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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
Tribal leaders, city leaders, and state officials in New Mexico met Friday to discuss how to work together and heal the city of Gallup and surrounding reservation communities after an act of violence last week tainted the city’s annual summer celebration of Indigenous culture.
On Thursday, an SUV drove through downtown streets during the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial night parade causing panic as people rushed to find safety.
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty was at the parade.
She’s calling on the city to update its emergency-disaster response plan, and for the city and state to deploy a crisis response team to help people deal with emotional distress from the traumatic event.
“Those children were visibly crying and shaking, those families were doing the best that they could, our elders who did not have the mobility to move quickly and as a community we supported them. And as we walked back, our veterans who were triggered who were telling us ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him.’ We have to acknowledge that pain.”
Crotty says she will not be attending any more ceremonial events. Other Native leaders echoed that sentiment, saying many people do not feel safe and are hesitant to go back to Gallup.
The ceremonial will continue with events through August 14.
Gallup is also a spot where people from the Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo travel to for essential services.
During the more than one hour meeting, which was held both in-person and online, city, and state officials vowed to work on responding to the incident and look at future emergency response plans.
New Mexico State Police announced it will have an increased presence at ceremonial events and is encouraging the public to report any concerning activity to police.
The driver from last week’s incident at the parade, Jeff Irving, was arrested and is facing a number of charges including aggravated DWI.
Two passengers were also detained by police.
Police say there were no fatalities, but 15 people were injured including two police officers.
With new voting maps for Montana’s Legislature to be revealed soon, Native communities are being encouraged to watch the process closely. Eric Tegethoff has more.
Billings-based Western Native Voice wants the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission to respect tribal sovereignty in this process.
One of the commission’s goals is to keep communities of interest, such as tribes, intact.
Ta’jin Perez with Western Native Voice says that’s important, as well as ensuring that people in the Legislature come from these communities.
“Candidates of choice are from your community and that these communities should be able to have the opportunity to elect someone that shares their values and shares who they are and the unique history and the unique cultures of these tribal areas.”
The commission has scheduled nine public meetings so that Montanans can comment on the maps at the end of August and in September.
Perez says Montana has an independent redistricting commission and that it’s done a good job of ensuring the Legislature is proportionally representative of the population of Native Americans in the state.
He says the independent setup of the commission has many upsides, including that it’s not beholden to the governor or lawmakers.
“An entire Legislature – their voice is intended to be just as loud as that of the public because of this independent commission that we have. Other states don’t enjoy this kind of thing.”
Perez says voters should be engaged in this process.
“Representation that reflects communities as they are is important, and the only way that a body like the redistricting commission can do that is through public comment.”
The deadline for the redistricting plan is the tenth day of the 2023 legislative session.
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