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The Blackfeet tribal court has released the names of the nine people who were recently arrested on drug charges at the home of the Blackfeet Nation tribal chairman. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports, the arrests came after the Blackfeet Nation declared a state of emergency following a series of fentanyl overdoses and deaths. 

The Blackfeet Tribal Court’s chief justice initially sealed the case following the arrests last week. The court and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Blackfeet Tribe Josh Lamson unsealed the case, releasing the names of the nine individuals arrested at the home of Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Chairman Timothy Davis. Six of those arrested share the Davis last name. Charges range from criminal sale and possession of dangerous drugs to child endangerment.

Chairman Davis was not home when law enforcement searched his residence and has not been arrested. In a text message to Montana Public Radio Davis said quote, “this terrible miscarriage of justice is a sham and was fake news and a political witch-hunt against me and my family,” end quote.  All eight who were charged pleaded not guilty. A pretrial date has been set for later this month.

A Montana court blocked two state laws on Wednesday that advocates say hinder Native American voting rights. One measure would have ended Election Day registration, which Native voters rely on to cast votes. The second measure would have blocked paid ballot collection. Native voters on rural reservations often rely on the service of ballot collectors. The Montana 13th Judicial District Court of Yellowstone County granted the preliminary injunction.  The challenge to the laws was by the Native American Rights Fund, the ACLU of Montana, the American Civil Liberties Union and Harvard Law School’s Election Law Clinic on behalf of two Native vote organizations and four tribes.

A number of Alaska tribes are backing U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. One of the tribes supporting Jackson is the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson says that, while she doesn’t have the most experience in Indian Country law, Jackson is by far the most qualified candidate nominated to the Supreme Court in recent years.

“So, I think her given aptitude for it is a plus for us. You know, we want people to adjudicate on the letter of the law and we think the letter of the law favors a lot of the tribal cases.”

Other tribes and tribal organizations across Alaska have sent letters of support to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, including the Association of Village Council Presidents, which represents 56 tribes in Western Alaska. The letter states that her record of fairness makes her a good choice for the Supreme Court. Jackson also has support from Kawerak, Inc., Hydaburg Cooperative Association, Craig Tribal Association, Native Village of Eyak, Akiak Native Community, Noorvik Native Community and Tanana Chiefs Conference. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced this week that she would support Jackson’s nomination. Jackson is expected to be confirmed Thursday, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

The National Native American Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday it received a grant to create an exhibit at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City. Interviews of people inducted into the hall of fame will be used in an oral history exhibit. Part of the hall of fame’s mission is to educate the public about contemporary Native Americans by sharing their stories. The exhibit is expected to open in November. The award is from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. 

 

 

 

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Navajo Nation leaders are pressing members of Congress to reauthorize and expand benefits for western residents sickened by radiation exposure during the Cold War. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, the Radiation Compensation Exposure Act is set to expire in July.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez met with several members of Congress in Washington, D.C. last week to advocate for the law known as RECA. It was enacted in 1990 and provides compensation for people called downwinders who’ve experienced health problems as a result of past nuclear detonations and working in the uranium industry.

A bill was introduced last year to renew the benefits, increase payments and expand the geographical areas covered by the law. President Nez says the reauthorization is crucial for calculating how much radiation exposure was endured by former uranium mine, mill, and transportation workers, many of whom are tribal members. While Navajo officials support the law’s proposed expansion, they want Congress to go even further to include additional categories of uranium workers and more types of cancers and illnesses and increase individual payments to at least $200 thousand dollars.

The federal government conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and 1962. Many residents in parts of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and other states and tribal lands have developed lung, thyroid, and other forms of cancer, along with leukemia and other long-term conditions.

The top leader of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma discussed the tribe’s legal fight against drug makers and distributors involving opioid claims. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. testified Tuesday in a U.S. House subcommittee hearing titled “The Opioid Crisis in Tribal Communities.”    

Hoskin told lawmakers, for more than two decades, opioids have impacted the tribe’s economy, health services, schools, and families. He says hundreds of millions of pills have flooded the reservation, and the tribe is holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for contributing to the opioid crisis. Five years ago, the Cherokee Nation sued drug makers and distributors. In 2021, the tribe settled with three distributors for $75 million, and earlier this year a settlement was reached with Johnson and Johnson for $18 million. Claims remain pending against pharmacy chains. Hoskin Jr. says settlement money will help increase investments in mental health treatment and substance use disorder.

