by Antonia Gonzales

Navajo Nation tribal leaders responded to a White House event honoring Native American Code Talkers by calling the contributions of code talkers invaluable, but cultural insensitivity shown by President Donald Trump after Trump made comments about Pocahontas.

Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez

“The statement by President Trump was disrespectful and rude,” said Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez on Tuesday in response to President Trump’s comments.  “Our Navajo Code Talkers fought for courage and honor and that same respect should have been given to them yesterday at the White House. Instead that event will be remembered for entirely different reasons.”

In a statement, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said the tribe does not want to engage in dialogue between Senator Elizabeth Warren and Trump, but said all tribal nations still battle insensitive references and prejudice.  Nez said the tribe has asked the White House for an apology and believes one step toward reconciliation would be for President Trump to keep his verbal commitment he made Monday to help build a museum to honor Navajo Code Talkers.

“I don’t see an apology coming from President Trump, but I think that if he were to make it right or to show his thankfulness to our Navajo Code Talkers he will take on this national Navajo Code Talkers museum,” said Nez.  “As his (Trump) personal project and make that happen for our heroes, the Navajo Code Talkers, and build that here on the Navajo Nation.”

Trump’s comments came as he welcomed three elderly Navajo Code Talkers to the White House for a ceremony to honor Native American Code Talkers. Navajo and other code talkers from different tribes served during World Wars I and II, and federal statistics show Native Americans serve in the Armed Forces at a higher rate than any other demographic group in the U.S.

Navajo Code Talkers are honored at an event in Gallup, New Mexico. (File Photo: Antonia Gonzales, 2010)

Ninety-year-old Peter MacDonald discussed the role Navajo Code Talkers had in World War II, which included the original 29 Navajo men who were recruited in 1942 to develop the code using the Navajo language. The Navajo code is considered unbreakable and is credited for helping save the lives of countless American military service members during combat in the Pacific.

“General Vandegrift, Commander of the 1st Marine Division, sent word back to (the) United States saying this Navajo code is terrific,” said MacDonald. “The enemy never understood it, he said. We don’t understand it either, but it works. Send us some more Navajos.”

MacDonald was joined at the White House by Fleming Begaye and Thomas Begay. They were all dressed in the Navajo Code Talkers uniform, which includes gold shirts, red hats and turquoise jewelry. President Trump stood next to the men and proceeded to the podium after MacDonald’s remarks.

Trump decided not to read his speech, but instead handed it to MacDonald commenting that he did not have to give a speech because MacDonald had said the same thing he was going to deliver.  The president then acknowledged members in the audience and made the reference to Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren.

“And I just want to thank you because you’re very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here, although we have a representative in Congress who, they say, was here a long time ago. They call her Pocahontas,” said Trump.

Trump has used the term repeatedly to refer to the Massachusetts senator over her claims of Native American heritage. Some Democratic U.S. senators and leaders of national Native organizations have called out the president for use of the term stating it’s a racial slur.

Trump said to the three Navajo Code Talkers that help would be coming.  “So, they’re working on building a Navajo Code Talkers Museum. And we will help you. Okay?” said Trump. “And we have some pretty good strength. We will help you and you deserve it.”

Navajo Code Talkers have been working for years on a museum and veterans center project. The envision for the museum would be for it to be built on the Navajo Nation to highlight and educate the public about the contributions Navajo Code Talkers made during World War II.  The veterans center would be intended as a gathering place for all veterans and an area for veterans to access services.

by Antonia Gonzales and Sarah Gustavus

Native organizations and advocates across the United States are seeking to get young Native people to switch from drinking sugary beverages, such as soda and energy drinks, to water.  The Service To All Relations School, known as the STAR School, near the Navajo reservation in Flagstaff, Arizona is one place efforts are underway to encourage students to drink water while also identifying ways to address the longstanding lack of access to clean water in their homes.  Pauline Butler grew up on the reservation. She’s the STAR School’s Coordinator of Community Happiness, but many of the students know her as the water lady.  The school’s drinking water is filtered, but for many students drinking water regularly is not likely a habit. Butler works to help them enjoy choosing water.

