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Trigger warning: Today’s National Native News contains a story about r*pe.

A Montana District Court has struck down three election laws that would have created barriers to voting weeks before the midterm election.

Eric Tegethoff has more.

Two of those laws presented especially high hurdles to Native Americans in the state. That includes a law that got rid of election day voter registration and another that banned third-party ballot collection.

Jacqueline De Leon is a staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, which represented plaintiffs in this case.

She says Judge Michael Moses found evidence that the Legislature intentionally discriminated against folks who rely on election day registration, such as Indigenous communities and students.

“It’s pretty disturbing that the Legislature went ahead and passed these laws despite the known impacts on Native Americans.”

The lawsuit was brought by Western Native Voice and tribes in Montana, including the Blackfeet Nation and Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

The third law struck down in the decision would have made it harder for students to register to vote by requiring them to use another form of identification in addition to their student ID.

De Leon says a court struck down a nearly identical ballot collection law in 2020 in Montana. She says many tribes don’t have reliable residential mail delivery.

“They’ve really come to rely on organizations that go out in vehicles that can access the poor roads and can pay for gas and can travel significant distances to circumvent poor mail service to pick up ballots for Native Americans.”

De Leon says it’s important to note that these laws are discriminatory and also, on the flip side, that Native Americans are not asking for extra accommodations.

“They’re not asking for more than what other Montanans are entitled to. What they’re asking for is for equal access and in the face of it being unequal, they’re asking that the tools that they use to overcome those inequalities not be targeted and taken away.”

A settlement has reportedly been reached between the U.S. government and victims of former Indian Health Service doctor Stanley Weber.

The Wall Street Journal reports, the government will pay somewhere between $1-2 million for each of the eight victims.

The lawsuit against the government claims the Indian Health Service ignored or tolerated Weber’s abuse.

Weber worked for IHS for more than 20 years.

The former pediatrician was convicted of r*ping and sexually assaulting children he treated in South Dakota and Montana.

In 2020, at age 71, Weber was sentenced to a string of life sentences in prison.

The settlement has not been finalized.

A Native women-owned business is now open on the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center’s business and cultural district in Albuquerque, NM.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held this week for Itality Plant Based Foods.

The business focuses on culturally relevant Pueblo foods.

Owner Tina Archuleta (Jemez Pueblo) is a social entrepreneur, community doula, and chef.

She says her life has always centered around wellness in Native communities.

“I started my business on foot selling enchiladas around Jemez and that just developed and developed and developed into what we see here today. It’s been a long journey, maybe 16 years of trying and dreaming of this. It’s plant-based Pueblo food. It’s culturally relevant food. Food that we know and love, but made completely plant-based no dairy, no eggs. no animal by-products.”

Growing up in Jemez Pueblo, similar other rural areas in the state, Archuleta faced the challenges of a food desert with difficulty finding healthy food options.

She started a catering business and delivered healthy foods to tribal communities and gas stations. Now, her grab-and-go is a storefront on a plaza owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico.

The plaza includes two hotels, a handful of eateries, and a bank, and is growing with a planned food co-op and other businesses.

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The Biden administration awarded nearly $75 million to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai, and Blackfeet Tribes, Tuesday to expand broadband access on tribal lands.

Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports.

A little over half of the Flathead Reservation has access to high-speed internet and that number is even lower on the Blackfeet Reservation at 23%, according to Broadband Now.

Tribal officials from both reservations say that’s about to change due to a massive infusion of cash from the infrastructure bill passed by Congress earlier this year.

The Blackfeet Nation is getting over $33 million for broadband buildout.

Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Secretary Lauren Monroe Jr. says roughly 4,500 homes on the Blackfeet Reservation will gain broadband speeds, but he says this is about more than just internet access for reservation residents.

“A lot of the stuff we’re focusing on is telehealth, online education systems, economic development, and things like that that would move the tribe forward in a direction of being competitive with the outside world.”

CSKT officials say the $41.5 million they are receiving will lay more than 300 miles of fiber optic cable, connecting hundreds of households to high speed internet.

The Blackfeet and CSKT grants are two of nearly 100 that have been given to tribes nationwide under the Internet for All program set up by the infrastructure bill, totaling $1.35 billion.

The Los Angeles Times reports the White House Tuesday said President Joe Biden is calling for the resignation of three Los Angeles city council members – Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, and Kevin de León – after leaked audio revealed them allegedly engaging in racist remarks.

