already quite big.

“It’s a 47-foot whale. You know when these whales grow to be well over 70 feet, so this is actually a fairly young animal. So, when you think about it, they would almost you know more than not quite double in length when that was an adult.”

Keogh says NOAA has had a lot of questions about whether parts of the whale can be salvaged.

She says rules regulating that comes under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows Alaska Natives to harvest the meat and whale parts. because of their long tradition of using them for food, as well for their arts and crafts.

“No one else can collect any more mammal parts, so we really need people to leave the animal alone or, if there are Alaskans in the area that are salvaging parts, to give them space so that they can do it safely.”

Michael Livingston is an Unangax from the Alaskan Peninsula.

“There was a ton of people walking out there on the on the ice, and it was just a real powerful to be in her presence for a few minutes.”

He says the whale is a gift.

“How large she is and how graceful she is. even in her passing — to see her fluke to see her tail and how large it was how powerful was and muscular. It was just a really inspiring to be that close to a whale and to be in her presence.”

Livingston says there is a group of people organizing a blessing for the whale.

In Oregon, a coastal piece of the Siletz Tribe’s ancestral territory has been recently restored, nearly 170 years after Congress created the reservation’s boundaries.

Twenty-seven acres of Cape Foulweather on the Oregon Coast have been reacquired by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

The tribe purchased the land from the McKenzie River Trust last month, with a $2 million grant from NOAA.

Angela Sondenaa is director of the tribe’s Natural Resources Department.

“It really is an amazing opportunity for us to become stewards again.”

She hopes to reintroduce cultural burning to the coastal prairie section, to rejuvenate its ecosystem.

“Cape Foulweather is an incredibly diverse and sensitive ecological area. It’s been a cultural gathering site for millennia. And it will provide direct opportunity for tribal members to gather and resume subsistence harvest in the rocky coastline there.”

The Siletz reservation was established in 1855 by Congress and President Franklin Pierce.

It was further diminished through land cessions.

And hopes run high that Congress will pass a bill that would help Native Americans get home mortgages.

Dakota News Now reports that Senate Bill 1941 would permanently fund the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Native Community Development Financial Institution lending program.

While some proponents like U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) say they’re confident the bill will pass with bipartisan support, others point out that the bill was introduced in June of 2023 and has been stuck in a Senate Committee since March of this year.

Just 38% of Native Americans own a home in South Dakota.

 

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.