“My administration plans to put $15 million of our settlement dollars towards the construction of drug treatment facilities over the next three years. A minimum of $15 million. These treatment centers will help bring about transformational change and provide some measure of justice by bringing healing to our people using funds from the very industry that injured us.”

Hoskin says the settlements will not be enough to end the opioid crisis. He says the federal government needs to fulfill its trust obligations to tribes and fully fund these types of recovery programs. The hearing was held in the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Other witnesses were from tribal health organizations and the National Border Patrol Council.

The Alaska Federation of Natives is expressing gratitude to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for backing federal Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. This week, Sen. Murkowski said she will support the confirmation of Judge Brown Jackson after holding a series of meetings with the nominee. The Alaska Federation of Natives on Tuesday thanked Sen. Murkowski for her commitment to the federal judicial nomination process. Native organizations and tribes have been closely following the confirmation process stressing the need for the next justice to uphold sovereignty, treaty rights and federal trust responsibilities. Judge Brown Jackson did express knowledge of tribes during confirmation hearings. She’s expected to be confirmed this week.

 

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Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) has asked federal officials to start a process that will swap nearly 37,000 acres of state land on the Flathead Indian Reservation for federal lands elsewhere in the state. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports the swap is part of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ federal water settlement.

In a letter to the secretaries of the U.S. departments of Interior and Agriculture, Gianforte called for talks between the state, CSKT, and the federal government to begin. As part of the CSKT water compact passed by Congress in 2020, the parties have five years to complete the land exchange. Many of the state trust lands on the Flathead Reservation are difficult to access and are primarily used for agricultural and livestock grazing leases. Gianforte says the state aims to trade those to the tribe in exchange for land from the federal government with more access and ability to generate revenue. The final say on which state lands on the reservation will be swapped for federal properties will be up to the state Land Board.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently visited a First Nation in British Columbia, where an investigation is underway into deaths from former residential schools.  As Dan Karpenchuk reports, Trudeau also came with money for support.

Trudeau says the nearly $3 million dollars will go to continue support healing for those who survived the school and for families that did not. Ottawa already provided nearly one and a half million dollars earlier this year for research efforts into the deaths and disappearances of children who attended the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School near the Williams Lake First Nation, in British Columbia. Trudeau says there will also be more money to come.

“It’s not just the history of Indigenous people, it’s Canada’s history. And it is on all of us to be part of the learning, the grieving, the truth and the reconciliation.”

Trudeau says it’s also important to ensure that everything is done to make sure that the information, all of the records be made fully available to the community, to find the truth and to honor the memory of all the lives that were lost. Trudeau said he was also there to listen to the elders and community members about what the path forward looks like. He also met with school survivors and others at Williams Lake, including the chief and council members. Earlier this year the possible remains of more than 90 bodies were found on the site of the former schools.  The St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School closed in 1981.

A sacred stone (Iⁿ ‘zhúje ‘waxóbe) in a park in Lawrence, Kansas, is being returned to the Kaw Nation. The 25 ton stone is culturally and spiritually significant to the tribe. In 1929, it was removed from its natural location at the confluence of two creeks, and dedicated to pioneers as part of the city’s 75th anniversary. Kaw citizens have been requesting its return for years. The Kaw Nation, the city and community organizers are working with the University of Kansas to ensure safe relocation of the stone to land held by the Kaw Nation. On Monday, the Mellon Foundation announced a grant to help support the stone’s relocation, build infrastructure at the natural site and develop an interpretive program there, and at what will be the stone’s former site in Lawrence. The grant is among four new monuments projects. In 2020, the foundation launched the monuments project to assess monuments across the U.S., and to preserve the stories of those who have often been denied historical recognition.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York is considering a name change. Tribal voters will have an opportunity to approve or reject the proposed new name “Akwesasne Mohawk Tribe” in a referendum in June. Years ago, tribal citizens renamed their zip code to Akwesasne.

 

 

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A new bill just signed in Washington state creating an alert system for missing Indigenous people could be a model for other states.

The Olympian reports the bill signed by Governor Jay Inslee is the first to establish an alert system for missing Indigenous people. The bill was introduced by State Representative Debra Lekanoff, the only Native person in Washington’s legislature, and was created in consultation with area tribes.

The bill creates a hotline to take in reports from the public, and alerts law enforcement officials and sends out public messages when Indigenous people go missing.