The newspaper over the weekend reported on a conversation said to be of the council members making racist comments about a Black child and Indigenous Oaxacan immigrants.

Native American councilmember Mitch O’Farrell (Wyandotte Nation) is among those also calling for their resignation.

He spoke out against the remarks during a press conference Monday.

“A group of elected officials that engaged in racism against an African American child, that engaged in horrific things said about Indigenous peoples from Oaxaca, that eluded to the old tropes against the LGBTQ community, I don’t see how that presence continuing in city leadership is going to allow the city to move forward, to heal, to reconcile.”

Councilmember O’Farrell reiterated his view of the scandal during a council meeting Tuesday, which included protests from the public.

“This is a heavy and deeply tragic moment for this city. A court of public opinion has rendered a verdict. And the verdict is they all must resign (crowd cheers).”

O’Farrell says their presence on the council will continue to be an obstacle.

The controversy comes as President Biden is set to visit Los Angeles this week on a trip that was reportedly already planned.

The conversation is said to be from last October when the council members were discussing redistricting.

All three have reportedly apologized.  As of Tuesday, they were still on the council.

The Founders Museum in Massachusetts announced this week it’s returning more than 100 sacred Lakota items to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Associated Press reports.

Clothing, pipes, and other items believed to be linked to the Wounded Knee Massacre will return home to South Dakota.

A ceremony is being planned for the repatriation in November.

The repatriation process has taken decades.

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Authorities in Wisconsin and Michigan have now signed off on the Menominee Indian Tribe’s nomination of a site to the National Register of Historic Places.

Danielle Kaeding reports that’s drawn backlash from some who say it’s a veiled attempt to stop the Back Forty mine.

Historic preservation boards in Wisconsin and Michigan have approved the nomination of Anaem.

The site includes the Sixty Islands area where the tribe once lived on the Menominee River.

Menominee Tribal Chairman Ron Corn, Sr. says it contains the tribe’s dance rings and burial mounds.

“We’re trying to protect our historic and cultural places. We’re trying to protect, you know, the resting place of our ancestors.”

It’s also where Gold Resource Corporation wants to mine gold and other metals for the Back Forty project.

Michigan Republican and State Sen. Ed McBroom (R-MI) says listing the site would add more hurdles to the permitting process.

“Suddenly, they’re only up here to stop this mine. And this is just their latest trick in the bag to do so.”

Corn says the tribe is opposed to the mine, but insists the nomination is about protecting cultural resources.

A mining company executive says they will avoid disturbing archaeological sites.

Not In Our Honor members demonstrate outside the Kansas City Football stadium. (Photo: Rhonda LeValdo)

A group of Native people and their allies gathered outside the Kansas City Football Team’s stadium on Monday to call on the team to change its name and end the use of Native American imagery.

The NFL “Monday Night Football” game between Kansas City and the Las Vegas Raiders was played on Indigenous Peoples Day.

The Kansas City team released a statement in recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day saying in part that the team is having dialogue with local and national groups to identify ways to educate and raise awareness of American Indian communities.

Demonstrators says the statement to them holds no true meaning or value.

Gaylene Crouser is the Executive Director of the Kansas City Indian Center and is one of the organizers of the ongoing demonstrations held outside Arrow Head Stadium during football season.

“I thought their statement is just more propaganda that they put out there to make the fans believe that what they’re doing is ok by Native people and it’s not. And that’s why we have to come out here and make that stand, and every single time, so, that it doesn’t get lost in the rhetoric.”

Raiders’ fan Christian Cuevas came over to show his support.

“And I seen this on TV, that you guys want to change the name, but it’s real out here. And I support it, you guys should change the name. You don’t hear no other team called you know, the Raiders ***-backs or the other words you know. It’s pretty interesting and I believe you guys should change it.”

Demonstrators are members of Not in Our Honor, a group of Native leaders, tribal college students, and Native community members in the greater Kansas City area.

They advocate against the use of Native imagery in sports and media.

Their next demonstration is October 16.

In Native vote news, leaders of the five largest tribes in Oklahoma on Tuesday will publicly endorse Democratic candidate Joy Hofmeister for governor of Oklahoma.

Tribes have been at odds with current Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK) over a number of issues including the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the McGirt case, which reaffirmed reservation boundaries.

The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Choctaw, and Seminole Nations say Supt. Hofmeister respects tribal sovereignty and say she’s committed to working with Oklahoma’s nearly 40 federally recognized tribes.

