Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday from parties appealing Haaland v. Brackeen, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion that parts of the Indian Child Welfare Act are unconstitutional.

Four attorneys argued for tribes and the federal government on one side and for states and non-Indian foster parents on the other.

In advance of Wednesday’s arguments, hundreds of organizations, tribes, parents, and other interested parties weighed in by filing “friend of the court” briefs.

Victoria Wicks has more.

The long list of parties submitting friend of the court, or “amicus curiae”, briefs on this case includes 497 tribes and 62 tribal and Indian organizations. They say ICWA protects Native children’s wellbeing and preserves tribal nations.

Another brief comes from Robyn Bradshaw, a registered member of the White Earth Band of the Ojibwe Tribe. She outlined her protracted legal battle in Minnesota to hang onto custody of her granddaughter.

Another brief was written by a group of administrative and Constitutional law professors represented by Dallas attorney David Coale.

Coale said in an interview that there is sincere and compelling emotion on both sides, but the issue comes down to the law: does the U.S. Constitution empower Congress to pass laws such as ICWA to further the United States’ obligation to enforce treaties?

“There have been treaties made with Indian nations requiring certain commitments for taking care of children, the welfare of families. And pursuant to those treaties, Congress has enacted ICWA as something necessary and proper to carrying out the goals of those treaties.”

The other side sees it differently.

The state of Texas and seven individuals argue that ICWA is unconstitutional because it discriminates against non-Indian adoptive or foster parents and allows Congress to commandeer the functions of state courts and agencies to carry out ICWA’s practices.

Supreme Court justices will settle the issue in a future opinion.

Tribal leaders across the country are among those defending the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Leaders of the Cherokee Nation, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Oneida Nation, and Quinault Nation were among those to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

Leaders say the law keeps Native children with Native families.

They’re calling for the protection of ICWA to make sure children are not taken away from tribal communities.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. in a statement called ICWA a gold standard.

He says the law has kept Indian Nations whole and Indian children in tribal homes so they can retain their culture and identity.

Redistricting in North Dakota had mixed results for Native candidates in this week’s election.

Newly redrawn boundaries contributed to the ousting of two Native incumbents.

State Sen. Richard Marcellais (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa/D-ND) lost his seat in the state senate after seven terms. He’s the former chairman of his tribe, which has a pending legal challenge against the new district boundaries because it split the reservation’s voting power and combined it with non-tribal votes.

State Rep. Ruth Buffalo (MHA Nation/D-ND) also lost her seat. She was the first Native American woman elected to the North Dakota legislature. A change to her district diluted the urban base in Fargo that initially put her in office.

But a newly-created district ushered in the election of Lisa Finley-DeVille (MHA Nation). She was elected in the district that now includes the Fort Berthold reservation.

Democrats will hold just 15 of North Dakota’s 141 legislative seats.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

Incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt (Cherokee/R-OK) vanquished his Democratic challenger despite millions of dollars in negative ads and opposition from many of the state’s tribes.

Gov. Stitt is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, but was at odds with tribes starting early in his first term over gaming compacts and tribal sovereignty.

Oklahoma’s largest tribes publicly endorsed Stitt’s opponent, Joy Hofmeister, the former Oklahoma State Superintendent for Public Instruction.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Junior called Stitt the most “anti-Indian governor” in the state’s history.

Gov. Stitt said his election win is vindication that his agenda resonates with the state’s residents.

“Oklahomans stated loud and clear today that they are proud of how far we’ve come. Even with upwards of $50 million in dark money. Oklahomans — they knew the truth tonight”

Pre-election polls showed a tight governor’s race, but Stitt won handily by a double-digit margin.

Three Native American candidates for Congress in Oklahoma easily won their seats.

It’s the first time in nearly a century that any state has had three Native congressional representatives.

Josh Brecheen (Choctaw/R-OK) won the seat in the second Congressional district vacated by U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK).

Rep. Mullin won a seat in the U.S. Senate, the first time in almost two decades a Native politician has held a Senate seat.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (Chickasaw/R-OK) easily won re-election to his House seat.

In Alaska’s U.S. House race, U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) is ahead by a wide margin.

She became the first Alaska Native to serve in the House, after winning a special election this fall to fill out the remainder of the late-Congressman Don Young’s term.

