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Photo: Hanging Flume in the Dolores River Canyon near Uravan, Colo. (Simon Foot / Flickr)

President Joe 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.

The Alutiiq Museum is currently under construction to expand its footprint near downtown Kodiak, April 8, 2024. (Photo: Brian Venua / KMXT)

The Alutiiq Museum received about $150,000 to revamp the Koniag Cultural Library.

The grant comes as it’s finishing construction on its new building.

As KMXT’s Brian Venua reports, staff say it’s good timing to have even more to show off at its future grand reopening.

The Alutiiq Museum has been closed for over a year for an expansion to nearly double its size.

Museum officials plan to display more items from its collections as well as feature more art from contemporary culture bearers.

But now with this grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the museum will make it easier than ever to access its library, too.

“In the past, we had a library – I don’t think anyone knew that.”

That’s Amanda Lancaster, the museum’s curator of collections.

Since 2018, the library has served as the official tribal library of Koniag, Kodiak’s regional Native corporation.

“It was in the basement, it was very inaccessible, you had to make an appointment, you had to have a staff member with you just because it was in the basement and sort of more of a staff space.”

The library features thousands of printed materials, hundreds of audio/visual items, and well over 10,000 photos as part of the collection for people to research Alutiiq culture.

The new funding will help the museum pay for renovations for a more friendly library space.

Lancaster says they’re aiming to have matching shelving units, furniture for a seating area and computers for research.

Patrons won’t need appointments or staff supervision just to be in there – they’ll just need to check in and use the library at their leisure.

‘We’re just hoping that it will make it much more accessible so that people will want to come and use it.”

While the new money won’t cover new acquisitions, it could make room for future donations.

“It’s going to be much larger and much more spacious and (have) space to sit and read.”

It’s also a reason to recatalog and reorganize all of those resources.

“I’m just really excited to have one sort of dedicated project where we make sure everything’s in the right space.”

After the renovations, the grant will also pay for an outreach effort to solicit comments on how to make the library as useful as possible.

The Alutiiq Museum is set to have a grand reopening in May.

Taweah Garcia holds a sign supporting a campaign to change the name of Squaw Valley in California. (Courtesy Shonnie Bear)

California will remove the S-Q word, a derogatory term for an Indigenous woman, from more than 30 sites.

The state’s Natural Resources Agency announced last week, the L.A. Times reports.

In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a bill into law requiring the term to be removed from all geographic features and place names in the state.

It follows a similar move by the U.S. Interior Department.

In 2021, Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) declared the term derogatory and established a process to remove names from federal lands.

Renaming in California is expected to take place in early 2025.

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The National Park Service (NPS) held a recent symposium on the cultural impacts on Tribes by the 1924 establishment of Wupatki National Monument.

KNAU’s Richard Davis attended the event at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and has this report.

Central to the day was a panel to elevate Indigenous perspectives of Wupatki’s federal management.

The panelists recognized efforts by the Park Service to incorporate tribal history and asked for better representation in administrative roles and increased education on Wupatki’s true history.

Stewart Koyiyumptewa, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office director, took issue with the very creation of the Monument and the perception of Hit’satSenom structures as “ruins”.

“Wupatki, as it is known today, we have never waived our right to that place. We still call that our home. It’s not abandoned as archaeologists, anthropologists and even the Park Service may think. We still have deep connections to that area.”

(Photo: Richard Davis)

Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Officer Richard Begay condemned regulations that hinder religious practices.

“We have to have permission from Park Service to access our sacred sites, to collect plants. If that plant only grows on Wupatki … if it is restricted then the knowledge of those plants and the rituals associated could easily be lost.”

NPS staff recognized the impact the management of Wupatki has had on Indigenous people.

Amy Horn, cultural resources program manager for Flagstaff Area National Monuments, is looking towards the future.

“It’s a painful part of our monument’s history. We want to acknowledge it and make sure that they are heard so that we can have a collaborative relationship in the future.”

The monument’s official 100th anniversary is December 9.

Julissia King holds up model of a traditional kayaq. (Photo: Rhonda McBride)

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.

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The National Park Service this month issued a first-ever director’s order to strengthen its consultation with tribes.

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

The new order comes from National Park Service Director Chuck Sams (Cayuse and Walla Walla).

He’s the first Native American to lead the federal agency.

Sams says too often tribes experience a lack of collaboration.

“Where a federal agency just kind of tells you what’s going to happen to a particular piece of land that they manage that tribes may have interest in. And this director’s order actually brings much more meaningful discussion with tribes up front before all the decisions are made.”

That includes respecting that tribes see the plants and animals populating their lands as cultural resources. The order also calls for honoring tribes’ sovereignty and oral traditions.