The system is similar to the Amber Alert system for children who have been abducted. The Olympian reports State Attorney General Bob Ferguson says other states have already contacted him about implementing similar legislation elsewhere.

The Navajo Nation is considering repealing its ban on same-sex marriage. Emma Gibson from the Mountain West News Bureau has more.

The Navajo Nation lies within Arizona, Utah and New Mexico and has approximately 400-thousand members. And almost 20 years ago, it banned same-sex marriages.

Alray Nelson heads the LGBTQ Indigenous advocacy group, Navajo Nation Pride. He says the ban has resulted in problems for partners who want to adopt, build a house, have joint health issuance and more.

“In order for us to really feel safe in our own communities living on the Navajo Nation. The Nation has to open up those doors and send a message to the rest of the country that the largest tribal nation in the United States is inclusive. And you’re a part of our family.”

He estimates out of the 574 federally-recognized tribal nations in the U.S., there are about a dozen bans still in place.

Next, the proposal to repeal the ban will go to one of the tribal government’s committees.

A tribe in Connecticut is supporting a town’s continued use of a mascot that includes an arrowhead and a profile of a Native man.

NBC Connecticut reports the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation passed a resolution recently to support the city of Derby using the nickname “Red Raiders” and the logos, as the town tries to retain funding that is jeopardized by its use of the mascot and imagery for local school athletic teams.

According to a resolution passed by the tribal council, it supports the use of the images “as a public means of sustaining Native American culture and history of Connecticut’s first citizens.”

Under a law passed last year, Connecticut municipalities whose athletic teams use Native American names or mascots must get written support from a state or federally recognized tribe. Failing to do so means possibly losing grants funded by revenue from the state’s two tribal casinos.

Tribal and federal officials say an agreement to hand over more than 400 acres of land to the Rappahannock Tribe in Virginia is a triumph of collaboration among the tribe, the federal government, and private land owners.

The agreement returns a small portion of the tribe’s ancestral homeland along the Rappahannock River. The tribe will manage conservation and management with the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service.

In a statement, Interior Secretary Debra Haaland said the department looks forward to drawing on tribal expertise and Indigenous knowledge toward managing the area’s wildlife and habitat.

The agreement creates a permanent conservation easement that restricts how the sacred land can be used.

New DNA evidence has confirmed what a tribe in California has always maintained: That it is not extinct.

USA Today reports an anthropologist wrote in 1925 that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe from the San Francisco Bay Area was “extinct for all practical purposes.” But the tribe has always disputed that claim, and now living Ohlone tribal members have found a DNA link to their ancestors.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found genetic links between current tribal members and ancient inhabitants of the Bay Area. It used a type of genomic research that has only been developed over the last decade. It was also innovative because researchers and tribal members worked together closely.

It’s a surprising discovery given the decimation following the Spanish conquest starting in 1769. The number of Native Americans declined from over 1 million to less than 20,000 in the 1920s.

The Ohlone have petitioned the US Government for federal acknowledgement for 30 years. They’re hopeful the study will support the effort.

 

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Pope Francis has apologized to Canada’s Indigenous people for the Catholic Church’s role in the Indian residential school system. And, has asked for forgiveness. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the apology comes after meetings this week at the Vatican between the Pope and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit delegates.

This apology is what many of Canada’s Indigenous people have spent lifetimes waiting for and hoping for. The Assembly of First Nations lead delegate, chief Gerald Antoine called it a historic day.

 “Today is a day that we’ve been waiting for and certainly one that will be uplifted in our history.  His holiness Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church has issued a long overdue apology for the Roman Catholic role in church run residential schools.  It’s a historical first step, but only a first step.  The next step is for the holy father to apologize to our families at their homes.” 

During the final meetings with delegates from First Nations, Inuit and Metis, speaking in Italian the pope asked for God’s forgiveness for what he called the deplorable conduct of members of the Catholic Church, for the wrongs done in residential schools. I want to say, he continued, with all my heart I am very sorry. About 190 people, including delegates and survivors of the residential schools had gathered during that final address. The pope has also promised to travel to Canada in the days around the feast of St. Anna.  That falls on July 26, but no firm date for the visit has been set. From the late 1800’s to the late 1900’s, about 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend the government funded, church run, residential schools across Canada.  Thousands were abused, more than 4,000 died. The last residential school closed in 1996.

The FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence of the Blackfeet Nation’s chairman early Thursday. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports, at least four arrests were made for the alleged sale of synthetic opioids.  

FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker said a search warrant was executed at Tribal Business Council Chairman Timothy Davis’ home, where eight individuals were arrested. Barker said Davis was not among those taken into custody.  She said the search is part of an ongoing investigation and declined to share more details about the case. Blackfeet Law Enforcement, which announced the search warrant in a press release, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline on Thursday.

Reached on his cell phone, Chairman Davis told Montana Public Radio he was not at home when law enforcement officers searched his residence. He said he did not know anything about the case and declined to comment further. Tribal Council Member Mark Pollock confirmed that Davis was traveling on behalf of the tribe at the time the warrant was executed. Blackfeet Prosecutor Josh Lamson says at least four tribal arrest warrants were served for the alleged sale of a small amount of fentanyl. Those individuals are likely to be arraigned Friday. Lamson says it isn’t yet clear what the remaining four people are charged with. The names of those arrested have not been released.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed legislation Thursday investing $120 million for affordable housing, low-income home repairs and other housing needs for Cherokee citizens in Oklahoma. The tribe previously invested $30 million to replace and repair homes of elders, those with disabilities, and energy conservation projects for community buildings. The new investment comes from the tribe’s general revenue fund and dollars from the federal American Rescue Plan.

 

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A bill introduced in Congress would make tribal consultation required by law. The Requirements, Expectations, and Standard Procedures for Effective Consultation with Tribes Act, makes tribal consultation mandatory for U.S. government agencies and not just a recommended practice.  Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, discussed the bill at a press conference this week, in Washington, D.C.

He says the time is right to seize momentum happening in the Biden administration to uphold trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives, and strengthen tribal sovereignty. Grijalva says next week (4/6), the Respect Act will go before the full committee for a markup.

“This is the first time in Congressional history that a bill, a specific bill, requiring tribal consultation will come before the full committee, but I know this time is right. Our country is finally starting to take meaningful steps in reckoning with its colonial past.” 

Tribal consultation changes with each new presidency, and federal actions without tribal input often impact tribal rights, lands and resources.  If the bill becomes law, the U.S. government could be held legally responsible for not conducting tribal consultation. Tribal leaders and directors of Native organizations are among those backing the bill.

A group of Native Americans living in the United Kingdom say work continues to educate the public about Native Americans, after they were instrumental in a campaign to eliminate a Native American-themed mascot and logo used by an English rugby team. In January, the Exeter Rugby Club announced it was dropping its logo and moving away from its Native American-themed brand. The move was made following a two-year review process started by fans seeking change.

LeAndra Nephin, who’s Omaha living in England, along with some other Native Americans, joined the change the mascot movement. Nephin talked about the effort during a virtual event Wednesday on mascots and misappropriation of imagery, which was hosted by the Indigenous Studies Discussion Group at the University of Cambridge. She says part of the group’s overall goal is to tackle issues between Indigenous and British relationships.

“In a sense, create change in a colonial empire and that work is continuing today in terms of our involvement with curriculum, teaching colonialism in U.K. schools. So, this is a really important key aspect of us in terms of creating or changing the narrative. Taking control of the definition of what is honorable to us.”

Tony Perry, who’s Chickasaw and part of the UK Native community, agrees with Nephin. He says the Exeter mascot change was a victory, but the advocacy continues.

“For me, I feel like this is actually a step in a much bigger journey. Native culture is so deeply commoditized, normalized, or the caricatures. They don’t see the problem with it. It’s just normalized as something that these are brands or this is what people do. So, there’s far more to do about raising awareness of Native peoples, of our contributions, and about us still being here.”

The Natives in the UK group say members have made connections with a number of educators and a network of supporters to start teaching Indigenous history. There are also other sports teams the group would like to see end the use of Native American-themed mascots. The Exeter Rugby Club will launch its new brand this summer.

Native young people in Alaska are gearing up for the 2022 Traditional Games, which kicks off this weekend in Juneau.  Mid school, high school, and adult athletes from communities across the state are expected to attend. They’ll compete in 10 events based on hunting and survival skills of Indigenous people.  The event will be open to the public with COVID-19 precautions.  The games will also be live streamed by Sealaska Heritage Institute.

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The first group of Canada’s Indigenous delegates and residential school survivors have met in Rome with Pope Francis. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, they’re hoping to secure a papal apology for the role of the Catholic Church in Canada’s residential school system.

