by Matt Laslo and staff reports

For the first time, Native women–both Democrats–had a seat on the chamber floor during the president’s State of the Union address. Their reaction to Donald Trump’s speech was not all negative, but by and large the comments from Native members of Congress aligned along party lines. Native American members of Congress are reacting to President Trump’s State of the Union address mainly along party lines.

New Mexico Rep. Debra Halaand (D-NM) from Laguna Pueblo said she was amused by the irony of Trump drawing attention to the historic number of women who now fill the Democratically controlled House.

“Well, of course we’re happy,” Haaland said. “It’s his policies, his actions, his rhetoric that got so many women elected. So if we’re happy about how many women got elected this time around, sure, they can thank the president for that.”

But with the threat of another federal government shutdown looming over Washington, Indian Country and the nation, Halaand said parts of the address came across as tone deaf.

“He didn’t say anything about thousands and thousands of federal workers and contractors and their families being out of a paycheck for an entire month during the shutdown,” she said. “Instead he was harping on the wall that got us into the mess in the first place.”

Congress and the president have until the middle of February to fund the government and avert another shutdown.

Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a member of the Chickasaw Nation, said the address did show a more muted, bipartisan tone than he’s seen from Trump in the past, and he thinks many of the policies Trump highlighted will help Indian Country.

“I’m always anxious to have any president talk more about Native American issues, anything from keeping treaty responsibilities to addressing the problems we have on our reservations, but I think the general themes are things that people should take hope in,” Cole said.

In a written statement, Sharice Davids (D-KS), who is Ho-Chunk, said she welcomed the president’s comments on issues like rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and supporting more women in the workforce. But she said she was disappointed to hear him “continue to speak half truths and divide on issues of immigration and national security”. She also said she’s concerned about President Trump’s position on the Affordable Care Act, at a time when more people need access to affordable care.

Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, praised the president’s address in a written statement. He said there isn’t a single thing in the president’s plan that people should think is divisive. He mentioned the need to fix what he says is a broken immigration system, rebuild the crumbling infrastructure, lower health care costs, and protect national security.

Native American leaders and others are honoring Omaha elder Nathan Philips who is at the center of video widely shared and making national news in recent days. It shows Philips drumming and singing while high school students wearing “Make America Great Again” hats mocked and taunted him. The confrontation happened in front of the Lincoln Memorial following the Indigenous People’s March in Washington, D.C.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman Harold Frazier is among those praising Phillips for remaining poised and calm in the face of negative comments and intimidation from the students.

“I want to applaud him for taking that stand, and I want to applaud everybody and thank them for standing up and reminding Americans we’re still here,” Frazier said on Native America Calling. The students are from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky. They were on a school trip for the National March For Life that same day. Frazier said he couldn’t bring himself to watch the video at first. “It really saddens me the hatred that exists in this country,” he said.

Philips said he was wrapping up near the Lincoln Memorial when he inserted himself into an increasingly tense verbal confrontation between the high school students and a group representing the Black Hebrew Israelites.

“I was wondering where the chaperones where and why did they allow them to disrespect people on the mall?” Phillips said to Native America Calling and KSFR Indigenous Foundation host Tara Gatewood.

Tribal leaders, Native American members of Congress and heads of Native organizations issued public statements expressing concern and outrage over the apparent lack of respect by the students. One of the students prominent in the video, Nick Sandman, said people are mischaracterizing his role in the confrontation.  He said he was confused and did not intentionally make faces or interact with Phillips and other Native Americans at the event.

Following coverage of the altercation, the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School released a statement publicly:

“We condemn the actions of the Covington Catholic High School students towards Nathan Phillips specifically, and Native Americans in general, Jan. 18, after the March for Life, in Washington, D.C. We extend our deepest apologies to Mr. Phillips. This behavior is opposed to the Church’s teachings on the dignity and respect of the human person.

The matter is being investigated and we will take appropriate action, up to and including expulsion.

We know this incident also has tainted the entire witness of the March for Life and express our most sincere apologies to all those who attended the March and all those who support the pro-life movement.

Catholic High School officials investigate and one of the students singled out in the video says there’s misinformation and lies about the incident.”

Acoma Pueblo officials are celebrating the repatriation of dozens of cultural items retrieved from various outlets around the country. Acoma Governor Kurt Riley called it a joyous day for the pueblo, located in western New Mexico.

“We had what we call a general meeting of as many community members as we could where we announced it and the reaction was very joyful and positive,” Riley said. “So it’s a great occasion to have some of the items we’ve been trying very hard to repatriate come home.”

The return of the items comes after years of effort by the pueblo, the U.S. Attorneys office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to locate and recover them from galleries, antique shops and museums. Gov. Riley said the continued outreach is helping curb the sale of important and cultural items that have been taken illegally. But he said it is a slow process to educate all those who profit from such sales.

“We hope we’ve made our point that the traders and the dealers as well as the pueblos, tribes and nations need to work together to educate and define to the outside world just what are cultural items.”

Riley singled out BIA Special Agent Franklin Chavez for his work in helping find and recover the items. He expressed hope that U.S. government officials continue to place a high priority on the work going into repatriating cultural patrimony.

Riley said one of the items is a sacred shield that a gallery owner in Montana voluntarily gave up after they were contacted. It is similar to the item that was part of an auction in Paris France last year that Acoma Pueblo and U.S. officials successfully halted. That item has not yet been returned.