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Advocates are cheering the introduction of a Colorado bill that would create an office for missing and murdered Indigenous relatives. As the Mountain West News Bureau’s Robyn Vincent reports, it would put the state in the company of several others in the region.
A look at the numbers explains the urgency. Federal data show more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. More than half have endured sexual violence. Meanwhile, Indigenous women and girls face murder rates 10 times the national average.
The office would work across jurisdictions and provide support to affected families. Democratic State Senator Jessie Danielson co-sponsored the bill.
“We looked at states like Wyoming and others that had established offices or task forces. Because the states in the Mountain West region that have already tried to work on the issue, I figured we could learn from what they’ve done.”
If the bill passes in the state legislature, Colorado would join Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, along with multiple states nationwide.
The area of the Coeur d’Alene River basin and chain lakes in north Idaho is contaminated with lead and heavy metals from a century of mining waste that has traveled downstream from the Silver Valley. A new study is looking at how the contamination impacts tundra swans. Steve Jackson reports.
Lead contamination poses a risk to migratory birds in the area, including tundra swans, which can suffer intestinal, kidney, and reproductive issues. Now a collaborative effort is underway to measure where the swans are exposed to contaminated sediment, and if their overall exposure to lead is decreasing due to feeding in some wetlands that have been cleaned of toxic metals. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is involved in the study in part because of the importance of the swan to their culture.
The birds actually help proliferate an important tribal food, the water potato. Restoration coordinator for the tribe, Rebecca Stevens, says the swans perform what is called scarification to the potato seeds, which breaks through the seed shell to allow water in.
“And so as they feed on water potatoes, they’re actually helping to disperse those water potatoes, which are very culturally significant to the Coeur d’Alene people.”
Results of the sampling is expected to be released in a few months.
Haskell Indian Nations University Women’s Basketball team secured a spot in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ tournament. The team will travel to Kentucky to face their first opponent, Rhonda LeValdo has more.
With March Madness underway, an Indigenous team set to make their appearance in post season play. Haskell’s women’s basketball team watched a live bracket reveal to see what team they would face No. 1 seed Thomas More University. Senior Tiana Guillory spoke on how the season has been.
“It’s really exciting and I think a lot of us are grateful, we have a tremendous coaching staff that has believed in us since day one. They do a lot for us, and as a group we really worked hard for this.”
First year Head Coach Adam Strom talked about how his team not only plays for their school, but they play for all tribal nations.
“Here at Haskell Indian Nations University our women’s team plays for Indian Country. They play for Indian Nations, they play for something bigger than themselves. It’s something we take very seriously, we are representing.”
The team will play their first game Friday.
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