In a statement to press, Stitt’s campaign says the governor has the endorsement of the Oklahoma State Fraternal Order of Police and the support of thousands of tribal members across the state.

The five tribes represent more than 800,000 tribal citizens.

The tribes say they’re looking to build safe communities, strong economies, a stable workforce, well-funded education, investments in infrastructure, health, wellness, families, and communities.

The tribes are making the endorsement during an event in Oklahoma City.

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Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations are taking place across the country.

Events are recognizing the contributions of Indigenous people and celebrating resiliency.

A number of cities and states official recognize Indigenous Peoples Day instead of the federal Columbus Day holiday.

The effort to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day has stalled in Massachusetts.

Lawmakers decided not to vote on the matter while supporters say they want to set the record straight on history.

Kathryn Carley reports.

While the Commonwealth still recognizes Monday as Columbus Day, backers of replacing it with Indigenous Peoples Day say this would be an important first step in honoring the history and resilience of Native peoples, and they say momentum is on their side.

In libraries, parks, museums, and town halls, supporters of Indigenous Peoples Day are gathering to celebrate the heritage of Native Americans.

Mahtowin Munro of the Massachusetts Statewide Indigenous Peoples Day Campaign says more young people are questioning the history of Columbus and Native Americans they’ve learned in school, and they want to know where Native Americans are today.

“It’s really important to have an understanding of local indigenous history, to understand whose land you’re on, to understand what tribal peoples live in your area, things like that.”

Munro says changing the holiday would help undo some of the harm done to indigenous people and replace it with something positive. More than 20 communities in the Commonwealth, including Boston, officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and supporters plan to refile their bill before the legislative session begins in January.

Munro thinks now more than ever, Indigenous voices are needed in the public sphere, especially in solving climate change.

She says many native communities are directly affected by the warming climate, due to their relationship with the environment, and that others can learn from their experience.

“But the problem has been that non-native people often don’t listen to native people, so this is a way of trying to improve some things and re-center things.”

Munro says there has been some pushback to the effort to replace Columbus Day.

She acknowledges that looking to the past can be painful, but says everyone can benefit from a better understanding of the nation’s history.

“Sprit Rangers”, the new children’s TV series, debuted on Netflix on Monday.

The series is about three Native siblings who protect a national park, which is their home.

Karissa Valencia (Santa Ynez Chumash) is the creator and showrunner.

“It’s coming to Netflix October 10, Indigenous Peoples Day. It’s an animated preschool show following a modern Native American family of park rangers who live in a magical national park.”

The show is produced by Native writes and is voiced by Native actors.

Ten episodes are now available to watch on Netflix.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has established a disaster hotline for Alaska residents impacted by the severe September storm.

The storm devastated Alaska Native communities displacing residents after their homes were flooded with water, hurricane force winds destroyed boats, and the lack of electricity wiped out freezers full of food for the winter.

According to FEMA, people impacted by the storm can apply for federal assistance by calling an Anchorage-based hotline or applying online.

Assistance includes grants for temporary housing, home repairs, and other disaster-related needs, which may not be covered by insurance.

Subsistence items lost or damaged may also be eligible for assistance.

The state has a separate application process.

People are being encouraged to apply for both federal and state aid.

Some people may be referred to the Small Business Administration for long-term, low-interest disaster loans for businesses and nonprofits.

The deadline to apply for the FEMA assistance is November 22^nd.

1-800-770-8973 or online at disasterassistance.gov.

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This election season, South Dakota is starting to implement voting-access reforms, in light of a recent settlement with tribes.

Advocates hope there’s proper follow-through, as Mike Moen reports.

In the settlement announced last month, the state agreed to designate a voting-rights coordinator, to ensure statewide compliance by agencies through mandatory training and monitoring.

It’s the result of a court ruling this spring that said the state violated the National Voter Registration Act.

Bret Healy of the Native American advocacy group Four Directions says the situation deserves scrutiny.

“The unfortunate thing is, even when things get won in court, there’s always recidivism, it seems to be, by public officials.”

He points to South Dakota’s long history of involvement in similar cases.

The latest one centered around lack of opportunities to register to vote at motor-vehicle and public-assistance offices near tribal lands.

The Secretary of State says a key change since then includes updated forms at driver’s license locations.

Other key reforms will be addressed after the November vote.

Healy stresses that restricting voting access for Native Americans is still a problem in many states.