To keep Alaska’s lone House seat, the Democrat faced off against two Republicans, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Nick Begich as well as Libertarian Chris Bye.

“This has been an amazing journey that we have all been on together in Alaska.”

Under Alaska’s new system of ranked choice voting, Rep. Peltola needs 50% to win – so she will likely need votes from those who ranked her as a second choice, a process she compares to traveling in Alaska.

“You go to the airport, knowing full well, it could be a five-hour delay before you actually are wheels up.”

Rep. Peltola has 47% of the vote, with Palin in second place, Begich in third, and Bye in fourth.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk/D-KS), who is one of the first Native American women to be elected to Congress in 2018, won a third term to representative Kansas.

As Rhonda LeValdo reports, her win comes after her original district was reorganized.

Winning about 55% of the vote, the race for the third district in Kansas, had the same 2020 candidates, Republican Amanda Adkins and Democrat Sharice Davids.

Tuesday’s race was called by the Associated Press just after 10 p.m. 

New voting districts drawn by the Republican-led legislature divided Kansas City, KS in half, costing Rep. Davids one of the areas where she performed best in 2020.

It also brought majority of three heavily Republican counties to the third district.

Rep. Davids says her campaign strategy was to talk to everyone in those counties to let them know where she stood.

She spoke about the political divide in her speech.

“I want to thank everyone in the third district including the new folks in the third district. I want to thank everyone for believing there is a better way to lead, a better way to govern. One that does not rely on assumptions or party lines. One that listens more than it speaks because I think that’s what this district deserves.”

Adkins talking points against Rep. Davids included inflation in the U.S. and its impacts on the public.

Adkins also talked about the failed amendment in a special election this year intended to restriction abortion.

Rep. Davids is the only Democrat in the Kansas delegation. And on the state level, in the Kansas Legislature, State Rep. Christina Haswood (Navajo/D-KS) won her election to serve another term.

Unofficial results show challenger Buu Nygren won the race for president of the Navajo Nation.

Nygren was ahead of current president Jonathan Nez by thousands of votes late Tuesday night.

In a speech live streamed from Window Rock, AZ, Nygren thanked Navajo voters saying they voted for change.

He talked about listening to the people and committed to working to improve infrastructure, public safety, create jobs and help veterans, elders and young people.

Nygren also celebrated the historic win of his running mate Richelle Montoya, who is set to be the first Navajo woman to serve in the top Navajo government office as vice president.

Nez led the tribe through the pandemic and was hoping for another term to continue to work on infrastructure and other needs.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

Election Day is here. Oklahoma is poised to do something it hasn’t done in more than 100 years – send three Native Americans to serve in Congress.

Incumbent Rep. Tom Cole (Chickasaw/R-OK) is heavily favored to be re-elected to his seat.

U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK) is giving up his House seat and leading in the race for U.S. Senate.

Josh Brecheen (Choctaw) is expected to win the race to fill Rep. Mullin’s seat.

All are Republicans and enrolled in Oklahoma tribes.

One incumbent in Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (Cherokee/R-OK), faces a stiff challenge for re-election, but he has been at odds with the state’s tribes since early in his first term.

The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Muscogee Nations are among the tribes that have thrown their support to his Democratic opponent.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. calls the governor’s race the most important in the state’s history.

Gov. Stitt has clashed with tribes over state gaming compacts. He’s also aggressively pursued legal actions to limit tribal jurisdiction.

At least ten Native candidates are vying for Congressional seats in the midterms. And many more are on the ballots in local and state races.

Two Native congressional incumbents are in tight races following redistricting.

Pre-election polling shows U.S. Rep. Yvette Herrell (Cherokee/R-NM) in a close race with her democratic opponent.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk/D-KS), who was among the first two Native women elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 is facing strong competition from her Republican challenger.

And in Alaska, U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (Yup’ik/D-AK) has been campaigning to keep her seat.

Rep. Peltola made history this fall becoming the first Alaska Native person to ever serve in Congress.

She won the seat held by late U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) in a special election.

The Democrat has broad support from Alaska Native communities and former allies of Rep. Young.

In an interview with National Native News in October, Rep. Peltola discussed serving Alaska Native and American Indian people, but also all people.

