Good morning, NUNAverse:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $12 million in funding to 13 Native and Alaska Native communities across the nation for projects that will reduce energy costs and increase energy security and resiliency. The selected projects will power homes and communities, make buildings more energy efficient, and install microgrids for essential services and resiliency, the DOE said in an announcement Tuesday, noting that these are critical elements to the Biden Administration’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the DOE, the selected projects, collectively, are estimated to result in nearly 3.5 megawatts of clean energy generation and more than 3.5 megawatt-hours of battery storage, serving over 1,300 tribal buildings and saving the communities a combined $1.8 million annually.
On Monday, the Penelakut Tribe announced that it has “confirmation of 160 plus undocumented and unmarked graves,” on the grounds of the Kuiper Island Industrial School in British Columbia, a residential school that was founded and operated by the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969. In 1969, the Canadian government took over operation of the school until it closed in 1975. Monday’s announcement marks the fourth recent discovery of remains at former residential schools in Canada. All were at one point operated by the Catholic Church.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to craft an apology for the historic mistreatment of Native people in the region. Supervisor Hilda Solis said healing demanded telling the truth, and that the county would work together with local tribal leaders to develop a public statement that “acknowledges, corrects, and disseminates the true historical record of the county’s relationship with Native people.” The motion highlights disproportionate health and economic burdens faced by the Gabrieleno Tongva, Fernandeno Tataviam, Ventureno Chumash, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Kizh, and other local tribes as a result of discrimination. The board also called for an update on ongoing work to identify county policies, procedures, and practices that may have harmed California Native people.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told a contentious crowd gathered at a Tuesday night forum that Oklahomans need to know about the impacts of the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling that changed how some crimes are prosecuted in Oklahoma. Stitt said he and other state leaders had organized the event to inform crime victims about their rights in light of the year-old McGirt decision. The forum, organized by Stitt and prosecutors, had drawn criticism days before it began. Leaders of the tribes whose reservations were affirmed by the Supreme Court ruling have said they weren’t invited to speak. The Chickasaw Nation said Tuesday that it received an email about the event. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin had described the event as “an anti-McGirt rally for political reasons.”
Keep reading for a full news update.
Boarding Schools:
More Than 160 Unmarked Graves Found At Former Residential School In British Columbia
Native News Online, July 13
Six miles from Chemainus, British Columbia sits Penelakut Island, formerly known as Kuper Island, which is part of the Southern Gulf Islands. From 1890 until 1975, the island was home to the Kuiper Island Industrial School. Conditions were reportedly so bad at Kuper Island, some survivors of the residential school have described it as “Canada’s Alcatraz.” The horrors there have also been marked by the drowning of children trying to escape the island. On Monday, the Penelakut Tribe announced that it has “confirmation of 160 plus undocumented and unmarked graves,” on the grounds of the former school. The Kuiper Island Industrial School was founded and operated by the Catholic Church from 1890 to 1969. In 1969, the government took over operation of the school until it closed in 1975.
US Begins Its Reckoning On Native American Children
CNN, Daniella Zalcman, July 13
After a First Nations community used ground-penetrating radar to discover more than 200 unmarked graves at an Indigenous residential school in Canada, the US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, announced in late June that she was launching the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. It would investigate the policies and practices behind a similar Native boarding school system in the US that was meant to forcibly assimilate Indigenous youth into White, western American society. Now, it’s America’s turn. Thanks to Haaland, one of the first Native women in Congress and the first ever Native Cabinet secretary, who fittingly now oversees the Bureau of Indian Education, the United States will finally have a chance to formally reckon with its own history on this issue. There are a handful of critical lessons to be taken away from the Canadian investigative process. To understand the true magnitude of this history, it is vital that the US government begin by sourcing and collecting accurate boarding school data on enrollment and other statistics. It will permit the US, in some tiny way, to acknowledge and remember every child who was made to endure this inhumane treatment.
Law:
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Forum On McGirt Ruling Turns Contentious In Tulsa
The Oklahoman, Molly Young, July 13
Gov. Kevin Stitt told a contentious crowd gathered at a Tuesday night forum that Oklahomans need to know about the impacts of the Supreme Court ruling that changed how some crimes are prosecuted in eastern Oklahoma. Stitt said he and other state leaders had organized the event to inform crime victims about their rights in light of the year-old McGirt v. Oklahoma decision. The forum organized by Stitt and prosecutors had drawn criticism days before it began. Leaders of the tribes whose reservations were affirmed by the Supreme Court ruling have said they weren’t invited to speak. The Chickasaw Nation said Tuesday that it received an email about the event. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin had described the event as “an anti-McGirt rally for political reasons.”