His organization is assisting with a new lawsuit over voting opportunities for a tribe in northeastern Nevada.

“It is not a new story, but it’s an unfortunate one. We need to make sure that everybody’s got a shot at granting that ‘consent to be governed’ at the election ballot box.”

As for the South Dakota case, the state has until early December to show that core reforms have been implemented.

The Secretary of State says they’ve identified a person to be voting rights coordinator and are making preparations for the role to begin.

A new ABC drama premiered Thursday “Alaska Daily,” set at an Alaska newspaper.

It stars Hilary Swank as a hard-charging investigative reporter, fresh from New York City, but quick to see that her new state has far too many cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The series is fiction, loosely based on the Anchorage Daily News.

KTOO’s Rhonda McBride talked with two Alaska Native writers, who have worked on the show.

The common thread between Andrew MacLean and Vera Starbard: a desire to tell authentically Alaskan stories.

“Overall, I really hope people see in this, in some way, the Alaska that I love.”

Vera Starbard is a Lingít playwright, whose career took off when she was tapped to write episodes for the PBS hit children’s series “Molly from Denali”.

Her writing partner Andrew MacLean (Inupiat) is known for his award-winning 2011 film “On the Ice.”

And even though he’s familiar with making movies, MacLean says nothing prepared him for a TV series like this.

“Somebody compared it to building a train hurtling down a track and I think that’s kind of right.”

Even as the show premieres, MacLean and Starbard are hard at work on upcoming episodes for the season that are yet to be shot.

“It’s literally hour-by-hour, you don’t totally know what you’re going to be doing –so you might show up and think you’re going to work on Episode 9. And in fact, there’s an urgent thing they need to figure out for Episode 5 that they’re shooting right now, so we need to address that. You’re sort of figuring out what you’re doing as it comes.”

For the past few months, both Starbard and MacLean have been sequestered in what they call “The Writing Room” in downtown New York City, where they work with producers and writers they describe as some of the best in the business. But even so, it hasn’t been easy to teach them about Alaska.

“So many different communities. So many different peoples and tribes and ethnicities. And so many different lived realities. It can be overwhelming. It probably causes us to lose the most sleep. Vera: I was literally about to say, loose the most sleep over, yes.”

Maclean says millions of people will watch this show.

“And that’s a powerful thing. A powerful opportunity to educate and a powerful opportunity just to reach out and tell our stories in a truthful and authentic way.”

“I have such a strong belief — and it’s so much of the reason that I do the work that I do — that Alaska Native people have amazing, wonderful, beautiful, extraordinary things to give to the world,” added Starbard.

And that includes a sense of humor. Just before she left New York City to return home, the crew gave her a card with a word in Lingít.

“And it just says júk on it, which means ‘Go away’ in Lingít. I taught them too much.”

Vera Starbard finds it ironic that to tell stories about Alaska, she had to go all the way to New York City, where she was asked to treat the state as more than just a backdrop, but a character in its own right.

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The fight to protect Bears Ears National Monument in Utah continues, says a Native advocate.

In 2016, President Barack Obama designated more than one million acres of Bears Ears as a national monument.

President Donald Trump in 2017 then slashed protections and opened up lands to development.

In 2021, President Joe Biden returned protections to Bears Ears.

The state of Utah and two counties filed a lawsuit in August challenging Biden’s protections arguing its federal overreach and are asking for a congressional solution for conservation and management.

Navajo advocate Davis Filfred has been fighting for the protection of Bears Ears since President Obama was in office and through each new presidential administration.

Filfred says while he cannot comment on the litigation, he says a coalition of Indigenous people and tribes remain committed to protecting Bears Ears.

“It’s our culture, it’s our language, it needs to be protected.”

Filfred says the area, which has cultural sites and holds traditional and religious importance to tribes, is being threatened by ranchers, hunters, recreation users, and looters.

“We have lot of people who loot the place, hunting for pottery, we have grave diggers, these are big issues that are not (being exposed) out there, but it’s out there and it’s happening. These places, there are a lot of places where ATVs are forbidden people go in these areas. There’s lots of issues.”

Filfred says he knows the public will continue to access the area and asks for respect.

“Be mindful if you are coming into these areas, take nothing but pictures, and if you’re going to leave anything behind, no trash. The only thing you’re going to leave is your footprints.”

Filfred discussed the fight for Bears Ears during an event at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque on Wednesday.

A popular fishing site on the Columbia River for the Yakama Nation has been listed as a Superfund site by the federal government.