“It’s a serious job and I don’t see this as like as a stepping stone to anything else. I don’t see this as a springboard to anything else, I really just literally take this job for face value. I want to work hard for Alaskans.”

Rep. Peltola has been endorsed by the Alaska Federation of Natives, the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska.

Listen to Antonia’s interview with Rep. Peltola, which was featured during the special series “Alaska’s Native Voice”, live from #AFN2022

The race for top leader of one of the largest tribes in the United States – the Navajo Nation – is underway. Current President Jonathan Nez is facing challenger Buu Nygren.

The tribe, which has the largest reservation in the U.S. located in the Four Corners region, was hit hard by COVID-19.

Nez has led the tribe through the pandemic issuing a number of emergency measures.

Dropping mandates and fully opening the Navajo Nation are issues the candidates disagree on.

Nez says the tribe needs to continue to be cautious with COVID-19 and now with monkeypox.

“We are utilizing those lessons learned from COVID-19. Right now we are just monitoring the situation and I think eventually the government is going to have to step back because the government has taught everyone how to, what to do and what not to do.”

Nygren says the Navajo Nation is ready to fully reopen and move forward from the pandemic.

“The Navajo Nation, we’ve continued to stifle our communities, scare our people. Since I made my announcement on April 4, I said it’s about time we reopen 100%.”

As Navajo voters head to the polls, both say they’re focused on working hard for Navajo people to improve infrastructure, create jobs, and address social issues.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

Get out the Native vote efforts continue in Alaska, as Election Day nears.

A voting advocate with a non-partisan group to mobilize Alaska Native and American Indian voters, says ballots going to and from remote communities will likely travel on small airplanes.

That’s why Michelle Sparck, with Get Out the Native Vote, has been working with the Alaska Air Carriers Association to raise awareness about what she calls “precious cargo.”

Sparck says it’s important that pilots and airline agents recognize the packaging for election materials, so ballots don’t get pushed aside for other air freight.

“Let’s make sure all the players are engaged and involved — and that we’re all prepared to make sure our villages and our Native communities can vote with ease.”

Sparck works with people like Donna Folger of Tanana, a village in Interior Alaska to raise awareness of voting.

Folger plans on cooking breakfast near the polling site, as an incentive to get people to vote.

“They get to have a cup of coffee, pancake, scrambled eggs, bacon or spam.”

In other areas, like in Western Alaska, one group of tribes is offering other incentives.

The United Tribes of Bristol Bay plans to distribute a total of $20,000 to communities with the highest turnout.

The money will go to schools and cultural programs.

The Navajo Times reports Navajo Nation Council Speaker Seth Damon has resigned.

The paper reports Damon resigned Friday during a special council session.

The resignation comes as the speaker faced disciplinary action after a photo surfaced of him allegedly intoxicated in Las Vegas.

A bill was introduced to strip him of his leadership position after he did not immediately resign when the photo appeared in October.

The photo shows Damon slumped over and appearing inebriated while sitting in front a casino game.

The image circulated on social media. Damon called it “unauthorized.”

He admitted to the council he was intoxicated.

Damon released a statement accepting responsibility for the incident and apologized to the Navajo people.

Damon says he was on a family vacation in Las Vegas for the Indian National Finals Rodeo to support Navajo athletes when the photo was taken. And says he was not on official Navajo Nation business and spent no tribal funds.

The speaker leads the tribe’s legislative branch. Damon was in his second term.

The Navajo Times reports, Damon is running unopposed for the seat in the November 8^th election for a third term.

He is reportedly in rehab and will not be present when he’s likely to be re-elected Tuesday.

President Joe Biden has appointed Navajo Nation First Lady Phefelia Nez to serve as a board member for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it’s in recognition of her broad support of Indigenous communities.

Nez is a longtime advocate for education, the arts and the retention of Navajo language and culture. She was raised on Hopi Partition Land in Big Mountain, Arizona in a traditional hogan.

Nez holds an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Northern Arizona University and for 15 years has served on various boards, task forces and commissions.

According to the White House, as first lady she’s been an advocate for restoring and strengthening homes and families.

In a statement, Nez says she’s humbled to join the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees and that performing arts are essential to the well-being and health of all communities.

Nez was among seven appointees made by President Biden last month. They include businesspeople, philanthropists, government officials and others.