It’s a week-long event with members of the Metis Nation and Inuit having met with the pope on Monday.  The president of the Metis National Council, Cassidy Caron, says she asked the pope to join her people on their journey for truth, reconciliation, healing and justice, adding that he acknowledged that as his personal responsibility.

Caron was joined by several residential school survivors who told the pope their stories. The Catholic Church operated scores of the government funded residential schools across the country. As many as 150,000 Native children were forced to attend the schools, thousands were abused, many died. Natan Obed is the president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. He also met with the pope and says an apology is extremely important.

“Apologies matter and they may not be the same thing to every single person who’s being apologized to, but really the idea is a human level, the church acknowledges the human rights abuses, the pain and suffering, intergenerational trauma, and cares enough about Indigenous people to make that apology even if some people won’t accept it.”

In addition to a public apology, delegates want the church to return Indigenous artifacts and land, provide funding to help survivors heal, and provide access to church records about the schools. This visit comes after as many as 2,000 unmarked graves were found at several former residential school sites in the past year. First Nations delegates are scheduled to meet with the pope on Thursday. Expectations are high that the pope will travel to Canada at some point, to make an apology.

Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has announced tax-deductible donations to hundreds of organizations adding up to nearly $4 billion. Alice Fordham reports one donation is set to transform a New Mexico nonprofit serving Native American elders around the country.

The National Indian Council on Aging, headquartered in Albuquerque, received $4 million from Scott, who is the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Navajo Nation executive director Larry Curley says the donation was astounding.

“I’m excited, the staff are excited. And it’s, quite frankly, the largest donation that the organization has ever received in this 40 years of existence.”

Curley says the group is brainstorming how best to spend the money to further his organization’s work of supporting elders from American Indian and Alaska Native communities across the country. He says one issue that’s a priority is communication in places where internet-based support isn’t an option. 

“We’re looking at the possibility of creating a 24/7 crisis call center for our tribal elders.”

Curley says the donation opens up horizons for the organization, which strives to help a group with high levels of poverty and stark healthcare disparities compared with the wider population of the U.S. 

President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget request invests in Indian Country to address missing and murdered Indigenous people and help address gender-based violence. The budget proposes more than $600 million in tribal public safety and justice funding at the Interior Department to continue MMIP efforts in collaboration with the Justice Department. It also includes $35 million to support underserved and tribal communities for culturally-specific violence against women programs, and nearly $70 million for the FBI to address violent crime against children in Indian Country.

Other areas for tribes in the proposal, which was released Monday, include health care, education, housing and broadband.

 

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A Canadian Indigenous delegation has arrived in Rome in advance of what’s seen as a key meeting with Pope Francis. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, they’re hoping for an apology for the Catholic Church’s role in running Indian residential schools in Canada for more than a century.

About 170 people are taking part in the journey to the Vatican including 32 Indigenous delegates representing First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. All of them have demands or stories to tell about the abuses at residential schools. From the late 1800’s to the late 1900’s, the government-funded schools were operated across Canada by churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. Native leaders in Canada want a papal apology for the abuses at the schools. They also want the church’s records of the schools. Perry Bellegarde is the former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

“There were 130 residential schools in Canada. And the Roman Catholic Church was the church that administered most of those residential schools here. So, they have a moral obligation and a moral duty to do all they can. Yes, to apologize, but as well provide access to those records to help identify some of those children that have been lost or that were killed, you know, and the grave sites that have been found.  So, they have an obligation no matter how difficult it is to make it easy for people to have access to those records.”

Metis and Inuit delegates will sit down with the Pope on Monday; First Nations representatives on Thursday. Then all three will gather with the Pope on Friday in an event that will be live streamed by the Vatican.  The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops organized the delegation, which has the theme “Walking Together Toward Healing and Reconciliation.” All the delegates expect that the pope will commit to apologizing and the Vatican has already said the pope is open to a visit to Canada.

The Great Sioux Nation issued a Notice of Trespass to the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota over the weekend. The action comes a week after a hotel owner called for a ban on Native American guests. Connie Uhre made the statements in a Facebook post and email following a shooting at the hotel on March 19th. Her statements and the hotel quickly gained attention and sparked strong reactions from the Native community. Tribal leaders across the state say racism and discrimination against Native people by businesses in Rapid City will not be tolerated.