Native Mascots:
NCAI President Sharp On Anniversary Of The Retirement Of The Washington Football Team Name And Imagery
Native News Online, July 13
One year after the Washington NFL franchise retired the racist “Redsk!ns” name it maintained for 87 years, National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp released the following statement on Monday:
“On the one year anniversary of the Washington Football Team’s retirement of their racist mascot, we take a moment to recognize the grit and dedication of Tribal Nations, tribal leaders, citizens, advocates and allies who tirelessly helped in the mission to educate Americans on the immense harms Native-themed mascots and team names cause Native people.”
Other:
DOE Awards $12 Million To Tribes To Maximize Clean Energy Technology, Reduce Emissions
Native News Online, July 13
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $12 million in funding to 13 Native American and Alaska Native communities across the nation for projects that will reduce energy costs and increase energy security and resiliency. The selected projects will power their homes and communities, make buildings more energy efficient, and install microgrids for essential services and resiliency, the DOE said in an announcement Tuesday, noting that these are critical elements to the Biden Administration’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. According to the DOE, the selected projects, collectively, are estimated to result in nearly 3.5 megawatts of clean energy generation and more than 3.5 megawatt-hours of battery storage, serving over 1,300 tribal buildings and saving the communities a combined $1.8 million annually.
LA County Prepares To Apologize To Local Native American Tribes
FOX 11, July 13
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to craft an apology for the historic mistreatment of Native Americans in the region. Supervisor Hilda Solis said healing demanded telling the truth and the county would work together with local tribal leaders to develop a public statement that “acknowledges, corrects and disseminates the true historical record of the county’s relationship with Native people.” The motion highlights disproportionate health and economic burdens faced by the Gabrieleno Tongva, Fernandeno Tataviam, Ventureno Chumash, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Kizh and other local tribes as a result of discrimination. The board also called for an update on ongoing work to identify county policies, procedures and practices that may have harmed California Native Americans.
Pacific Northwest Tribes Call For Removal Of Lower Snake River Dams At Salmon And Orca Summit
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, July 13
State, national, and tribal politicians and members from at least 15 tribal nations from the Pacific Northwest gathered on July 7-8 in support of decisive action to restore the salmon and orca populations in the region. This Salmon and Orca Summit was co-hosted by the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) and the Nez Perce Tribe on traditional homelands of the Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington. In late May, over 50 of the 57 tribal nations represented by the ATNI passed a resolution in support of Rep. Mike Simpson’s (R-Idaho) Columbia Basin Initiative, according to the Nez Perce Tribe. The ATNI resolution called on President Joe Biden and Congress to fund and implement Simpson’s legislative concept, including the breaching of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River between the summer of 2030 and fall of 2031. The National Congress of American Indians issued a similar resolution in late June.
Water Crisis Reaches Boiling Point
AP News, Gillian Flaccus, July 13
Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon state line and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and birds flitted between empty irrigation pipes. DuVal’s family has farmed the land for three generations, and this summer, for the first time ever, he and hundreds of others who rely on irrigation from a depleted, federally managed lake aren’t getting any water from it at all. As farmland goes fallow, tribes along the 257-mile long river that flows from the lake to the Pacific Ocean watch helplessly as fish that are inextricable from their diet and culture die in droves or fail to spawn in shallow water.
Thawing Permafrost Has Damaged Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Indian Country Today, David Hasemyer, July 13
Thawing permafrost threatens to undermine the supports holding up an elevated section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, jeopardizing the structural integrity of one of the world’s largest oil pipelines and raising the potential of an oil spill in a delicate and remote landscape where it would be extremely difficult to clean up. The slope of permafrost where an 810-foot section of pipeline is secured has started to shift as it thaws, causing several of the braces holding up the pipeline to tilt and bend, according to an analysis by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The department has permitted construction of a cooling system designed to keep the permafrost surrounding the vulnerable section of pipeline just north of Fairbanks frozen, as well as to replace the damaged portions of the support structure.