The board provides guidance for the organization that hosts upwards of 2,000 performances a year and is the home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

It’s also a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy who was instrumental in the center’s creation.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has received grant money to help restore wetlands on the reservation that are being affected by drought conditions.

Spokane Public Radio’s Steve Jackson reports.

In recent years, low precipitation has increased the dry conditions on the Coeur d’Alene reservation.

Tribal Fisheries Manager Angelo Vitale has worked for the tribe for 27 years.

“And I’ve seen these small streams go dry in the summertime, some of them for probably the first time in recorded history, and these are the same streams that support spawning for important species like redband and cut throat trout.”

Now the tribe is receiving a $500,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to improve conditions of wetlands that have been drying up.

Wetlands can mitigate the impacts of drought by absorbing and retaining excess water during wet periods and returning it to the water table when it’s dry.

Six projects aim to improve conditions in sections of Hangman, Lake, and Benewah Creeks.

Vitale says the work will focus on restoring some of the natural character of streams, disrupted for years by human interventions.

“And in a place like that, we’re plugging all of the drainage ditches, restoring the stream to its historical location in the valley bottom, and that’s going to help to re-wet this valley bottom sponge and recreate that stored reservoir of water.”

Work will also be done to preserve existing beaver dams or replicate them with wood and brush.

Besides ensuring fish will have more available water, the restored wetlands will provide habitat for migrating waterfowl, and help plants considered important to the tribal culture like water potato, camas, cottonwood and aspen, thrive.

Tribal leaders discussed the impacts of climate change at the National Congress of American Indians annual convention Thursday in Sacramento, CA.

As Rhonda LeValdo reports, tribal communities located in coastal areas say their communities are going underwater.

Tribal nations on the west coast are being affected by climate change in regard to coastal erosion.

The Shoalwater Bay Tribe in Washington has seen lands eroded by rising waters. 

Charlene Nelson, tribal chairwoman says their decision to move the tribes is in the best interest of the people.

“I think they’ll like it. I think they will be able to have more say in what’s being built. I think it can become kind of exciting and it will be for them and anybody who comes after them because that’s what we need to think about. We want our tribe to survive. All tribes are survivors and we want our tribe to survive.”

Mike Williams Yupiit Nation of Akiak Native Community in Alaska explains how warmer temperatures affect his people.

“Fall time is when we see a lot and we just had a recent Merbok disaster impact and we prepared for it. I think we seen like 30 yards of erosion during that recent storm.”

Work is being done in the federal government to streamline applying for aid in these natural disasters for tribes, which can’t come fast enough.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

Blackfeet traditionalists and conservation groups on Wednesday appealed a federal court decision that reinstated a controversial lease in the Badger-Two Medicine.

Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports, this is the latest court filing in a decades long battle over oil and gas development in the traditional homeland of the Blackfeet Nation in northwest Montana.

The roughly 165,000-acre Badger-Two Medicine is a section of the Lewis and Clark National Forest along the Rocky Mountain Front.

The landscape is sacred to the Blackfeet people and is popular with recreationists and hunters.

A decades-long legal battle over dozens of oil and gas leases within the Badger took a major step in 2016, when the federal government canceled any remaining leases, including one owned by Louisiana-based Solenex.

In September, a federal court ruled that Solenex’s lease must be reinstated, saying the federal government lacked the authority to cancel the lease.

The Pikuni Traditionalist Association, which preserves Blackfeet culture, along with several conservation groups appealed that ruling to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. They maintain that like many other leases issued in the region in the 1980s, the Solenex lease lacked an environmental assessment and was therefore issued illegally.

Gary Farmer, seen here performing at the #WaterIsLife Festival in Duluth, MN on September 4, 2022, spoke during a NCAI convention panel about cannabis this week.

A cannabis policy session at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) annual convention in Sacramento, California, was well attended Wednesday.

The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association spoke about advancing tribal Sovereignty and Indian Self-Determination in cannabis.

The discussion looked at strategies and priorities in federal cannabis reform.

ICIA’s founder Rob Pero says the turnout for the session shows there’s much interest in the cannabis industry in Indian Country.

“Well, it’s been changing for years. What we want to do at ICIA is provide a platform for people to actually have discussions about it like who’s doing what, who needs help here, who needs help there and how can we fill the voids and our development of the cannabis industry in general. The narrative is ramping up and that fact that we had such great participation at NCAI, we are really excited about the future.”