Tribal leaders met for more than two-hours Saturday to discuss the trespass notice, the treatment of Native people in the city, their economic impacts (to the city and businesses), and what next steps to take.  After the meeting, leaders and members of the Native community marched to the hotel and taped the notice to a door. The notice is to Connie Uhre, the Grand Gateway Hotel and its subsidiaries. It states, the Great Sioux Nation has made an investigation and evidence shows trespass, which includes violation of provisions in the Treaty of 1868. The document is signed by leaders of the Crow Creek, Oglala Lakota, Rosebud, Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes. Last week, the hotel’s manager who’s Uhre’s son, told South Dakota Public Broadcasting he’s against the statements and that the hotel will continue to accept Native American guests.  But, the Native organization, NDN Collective, and two individuals say otherwise, and have filed a federal civil lawsuit. They claim they were turned away when they tried to rent rooms at the hotel.

Read The Trespass Notice

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of northwest Montana have now assumed full control of the National Bison Range on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Aaron Bolton has more.

The National Bison Range, which was once a part of the reservation, was restored to the CSKT as part of a federal bill passed in 2020 to settle the tribes’ water claims. That bill was officially enacted in December, setting off the transitionary period for the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service to hand over management responsibilities of the Bison Range to the tribes. In an announcement last week, the tribes said that transition is now complete. Tribal Council Chairman Tom McDonald said that means the tribes are now reunified with the bison on the range. The tribes say members started the herd in the 1800’s to conserve the bison at a time when they were nearing extinction.

 

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The City of Toronto has unveiled its first ever plan to support reconciliation with Indigenous people, as Dan Karpenchuk reports.

Toronto has one of Canada’s largest urban Indigenous populations and has higher rates of homelessness and poverty. The Reconciliation Action Plan was developed over three years with input from Indigenous, Inuit and Metis people including elders, knowledge keepers, youth and Indigenous employees and city allies. The plan has 28 goals included in five themes. They are actions to restore truth, to correct relations and share power for justice, financial reparations and actions for the Indigenous Affairs Office. Toronto mayor John Tory says the city has a role to play in advancing truth and reconciliation with Indigenous people.

“In 2022, our immediate focus will be on establishing processes and relationships and priorities as we begin to implement the plan, because the message was conveyed loud and clear to me that this just cannot be another government report. And, I want to really reiterate that the Reconciliation Action Plan is a living document that will grow and evolve as needed to ensure that is in fact credible and effective as seen through the eyes of Indigenous communities and as a work plan for the government that comes from our Indigenous communities.”

The plan also includes the creation of 5,200 affordable rental homes and the creation of an Indigenous crisis-response pilot. The city also plans to apologize to Metis, improve relationships with treaty and territorial partners and boost Indigenous economic development. The action plan will be considered by the executive committee next week and then go before the Toronto City Council.

The Blackfeet Nation in Montana has declared a state of emergency to address a series of opioid overdoses and deaths. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton has more.

The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council’s declaration states there were 17 opioid overdoses and four deaths on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in just a week’s time. The Blackfeet Tribe is forming a task force led by tribal law enforcement and behavioral health officials to craft recommendations on how to deal with the growing issue and will report back to the tribal council. 

Recently, Montana law enforcement has found fentanyl in counterfeit prescription pills. Methamphetamine is increasingly laced with the powerful drug.  State law enforcement officials say the number of deaths related to fentanyl overdoses nearly tripped across Montana from 2016 to 2020. All deaths related to opioid overdose have increased at similar rates, according to a state health department analysis of the most recent data. That report shows, Indigenous Montanans are dying from drug overdoses at nearly three times the rate of white Montanans. 

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked about her knowledge of tribes during confirmation hearings this week, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. California Senator Alex Padilla questioned her about tribal sovereignty and the unique relationship tribes have with the federal government, saying she’s had limited experience with Native rights cases, but if confirmed there will eventually be cases involving tribes. Padilla asked the federal judge to explain her understanding of U.S.-tribal relations.

“Indian tribes are as a general matter considered to be sovereigns and in the relationship is a sovereign-to-sovereign relationship, but it’s one in which the federal government has some responsibilities related to the Indian nation.”

Tribal leaders and directors of Native organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians and the Native American Rights Fund, are stressing the need for the next Supreme Court justice to understand, recognize and uphold principles of tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and federal trust responsibilities.

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