As Eric Tegethoff reports, the hard part comes next.

Toxins near Bonneville Dam at a place called Bradford Island prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to put the area on the National Priority List in March.

Laura Klasner Shira is an environmental engineer with the Yakama Nation Fisheries program. She says the area near Bradford Island is a toxic soup for resident fish, with chemicals like PCBs among the most hazardous.

“The take-home when you start to look at all the individual effects of each of these chemicals or chemical groups is that it really affects multiple systems, it affects multiple organs, it can cause cancer. It’s especially harmful to small children, fetuses and immune and thyroid-compromised persons.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dumped electronics near the island for decades, leading to the current toxic situation.

People are advised not to eat non-migratory fish up to a mile from the dam.

Last week, Columbia Riverkeeper hosted a webinar, featuring Shira and speakers from the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on what Bradford Island’s Superfund listing means for the region.

Shira says Yakama Nation took the lead in calling for Bradford Island to be placed on the National Priority List with the states of Oregon and Washington backing up those calls.

“It was very important to have NPL listing because we thought it could lead to a more protective cleanup. But we also realized that with NPL listing, it’s going to require a lot of work still.”

Shira says despite their leadership, the Yakama Nation has been cut out of recent discussions on cleanup.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the process has to go through regulators first, including the states, EPA, and Army Corps, but is inviting the public to be involved after that.

She says this is discouraging because it’s an ancestral site for tribal members, where fishing has gone on since time immemorial.

Shira also notes that fishing continues there, making cleanup a pressing issue.

The National Congress of American Indians sovereignty Run begins Thursday in Concho, OK.

It marks the start of the more than 1,800 mile relay from Oklahoma to California.

Runners are raising awareness of tribal sovereignty.

It will end in Sacramento for NCAI’s annual convention by October 31.

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Astronaut Nicole Mann (Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes) made history by becoming the first Native American woman to go to space.

Mann is part of the NASA Space-X Crew-5 which launched to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

This is Mann’s first spaceflight since becoming an astronaut in 2013. Mann is the spacecraft commander.

In August, she talked to National Native News about the mission.

“I will fly myself and three other crewmates. We will launch from Kennedy Space Center in a dragon spacecraft, which is built by SpaceX. We will take a day or so to get to the International Space Station and we’ll stay on board for about six months to execute our mission. Our spacecraft will stay attached the entire time and then at the end of the mission we’ll come back home and we’ll splash down off the coast of Florida.”

Mann says she’s proud to represent Native people.

“I think your background and your heritage is an important part of who you are and your family and the community that brought you up. I think it’s also important to then share with our communities, what amazing things our people we grew up with are executing, and what they’re doing. Hopefully there are some young Native kids that are looking and see what amazing things, amazing opportunities that they have in front of them, and a lot of those barriers that used to exist are being broken down.”

Mann is responsible for all phases of flight from launch to reentry. She’ll serve as flight engineer aboard the station.

The public can follow the SpaceX Crew-5 Mission at nasa.gov.

The Yurok Tribe hosted the first statewide policy summit on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People on Tuesday.

The Northern California Tribal Summit on MMIP brought together tribal leaders, law enforcement officials, and survivors, as well as state and federal lawmakers, and academic researchers.

Victim advocates were also in attendance.

At a press conference after the summit, Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers says addressing MMIP needs a holistic approach.

He adds that action needs to start now and include a number of partners- tribes, law enforcement, governments and the non-profit community.

Myers says MMIP did not happen overnight it’s an issue continuing for years. He urged the community to take MMIP seriously.

“These are our people, these are our children, they’re our families. I look forward to the actions to come.”

The summit examined the historical and present-day contributing factors to issues involving MMIP, and explored remedies to reduce risks to Indigenous people in the U.S.

Watch the Yurok MMIP Summit Press Conference

Members of the Yakama and Grand Ronde Nations asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to hold the federal government accountable for bulldozing sacred sites to add a turn lane to a road in Oregon near Mount Hood.

The Native plaintiffs are seeking repair of the site, including removing an embarkment, replanting trees, and allowing the reconstruction of a stone altar.

Plaintiffs say the area includes a burial ground.

Tribal members say they’ve long used land around Mount Hood to hunt and fish, and for burials and ceremonies.

The site at issue is along an old trading route now followed by U.S. Highway 26.

The tribal plaintiffs say they have long urged for protection.