The session featured special guest Gary Farmer.

The musician and actor is known for his role as Uncle Brownie in the TV series “Reservation Dogs”.

Farmer talked about his support for the cannabis industry.

NCAI continues Thursday with focus on water rights, the Indian Child Welfare Act, Indian education, climate resilience, the Farm Bill, and how to resolve tribal-U.S. disputes.

Higher education leaders, especially advocates for tribal colleges and universities, say they hope to see strong turnout for the midterms.

Mike Moen has more.

Cheryl Crazy Bull with the American Indian College Fund says because most of these schools are on reservations, they can’t rely on state support, only federal funding.

She says they hope to see voters research candidates who would make more funding a priority, so these schools could have more of a firm financial footing.

“We need people in Congress who support Native higher education, so that we can get the kinds of resources that we need.”

She says additional support could also help address gaps in Native students seeking financial aid.

During the pandemic, Congress has provided emergency relief to tribal colleges. But leaders testified before federal lawmakers that their funding levels per student remain inadequate, typically falling below the authorized level $9,000.

In Minnesota, Jacob McArthur leads economic development for the White Earth Tribal Government. He attended his area’s community college before moving on to a mainstream university. He says tribal schools or TCUs serve as a great bridge, especially for non-traditional students, whether they finish at another school or fill needed roles within their community.

“Our TCUs are really important for workforce development. It isn’t just about the two-year degree and putting you on the pathway towards a four-year degree.”

According to the Gallup Purdue index, nearly 75% of tribal college alumni said they were employed in areas related to American Indian communities or tribal lands, and many work directly with their tribe.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

First Nations groups and individuals have filed a $1 billion class action lawsuit against the government of Manitoba and the Attorney General of Canada.

As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the lawsuit is related to the child welfare system in the province.

The action was brought by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the First Nations Family Advocate Office, three First Nations communities, and three individual plaintiffs.

They allege the child welfare system in Manitoba failed the children, their families, and First Nations.

Cora Morgan is the First Nations Family Advocate with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“You know the outcomes for our children in care have been homelessness, incarceration, mental health issues.”

Morgan says her office works to reunite families. She says it’s been successful at reuniting or preventing the apprehension of more than 4,000 children, but there are many still within the system.

The lawsuit covers children living off reserve who were taken by Child and Family Services and placed into foster care going back to 1992.

Of the 11,000 children in care in Manitoba, about 80% are First Nations.  

Plaintiffs also want an end to the practices and policies that result in First Nations children being removed from their families.

Morgan says the province has seen 150 years of what she calls stolen children, and the lawsuit finally gives a voice to those young people, and to parents and to First Nations communities.

The U.S. Census Bureau held a tribal consultation this week and a session at the National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention taking place in Sacramento, California.

The agency is sharing information and planning for the 2030 census.

But as Rhonda LeValdo reports, some NCAI attendees say, in tribal communities, there’s still a lack of trust of the federal government.

Counting the Native American population has had problems and Oglala Lakota citizen Cecilia Fire Thunder says the U.S. Census still needs help in engaging with tribes individually.

“We’ve not done a good job in the past census really counting all of our people from our communities, and so every year we talk about how can we do it differently? Today, the same thing. They throw all these PowerPoints up there, but no where did it say this community said this, this community said that. Sometimes the people don’t want to be counted because they said nobody pays attention to them. So, how do we reframe that? That their medicine at the health clinic is dependent on IHS, their children’s education at the tribal school is dependent of the Department of Interior, BIE. How do we create a framework for them to understand why it’s important to be counted?”

The U.S. Census is trying to include more Native voices in the process.

Dee Alexander, tribal affairs coordinator, explains.

“We’ve got tribal specialists we’ve hired full-time that are out there, boots on the ground, meeting with tribes talking about upcoming surveys. We’re also doing tribal consultation on the 2020 data that’s coming out, and so we’re constantly in communication with the tribes of what’s going on with the census.”

With a significant increase from 5.2 million to 9.7 million of Native Americans/Alaskan Natives and the next census eight years away, they are working to make sure every person is counted.

With less than a week before Election Day, Get Out the Native Vote, a non-partisan effort in Alaska, is hosting an absentee polling station this week in Anchorage.