Sams says some national parks already have strong relationships with tribal nations.

Yellowstone National Park has agreements with tribes to support bison restoration and management.

And Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve in Idaho last month worked with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to create displays with Indigenous history and perspectives.

President Donald Trump in 2017 expediating the process for the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline. (Courtesy The White House)

President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda for “energy dominance” could impact leaders in the sector, including the state of Wyoming and tribes.

But some say the industry might have limited tolerance for blanket policy shifts, as Kathleen Shannon reports.

Before the election, the University of Wyoming hosted this year’s Tribal Energy Summit, where major themes were carbon capture, rare earth elements and critical minerals, and community engagement.

After the election, there are questions about how far Trump will sidestep the nation’s momentum toward renewable energy.

Daniel Cardenas with the National Tribal Energy Association expects the next Trump administration to look similar to the last one.

“They weren’t outright anti-renewable. They were just preaching an ‘all-above’ strategy, with more of a focus on fossil energy. But I think that’s probably the route that things will go, which supports what Wyoming’s already doing during Gov. [Mark] Gordon (R-WY)’s administration, is ‘all-the-above.'”

Cardenas says despite campaign rhetoric, industry leaders see opportunities in a varied approach to energy production.

ExxonMobil’s CEO this week urged Trump to stay in the Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump promised to back out of in 2017.

A vast majority of the U.S. reserves of key energy-transition metals are located within 35 miles of Native American reservations, according to the investment firm MSCI.

Cardenas says Tribes have been left out of the conversation on the energy transition – which he calls the “energy evolution” – but that they could be key partners.

“Collectively, tribes are the largest private landowners in the United States outside the federal government. So no matter what, if the country needs and wants to develop more infrastructure, the path to that is through Indian Country.”

Investments in clean energy – especially in “red” states like Wyoming – are foundational to President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which Trump has called a “green new scam.”

Trump’s power to change Biden’s law, however, may be limited by Congress.

In California, the Yurok Tribe, Del Norte County Superior Court, and District Attorney’s Office recently signed an agreement to allow Yurok citizens, who are adults, facing certain criminal charges an opportunity to defer prosecution.

They’ll instead enroll in the tribal court’s wellness program, which uses a holistic approach.

The Yurok Tribal Court, along with the District Attorney or Superior Court, will determine if an individual is eligible to participate.

If the individual qualifies, the tribal court will develop a wellness plan and oversee its implementation through culturally integrated case management.

Diversion periods are often set at six months to two years.

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(Photo courtesy Michael Sherman / Spring Fed Media)

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

As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, 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.

A view of the 1932 monument near the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. (Public domain)

Hundreds of volunteers from Utah and Idaho gathered recently to help the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation restore the site of the Bear River Massacre.

For the Mountain West News Bureau, Clarissa Casper of the Salt Lake Tribune and Utah Public Radio has more.

Rios Pacheco stood on the land where, in 1863, his ancestors were victims of one of the deadliest massacres of Native Americans in United States’ history.

Behind him, across the site of the Bear River Massacre, hundreds of volunteers planted native shrubs and trees –– a collective effort to heal what was taken from both the land and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.

For Pacheco, who serves as the tribe’s spiritual leader, planting native plants on the land where hundreds of his ancestors’ lives were stolen is a way to not only restore the ecological balance of the area but also to heal the spirits of his people.

Once you plant something in the ground, he said, life is restored.

Through the plants, he feels connected to his ancestors.

Planting native species on this sacred ground is a way for his people to return and heal –– much like a plant regenerates from its own seeds.

In reconnecting with the land and honoring the memories of those who survived, the plants offer both renewal and forgiveness for the past, he said.

“That’s just like the plants. When you plant them, the forgiveness comes by taking care of them, fertilizing them, watering them, so that way that plant will grow again.”

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation began its journey to ecologically and spiritually restore the site of the Bear River Massacre in 2018 when it purchased approximately 350 acres of their ancestral land just north of Preston, Idaho.

This is the second year the tribe has held a planting weekend at the site for volunteers, and the second time hundreds of individuals from both Utah and Idaho have dedicated their time to the effort.

The Bear River Massacre occurred during one of the coldest winters his ancestors experienced at the site, Pacheco said.

His people would camp in the valley where the attack occurred during winters because of the warmth the area provided with surrounding hot springs.

The tribe’s efforts to heal the site –– named “Wuda Ogwa,” which directly translates to “Bear River” –– are also meant to honor the plants that used to be abundant in the area and aided Pacheco’s ancestors in a variety of ways.

Because Wuda Ogwa is primarily a wetland habitat, many of the native plants that volunteers planted on Friday and Saturday were water-based and will help filter the river,

Pacheco said the tribe has also made efforts to build beaver analogs to hopefully bring beavers back to the area to perform their beneficial river duties.