In 2008, the government bulldozed the site for the turn lane.

After failed negotiations with the government to restore the site, they pursued claims in federal court arguing protections under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and environmental laws.

Lower courts have sided with the federal government.

They’re now taking their claims with Becket Law Firm to the Supreme Court.

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Tribal college students at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. recently held a walk and remembrance for those who did not return home from Indian boarding schools – and for survivors and their families.

Students walked the campus wearing orange shirts to recognize the experiences of Native people and celebrate Indigenous resilience.

The shirt also represents the notion “every child matters”.

The federally funded, church-run schools in the U.S. mirror residential schools in Canada.

This summer in Canada, Pope Francis apologized on behalf of the Catholic Church to Indigenous people in Canada for the abuses they suffered at residential schools.

Haskell student government association president Daryn Berryhill says the pope needs to do the same for Indigenous people in the U.S.

“I think it should be highly acknowledged for boarding schools all around the U.S. It’s like a very big impact that’s happened to Indigenous people everywhere and it impacted the future generations and here we are as of today we are our own people. And we have that history and I think anybody with a boarding school and other countries should all be involved and highlighted about the history of what happened.”

Berryhill says the event at Haskell not only raised awareness of boarding schools, but also brought students together for reflection, as Haskell has its own history as a boarding school.

“At the same time, you have to understand how sensitive the subject matter might be talked about, but it’s also like one of the main importance of Haskell Indian Nations University. I love the idea that we bring this up, we have a prayer and a song about it because it really brings us all together as of what happened in our history, and we are also embracing what happened here before it was a university.”

Similar events were held across the U.S. and Canada known as “Orange Shirt Day” on September 30^th.

In Canada, the statutory holiday National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is observed.

The Interior Department is planning to hold its next boarding school healing event in South Dakota.

Officials will gather testimony about the impacts of boarding schools at the October 15 event on the Rosebud reservation.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is traveling across the country hosting listening sessions as part of her investigation into federal Indian boarding schools.

The Biden administration is holding a government-to-government summit in Washington, D.C. Tuesday and Wednesday with tribal leaders.

The two-day event hosted by the Department of Energy is to explore tribal energy sovereignty.

Wahleah Johns is director of the agency’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs.

She says there are many opportunities for tribes to invest in clean energy.

“There’s opportunities in geothermal, there’s opportunities in small hydro and energy storage, there’s also looking at the built out of making sure that the supply chain is coming from the United States internally. There’s a lot of incentive for manufacturing and repurposing of former coal mine sites. Tribes, we all have a beautiful relationship with everything around us our mother earth, and our environment and many of the climate goals fit in line with the vision communities have in caretaking.”

Johns says the Energy Department will be managing more than $100 billion to rollout clean energy and the agency wants to make sure tribes are involved.

Tribal leaders at the summit will be interacting with top officials including Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

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Actress Sacheen Littlefeather, who famously refused an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973, has passed away, her family announced in a press statement.

Her death comes just two weeks after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicly apologized to Littlefeather and officially acknowledged the mistreatment and misrepresentation of Native Americans by the film industry.

Littlefeather was boycotted by Hollywood, personally attacked, and harassed after she gave a 60-second speech at the 45^th awards ceremony refusing Brando’s honor for his role in “The Godfather.”

The night in September in Hollywood was for reflection and healing.

Littlefeather says she stood up for Native rights for all Native people.

“It was critical for the psyche of all our relations to bring awareness and interrupt the negative interpretation and representation of Native American people by the film, television and sports industry.”

The event drew more than 800 people.

Some remember watching Littlefeather make history on TV while others have seen archived video.

Many say it was a monumental moment on television for Native people.

Anthony Morales is chief of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians.

“What it took her to do 50 years ago kind of inspires me because I am, for the tribe, I’m the one that likes to go out and challenge developers and you know, always for our people, and everything I do is for our people. Not only for my own people, but for our all our ancestors.”

Chef Crystal Wahpepah provided food for a private reception.

“The apology means a lot like when it comes to especially me being a Native chef and her, where to me personally, I feel like it’s long overdue but it’s her way of a gift to all of us.”

Native creatives in Hollywood both older and younger generations say Littlefeather made an impact.

Photo-Eugene Tapahe, IWMF

Actress Devery Jacobs of “Reservation Dogs.”