Located at the Cook Inlet Tribal Council building, any registered Alaskan voter can complete their ballot at the location prior to November 8 from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

The National Congress of American Indians is hosting its annual convention this week in Sacramento, CA.

A group of Native people from disenrolled tribes came out to draw awareness to the disenrollment issue.

As Rhonda LeValdo reports, they’re asking the Native rights organization and its tribal membership to listen to them.

The general assembly kicked off Monday afternoon, as a group gathered outside the convention center to protest tribal disenrollment.

About 20 people advocated their cause to NCAI attendees who walked by them. They’re calling on NCAI to listen to their stories on disenrollment.

Cam Foreman explains why they felt the need to be there.

“To say that you support tribal sovereignty while you won’t condemn the desecration of ancestors, the banishment and abuse of elders who are sacred, that’s what NCAI says, to protect the Indian Child Welfare Act, yet children are being denied their right to belong, banished from their tribal communities. It’s not a membership issue it’s a civil and human rights matter and it needs to be condemned. It’s gone on for too long. This is just a small percentage, a tiny bit of the 11,000 that have been disenrolled from their tribes, homes and communities.”

Meanwhile, inside the convention, during the first general assembly, NCAI President Fawn Sharp conveyed the message that the conference was focusing on tribal sovereignty issues with the theme “Defending Sovereignty since 1944.”

“This year’s annual convention was going to be all about defending tribal sovereignty, that was before Castro-Huerta, that was before so many decision coming out of the U.S. Supreme Court. We knew that we have to gather all of Indian Country to strategically talk about tribal sovereignty.”

Protesters disagree and think the concept is disingenuous because they’ve been officially ejected from their tribes. 

The sovereignty theme is taking center stage at this year’s convention.

A sovereignty run from Oklahoma to California ended in Sacramento as the convention started to raise awareness on attacks on tribal sovereignty, and the recent reinstatement of Jim Thorpe’s 1912 Olympic wins

The National Congress of American Indians told National Native News it does not have a comment to provide at this time regarding tribal disenrollment.

The speaker of the Navajo Nation Council faces disciplinary action after a photo surfaced of him allegedly intoxicated during a recent family trip.

As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, a bill has been introduced that would strip him of his leadership position.

The photo shows Navajo Nation Council Speaker Seth Damon slumped over and appearing inebriated while sitting in front a gambling machine in Las Vegas, NV.

The image, which Damon called “unauthorized,” recently circulated on social media.

He told the council that he was, in fact, intoxicated and in a statement said he accepts responsibility for the incident and apologized to the Navajo people. But he stopped short of stepping aside as speaker and will instead let council delegates decide his fate.

Legislation introduced last week would put Damon on indefinite unpaid leave and require the approval of two-thirds of the council.

If it’s passed, chairs of four council committees will rotate as speaker pro-tempore.

Damon was on a family vacation to Las Vegas for the Indian National Finals Rodeo to support Navajo athletes when the photo was taken.

He said he was not on official Navajo Nation business at the time and spent no tribal funds.

Damon leads the tribe’s legislative branch and is in his second term as speaker.

He’s running unopposed for to his seat on the council in the November 8 election.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

A recent two-day meeting in Alaska revealed big federal budget shortfalls for marine mammals management in the state.

Emily Schwing has more.

The Indigenous People’s Council for Marine Mammals (IPCoMM) meets twice a year.

Scientists from federal agencies, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, join members to discuss marine mammal populations and subsistence resources across the state, but IPCoMM members say the federal agencies aren’t doing enough.

“It’s 100% a lack of funding and a lack of staffing on the government’s part.”

Raven Cunningham manages a Marine Mammal Program in a part of the state where a once-threatened sea otter population is now thriving. That’s having big impacts on the shellfish people gather for food.

Cunningham says stock assessments for subsistence resources and population surveys on sea otters haven’t happened in over a decade

“So, when we look at our take, as subsistence users, we can’t look at how that’s affecting the population or whether we need to take more or less.”

That was news to U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). He says federal management agencies are supposed to be counting animals, like sea otters, regularly.

“Part of that is just their basic job. The Fish and Wildlife Service is supposed to be doing that already. Where the funding can be a little challenging is for these commissions.”