Pauline Butler, known as the water lady, prepares infused water for students at the STAR School. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)

“(I’m) trying to get people to get a little more healthy, stay away from SSBs, sugar sweetened beverages,” said Butler. “I don’t like the fact that a lot of the students are drinking more of the SSBs than they should be.”

Soda is banned during school hours, but sugary drink options are still widely available in the community. Butler and other educators at the school are making water more inviting to children by infusing flavors such as citrus, mint and vegetable blends.  Infused water dispensers can often be found in the classroom and in the cafeteria.  Young people are asked to bring water bottles to school for use throughout the day.  The school received a Water First Community grant from the Notah Begay Third Foundation (NB3), which provided funds for the school to design water bottles with the words “no soda” in both Navajo and English.  The NB3 Foundation, which works with grantees across the country, is dedicated to reducing childhood obesity and diabetes. Federal statistics show, by age 10, nearly 50 percent of Native American children are classified as overweight or obese. Health experts recommend moving away from consuming sugar-sweetened drinks as one step in addressing childhood obesity.

The school created water bottles with assistance from a Notah Begay Third Foundation grant. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)

Not only is the school working to address diseases like diabetes, students and staff are pursuing improved water quality for Navajo community members through a water filtration system on a decommissioned school bus.  Most of the seats have been removed from the 70 seat yellow bus, now retrofitted with a Nano filtration unit, which scientists from the University of Arizona designed.  According to the Navajo Housing Authority, more than half of households on the Navajo Nation have no indoor plumbing, which means families have to haul water for cooking, cleaning and livestock. Many people from the Navajo reservation would rather buy water to drink than consume well water, according to school officials.

“It’s a tragedy families can purchase soda much cheaper,” said STAR School CEO Mark Sorensen.  He said the mobile filtration unit was designed as both a teaching tool and to improve the bad taste and smell of local well water. “We looked at what contaminants were in our wells and we got instruments to measure that so now the students can learn how to test the water that comes out of the wells,” said Sorensen. “Then we can filter the water and then they can test the water after it’s been filtered and they can see for themselves the difference.”

Scientists from the University of Arizona retrofitted a decommissioned school bus with a solar powered water filtration unit. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)

The unit can filter around 500 gallons of purified water a day. Plans for the solar powered mobile unit include helping families filter well water on the nearby Navajo reservation. The Pre-K through eighth grade public charter school serves students from the Southwest corner of the Navajo Nation.  Educators and students decided to tackle the water quality issue to make well water more palatable.  It is not just smell and taste, people know some wells in their community are contaminated.  The Navajo Nation was a key place for uranium mining from the 1940s through the 1980s. According to federal and tribal studies, many water sources have shown elevated levels of radiation and heavy metals throughout Navajo land.  Water is also sacred to many Navajo people, especially around arid areas of the reservation.

The unit can filter about 500 gallons of purified water per day. School officials plan to take the bus to nearby Navajo communities. (Photo-Antonia Gonzales)

“Water is one of the primary substances we sing about and chant about in our creation and journey narrative,” said Philmer Bluehouse, a traditional Navajo practitioner and a school advisor.  Bluehouse sees a value in young people understanding both the science behind water management and its cultural value.  “There’s a revival among the youth, they are reconnecting with culture (at the school) here and other places on the reservation,” said Bluehouse.

Many of the students at the school have pledged to be water warriors when the bus travels to nearby communities and educators are seeing students choose to drink water through the school’s initiative.  A water filtration bus may not address the water infrastructure needs on the Navajo Nation, which water experts believe are likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars on the vast Navajo reservation.  Yet, people at the school including Mark Sorensen think empowering young people to see themselves as problem solvers could lead to real changes in the health and well-being of the Navajo Nation in the future.

Reporter Jim Kent and producer Antonia Gonzales

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, with a diverse landscape of grassy plains, hills and wooded areas, covers more than two million acres in southwestern South Dakota. It is home of the Oglala Lakota Nation. Federal statistics estimate the reservation’s population to be more than 20,000, while the tribe and various organizations on the reservation estimate the number of people living there closer to the 40,000 mark.