As volunteers worked, Pacheco observed them and heard them share stories about the plants they planted last year and the friendships they have developed through the effort.

“You’re not just elevating the landscape. You’re elevating your inner spirits.”

Although the tribe has only involved the broader public in its project since 2023, a great deal of work has been done to prepare the land for the new plants.

For the past three years, the Utah Conservation Corps has been removing thousands of invasive Russian olive trees that have invaded Wuda Ogwa’s floodplain since the massacre.

This tree, according to UCC Northern Regional Coordinator Ben Borgmann-Winter, outcompetes the native vegetation the tribe hopes to revive in the area.

Russian olives also serve as “junk food” for wildlife, Borgmann-Winter said, as their olives are high in sugar and not nutritionally valuable.

In addition, these trees channelize and hold riverbanks in place, leading to various issues, including lowering the water table and decreasing moisture levels in the soil.

They also siphon an estimated 75 gallons each day from the Bear River that could ultimately make its way to the Great Salt Lake, Borgmann-Winter said.

“This is a really special space, a sacred space. Look at how many hundreds of volunteers are here right now from all over Utah, all over Idaho. It’s a pretty special project. We’re very honored to be involved in that.”

The tribe’s big-picture vision for the land includes planting 300,000 native shrubs and trees, cleaning up the land’s creeks, and restoring degraded agricultural fields into wetlands abundant with life.

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Photo: Terri Smith is the administrator for the Northern Arapaho Reentry Agency. (Chris Clements / Wyoming Public Media)

On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, a Northern Arapaho Tribal member is leading the charge against recidivism, which is 33% higher for Native Americans than other groups.

As Wyoming Public Radio’s Chris Clements reports, Terris Smith herself is an ex-inmate.

Driving her pickup through the community of Arapahoe, Terri Smith is the Northern Arapaho Reentry Agency’s sole employee.

Launched with a federal grant, the program helps Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal members readjust to post-prison life on the reservation … and stay out of jail.

Smith grew up here, and knows what it’s like to get caught up with addiction and the law.

She served six months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone.

Not only that, she lost her law license while in prison, and her position as chief judge of the Wind River Tribal Court.

“There’s gonna be a lot of people who still view that side of me, but I’m, I know I’ve done the work to get better, you know, I did my time, I went to treatment.”

She came home in 2021 and started over.

“I honestly think this job’s perfect for me right now. Like, because I’m getting a second chance. I want everyone to get that.”

Smith and her client Tremayne Thunder meet in a conference room at the local library. (Photo: Chris Clements / Wyoming Public Media)

Tremayne Thunder is a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, and Smith’s first client out of 15.

Last year, he was arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

Smith has helped Thunder make medical appointments, meet with his parole officer, and even find a place to live when he got out.

“She can relate to everything, as in, all of it, you know, like, the prison system, the probation system, being an addict, everything.”

State Sen. Affie Ellis (member of the Navajo Nation/R-WY) endorsed the programs.

“I think these programs are really important and long overdue.”

Reentry services like Smith’s are new to the Wind River Reservation … and to many other tribal nations.

Sen. Ellis says she supports Smith and the agency, but worries about its dependence on federal money.

“We’ve seen this time and again in Indian Country: great idea, great program. Here’s some funding. Tribes get something going, and then money runs out, they lose the grant, and then the program’s gone.”

Meanwhile, back in Arapahoe, Smith heads to the reentry agency office in Great Plains Hall.

She’s looked to reentry agencies in Oklahoma and Minnesota for guidance on how to run hers.

She’s also petitioning to get her law license back so she can help her clients even more.

“I got letters of recommendation from my attorney friends and from Lee [Spoonhunter], the councilman. I hope it goes well.”

Mature spring chinook salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to spawn in their natal freshwater rivers and streams. (Photo: Roger Tabor / USFWS)

Wild Chinook salmon are returning to the Upper Klamath River after the removal of four outdated hydroelectric dams.

Isobel Charle has more.

After 20 years of organizing and legal battles by the Yurok Tribe and other groups, 400 miles of historic salmon habitat have reopened.

Scientists are now monitoring the effects of the dam removal on salmon populations.

Yurok Tribe member Amy Bowers Cordalis says they’ve been astonished by how quickly the migrating fish are returning to areas that haven’t supported them for generations.

“And all these people are using Indigenous knowledge and marrying it with Western modern science to observe and to tell us how the river is healing. And it’s really a remarkable opportunity.”

Cordalis is also founder of the Indigenous conservation group Ridges to Riffles.

The data being collected details, among other things, fish spawning locations, their health, and their numbers – all of which will be crucial for predicting future populations.

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