IPCoMM is made up of 18 marine mammals commissions and councils from across the state, and they all receive federal funding.

Ben Payenna sits on the Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council, which represents 15 Alaska Native tribes that harvest polar bears for subsistence. He says the group wants to create effective and cooperative management plans.

“If we don’t have the funding to do it, we just can’t. That gets a little bit frustrating when we are meeting to serve a purpose, but then we can’t fulfill our duties.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service declined to comment, but during IPCoMM’s meeting, a scientist with the agency said they were “out of money for just about anything.”

He says any funding for things like population surveys and stock assessments would have to come from Congress.

A new data project in North Dakota shows Native vote disparities when it comes to travel and cost.

Mike Moen reports.

The group North Dakota Native Vote teamed up with Joseph Robertson, a Native data scientist, on the initiative.

The resulting interactive web feature factors in a range of sources, including Census figures, recent gas prices, and available voting infrastructure.

Robertson says they were able to estimate the costs and travel times for someone from certain tribal areas just to cast a ballot.

He says the findings reveal real obstacles.

“We did a quick analysis through the Porcupine community on Standing Rock – and that trip to get to the post office or the courthouse in Fort Yates is about 60 miles roundtrip.”

When factoring in summer gas prices, the cost for that voting trip is more than one-thousand dollars per-100 people. There’s added costs if they’re mailing in their ballot or using a P.O. box.

North Dakota Native Vote’s executive director Nicole Donaghy says they’ve been able to engage with some state agencies about voting access, but hopes the data turns more heads.

“Access to the ballot is not equitable for people living on reservations. Now, that also could apply to communities that are not on a reservation that are very rural. And so, I think that the more knowledge that our officials have the better.”

Donaghy says the partnership brings data and important social matters together in a very productive way.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has issued an executive order to investigate cases of missing people in a way that’s more empathetic to victims and families.

As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it’s part of a federal multi-state initiative to address a crisis gripping Indian Country.

Nez and other tribal leaders met with FBI officials and prosecutors from Arizona, New Mexico and Utah for the plan’s signing ceremony.

According to officials, the guidelines are part of a response plan both to find missing people and to help victims and families heal.

They hope it’ll serve as a template for the Navajo Nation to share data across local, state, and federal jurisdictions and collaborate on cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Nez says his order is designed to set a tone of hope and pioneer a new era of cooperation between the tribe, U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI.

For years, records of missing Native Americans have been incomplete or outdated.

In July, the FBI’s Albuquerque office launched a project to create a more dynamic and comprehensive list of missing people on the Navajo Nation. As of October 11, it included 192 names.

The Navajo Nation plan is among the first of 11 pilot programs begun in Indian County through the U.S. Attorney General’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative.

The more than 27,000-square-mile Navajo Nation spans parts of northern Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums ended its conference Thursday with the largest attendance of more than 1,200 participants in Temecula, CA.

Rhonda LeValdo has more.

The theme of ATALM was intertwined cultures-stronger together, and many attendees agreed.

Gena Peone, Spokane Tribe and archivist with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, says this conference helps tribal nations with the storytelling aspect unique to them.

“I just think it’s important for each tribe to be able to tell their own stories and that there just hasn’t been a good forum for people to come together and tell that in a collective way. So, as more money becomes available, funding, you get more expertise because you have more tribal members that are pursuing education or experiences that deal with cultural preservation, exhibits all of those things and storytelling. I think everyone wants to assert their own stories.”   

Rick West, ATALM Board of Governors says they always want to highlight the work of Native people and the conference was successful in getting attendees to share their ideas. 

“I want ATALM always to be a generator…in making our voice heard, telling our own stories, keeping those stories, having them speak both to the past and probably even as important to the future, that’s what I want. I want ATALM to be always be identified with accomplishing those kinds of objectives.” 

ATALM 2023 will be held in Oklahoma City, OK next year.

Tribal leaders in California will discuss challenges in their repatriation efforts at an informational hearing at the state legislature next week before the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs.

Leaders are also expected to provide input about a proposed council under the oversight of the California Natural Resources Agency.

The council will evaluate projects and the distribution of $70 million to increase tribal access and co-management of public lands, and recommendations for returning tribal ancestral land.

The hearing will take place Thursday in Sacramento.

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