The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation mission is to build the power of the Pine Ridge reservation by creating lasting systemic change including a new housing community. (Photo by Jerry Matthews)

Statistics show rates of 85 percent unemployment and more than 90 percent poverty, and like other reservation communities across the United States, Native Americans on Pine Ridge are more likely to struggle with poor health outcomes compared to other demographic groups.

Mainstream news reports often highlight the struggles on the reservation, and statistics show the challenges facing community members. However, the Oglala Lakota people persist, and have created for themselves an organization to address a wide array of economic, health and cultural challenges. The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation was established a decade ago by young people and young families who were reconnecting to cultural spirituality and identity through ceremony. They wanted to create lasting systemic change and work to end poverty on the reservation.

“And then that spiritual process became a call to action,” said Andrew Iron Shell, a spokesman for Thunder Valley. He explained that the organization stemmed from people venting about the various needs of the Lakota people.

“So really pointing fingers back at ourselves and asking ourselves as community people, as citizens of this tribal community, what’s our role? And what’s our responsibility?” said Iron Shell. “From those thoughts started this conversation about do we have the capacity to create change among this small circle that’s doing this complaining? When we looked around and acknowledged each other’s talents and virtues and things like that, (we recognized) let’s do something together.”

Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation spokesman Andrew Iron Shell says the non-profit group was created as a result of a spiritual gathering called to address the needs of the Lakota people on the Pine Ridge reservation. (Photo by Jerry Matthews)

Iron Shell added that the key to Thunder Valley’s development was realizing from the start that there would be challenges with personalities, politics and available resources. Supporting each other helped in that process, recalls Iron Shell. But, understanding that change would take time and having the patience to accept that has been equally important in Thunder Valley’s success he said.

Now, 10 years later, Thunder Valley programs incorporate Lakota values and culture in workforce development, food, housing, language immersion, community development and youth leadership. Local leaders point to home ownership, several new Lakota entrepreneurs and building the capacity of individuals, and families to achieve their goals as some of the results of Thunder Valley programs.

Thunder Valley leaders believe they have arrived at a place where they finally have the capacity to build their own community – at Thunder Valley’s headquarters, where a food demonstration farm is housed and space is used for training, and across the reservation.
Thunder Valley’s momentum has created a ripple effect across Pine Ridge, said Iron Shell. He adds that Thunder Valley may be a model for the outside world to learn from and may help other rural communities address some of the challenges they face.

State of Change is a project in collaboration with High Country News and the Solutions Journalism Network. Ten New Mexico news organizations are examining the challenge of building resilient rural communities, and are looking at what some communities are doing to address a number of issues they face. National Native News is taking a look at how one group is building economic resiliency on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota through the grassroots community development corporation Thunder Valley. We’re also exploring what other rural communities across New Mexico, and the United States may learn from the organization’s programs.

By Daysha Eaton

Organizers of a new coalition led by Alaska Native groups plan to step up their efforts on a variety of environmental issues. The group organized an initial protest at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage, speaking out against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other issues.

Defend the Sacred organized the march of more than 200 people during the AFN convention over the weekend. The march was timed as Senator Lisa Murkowski was about to address AFN. Demonstrators held signs outside the convention protesting development of the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay and the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the North. Others highlighted climate change concerns.

Bernadette Demientieff from Fort Yukon, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee and one of the organizers of the protest, said she was fighting for the future.

“We’re standing up for our future generations for our food, for our land and our water,” Demientieff said.

She said the protest had a special focus on her people, the Gwich’in’s, traditional territory, because of recent efforts in Washington, D.C. that could open the door to petroleum and gas development in ANWR, the calving grounds for a caribou herd which is central to her peoples’ diet and culture. But it also encompassed other struggles.

“This is to defend our sacred lands,” she said. “So, whatever is special to you, whether it’s Pebble Mine, whether it’s the Arctic Refuge, whether it’s offshore (drilling), whether it’s the Tongass, we need to stand together because we can’t do it alone.”

The U.S. Senate passed a budget resolution that could open part of ANWR to oil and gas drilling. After a speech at AFN that did not mention the refuge, Senator Murkowski said in a press conference that it was just the first step. Murkowski, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said as the process moves ahead there will be opportunities for Alaskans to weigh in on what they want.