“Seeing Sacheen, it’s like Auntie Sacheen. She is like someone who has been on my television who I’d been watching clips of YouTube since I was a little girl and she’s even framed on my bathroom wall and so for her to stand up and stand with her community all across the theater it meant so much and it was just so hard to hold back tears throughout that entire thing tonight.”

Photo-Eugene Tapahe, IWMF

Actor Zahn McClarnon of “Reservation Dogs” and “Dark Winds.”

“She was one of our first that got up and that was involved politically and made Native Americans recognized within the film business. She was one of the first along with Will Sampson, Chief Dan George, Jay Silverheels, Sacheen came along and I think opened up some doors for people. Made a lot of people realize what was going on especially in the early 70s, Wounded Knee and the American Indian Movement.”

A letter of apology was read at the event, which was sent to Littlefeather by the Academy in June.

At a media roundtable, Littlefeather said of the apology that she was shocked and very fortunate to still be alive to see it.

She added “it’s never too late for an apology” and “it’s never too late for forgiveness.”

Littlefeather died of cancer at age 75 on Sunday in California.

*This story is supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation, Fund for Indigenous Journalists. Additional reporting by Rhonda LeValdo, Frank Blanquet and Eugene Tapahe

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is continuing to work with tribes on recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida last week.

FEMA Press Secretary Jeremy Edwards says the Biden Administration is committed to supporting Tribal Nations.

A major disaster declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida was approved last week, which makes federal funding available for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the disaster.

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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales

The Biden administration is holding a government-to-government summit in Washington, D.C. next week with tribal leaders to focus on clean energy.

The two-day roundtable hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy is for tribal leaders to meet with DOE officials and discuss how the agency can strengthen tribal energy sovereignty.

Wahleah Johns is director of the cabinet department’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs.

She says there are opportunities for tribes through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“The diversity and the unique situation and location of tribal lands and communities when it comes to energy, the needs are different. And you have small communities, small tribes and you have large tribes. Many times, there’s heavy energy burden in these communities where a lot of tribes are experiencing unreliable power or many don’t have access to electricity and here at DOE with new investment in clean energy rollout and expansion and building a clean energy economy, we want to make sure tribes are a part of this.”

Tribal leaders and senior Department of Energy leadership are expected to explore how tribes can use clean energy to enhance energy sovereignty, address climate issues, and build stronger economies.

The summit takes place October 4-5.

The Department of Energy will live stream the event.

A totem pole from the Lummi Nation in Washington state is traveling across the country as part of a bid to call for clean energy and environmental justice.

Eric Tegethoff has more.

The pole left the Lummi Reservation in mid-September and has made stops along the way, including in Seattle, George Floyd Plaza in Minneapolis, and in Pittsburgh, which hosted a ministerial meeting on clean energy last week. Douglas James is with Lummi Nation’s House of Tears Carvers, which crafted the 14-foot totem pole, and is traveling with it across the country.

“We’re just standing up for those that don’t have a voice – like the birds, the frogs, the salmon, the orcas.”

The totem pole is scheduled to reach Washington, D.C. this week.

James says the Lummi Nation first dedicated a totem pole to the victims of September 11th, two decades ago.

Wes Gillingham with Catskill Mountainkeeper in New York is traveling with the totem pole as well.

He’s critical of some alternative fuel sources being proposed, such as what’s known as “green hydrogen,” which has a reduced carbon footprint but still produces emissions.

He says Indigenous people should be at the forefront in the transition to clean energy.

“Listen to the voices of Indigenous leaders and communities that have been impacted historically. They are working on finding some of their own solutions; organic or sustainable agriculture to help reduce the emissions from the agricultural industry and industrialization of agriculture that’s taken place over the last 50 years.”

James believes it will take a monumental effort to beat climate change and ensure clean air and water for the next generation.

In Canada, September 30 marks the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, the federal statutory holiday created through legislative amendments made by Parliament in 2021.

The day honors children who never returned home and survivors of Indian residential schools.

It’s also a time for families and communities to reflect and heal.

Public commemorations are taking place across Canada to acknowledge and raise awareness of the painful history and ongoing impacts of the federally funded, church-run residential school system.

The day is also known as Orange Shirt Day, which is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day.

It promotes the concept of “Every Child Matters” to honor and remember children who endured residential schools.

Orange Shirt Day is a time to honour Residential School Survivors, spend time with the people you love, and to listen to youth about the future they want us to build together where every child matters pic.twitter.com/p8o21HUO5P

— Wab Kinew (@WabKinew) September 30, 2022

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