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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
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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