“As we move forward with this budget proposal, that is the first step of many,” Murkowski told reporters. “And I have said very openly that yes, we will consider ANWR, but we will do that through a hearing in the Energy Committee. So, we have that opportunity to bring in witnesses that are favorable and witnesses that are opposed. That’s what the process allows for.”

Conservationists and Native people in Alaska are joining forces to fight big resource development projects being green-lighted by the Trump administration. Demientieff said she’s heartened to see a movement being born in the state to protect the land, water and her traditional way of life.

“More and more people from all over are coming and they’re finally taking that stand because our senator and our representatives are no longer listening to us because nobody is going to protect our homelands but us,” she said.

Demientieff is also helping organize another protest in Washington, D.C. against opening ANWR to oil and gas extraction.

The United American Indian Involvement organization is currently studying ways that its traditional social outreach program is helping improve mental health among Native Americans in Los Angeles County. People travel long distances to participate in the Drum, Dance and Regalia program and other events that help connect them to their cultures and other people with similar values. Organizers hope the programs help improve the statistics for people vulnerable to problems like child abuse, gang involvement, and mental illness.

by Liz Ruskin

President Trump proposes to cut the Indian Health Service budget by $300 million, and the head of the IHS had trouble justifying that 6 percent cut at a Senate hearing Wednesday. Senators on both sides of the aisle say they’re outraged at the state of affairs at IHS, and it goes beyond the budget cut.

The acting IHS director would have had a rough hearing anyway. Chairman Lisa Murkowski and other members of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee have spent years shaping the IHS budget. Some represent large Native populations. They weren’t likely to welcome cuts to drug abuse treatment, mental health services, clinics and hospitals in their states.

But just last week, the Wall Street Journal put a spotlight on the agency’s dire faults. Murkowski says she was horrified to read the Journal’s accounts of fatal misdiagnoses, and inept staff at IHS facilities in the Great Plains.

“Because this is our IHS,” Murkowski said. “These are our facilities that are supposed to care for our First People. And the stories that were detailed were shocking.”

Murkowski says she’s normally laser-focused on home-state issues, but Alaska’s Native health facilities are run by tribes, under contract to the IHS, so their problems aren’t the same. Murkowski, though, says, the national problems are far too big to ignore.

Sen. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, suggested changing the name of IHS to ‘Indian Health Suffering.’

“These are real families–single moms, single dads, aunts, uncles, elderly tribal leaders –that are suffering greatly. It’s a tragedy.”

Acting IHS director Michael Weahkee acknowledged none of this in his statement at the hearing. He portrayed the proposed cut to his agency as small.

“(It) will allow us to maintain and address our agency mission to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaskan Natives to the highest level,” Weahkee said.

Murkowski was incredulous.

“I know that your job is to defend this budget but I just have to say ‘wow’ after listening that,” she said. “I would think that we don’t have a problem within the IHS system”

Several senators expressed frustration IHS didn’t provide data on Medicaid reimbursements, the revenue IHS gets when it treats a Medicaid recipient. Murkowski says the information is important, because senators are supposed to vote soon on a health care bill that would cut Medicaid, without knowing the effect it would have on IHS.

Jon Tester, Montana’s Democratic senator, was calm when he started questioning Weahkee.

Tester: “Were you told not to answer any questions here by the way?”

Weahkee: “No. No.”

Tester: “Because I think it’s absolutely unbelievable that you can separate how much money that Medicaid has helped to a third party billing.”

Tester’s impatience built as he repeatedly tried to get the acting director to answer one specific question.

Tester: “What does this budget do to your ability to hire staff?”

Weahkee: “We have a lot of efforts under way ….”

Testser: “Is there an increase in dollars for hiring staff or decrease?”

After a few minutes of a fruitless back-and-forth, Tester became exasperated.

“I’m going to tell you something,” Tester said. “Indian Health Service is in a crisis. And if you have served in Indian Health Service for 10 years and you have answered the questions in Indian Health Service like you have today it’s no wonder that it’s in crisis. I cannot believe what has transpired in this hearing today. All I want is some damn answers.”

The White House hasn’t nominated anyone to head IHS permanently. Health Sec. Tom Price said at his confirmation hearing he was aware of problems at IHS and wanted to fix them.