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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
The Alaska Superior Court has dismissed a suit challenging the Tanana Chiefs Conference tribal sovereign immunity, a status which protects it from being sued.
A November 21st order issued by Judge Patricia Haines threw out a case filed by Dot Lake Village, which alleged TCC bylaw violations, like illegal board meetings and votes, and sought court intervention to prevent them from happening again.
Dot Lake argued that the sovereign immunity of TCC tribes does not extend to the Interior Alaska Native service organization, but the court found that TCC is an arm of its member tribes, and therefore cannot be sued by them, adding that the court “lacks jurisdiction to insert itself into a dispute that ultimately boils down to a self-governance disagreement within an intertribal consortium.”
In an emailed response to a request for comment, Dot Lake Village president Tracey Charles Smith said, “TCC is not a tribe, but is asserting tribal rights without getting the consent of its member tribes. In so doing, TCC is claiming that it may violate its governing rules without consequence.”
TCC did not respond to an interview request by National Native News and member station KUAC, but in an organization press release announcing the case dismissal, TCC Chief and Chairman Brian Ridley says, “We are ready to move past these issues, as we have worked hard over the past year to heal our organization and continue forward with strength, unity, and respect.”
A new study shows that a wide variety of Arctic animals, including polar bears, are being exposed to a tick-born disease, normally associated with rabbits and hares.
The Alaska Beacon, an online journal, reported on the findings.
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted the study to look for signs of exposure to the bacterium that causes tularemia, also known as “rabbit fever.”
The research is designed to help scientists track diseases as the Arctic warms and they spread north.
Alaska Natives could be the first to feel its impacts if tularemia spreads to the animals they hunt.
Arctic foxes and Arctic ground squirrels showed the highest level of antibodies in the blood to fight tularemia.
Caribou showed the lowest levels.
Polar bears were in the middle.
Geese examined in the project also showed exposure.
Antibodies to the bacterium don’t necessarily mean the animals had tularemia, only that they were exposed to it.
It’s rare for the disease to spread to humans, although some cases have been documented in Alaska.
The Centers for Disease control says some of the symptoms are skin ulcers, sore throats, and, in the most serious cases, pneumonia-like coughs, chest pain, and breathing difficulties.
Jana Schmieding (Cheyenne River Sioux), writer and actor for the Peacock series “Rutherford Falls”, says while it’s disappointing the show was not picked up for a third season, Indigenous representation in popular media is still strong.
“There tend to be elimination of newer shows, shows that don’t have as many viewers, and I think ‘Rutherford Falls’ is possibly sort of a victim of some larger shifts that are happening in the industry. And that we’re seeing with other shows as well.”
Schmieding adds many writers and performers with “Rutherford Falls” are already involved with other productions. She’s continuing work with another Native-themed series, “Reservation Dogs,” which has been renewed for a third season.
President Joe Biden will host the White House Tribal
Nations Summit Wednesday and Thursday at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.
The summit provides an opportunity for tribal leaders from the country’s 574 federally recognized tribes to engage with the federal government.
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