Good Morning, NUNAverse,
Yesterday, the federal government quietly launched its website to sign up for free COVID-19 tests, allowing people to order a maximum of four tests shipped directly to their household. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Tuesday that the government website to order free COVID-19 tests is up and running as part of a “beta phase” ahead of the government website’s formal rollout Wednesday morning. Free, at-home tests can be ordered here.
The White House Council on Native American Affairs is holding a tribal engagement session this month to discuss infrastructure and public safety in Indian Country. The session will take place on January 31. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who chairs the White House Council, said tribal nations will be asked about the best way to implement the funding provided by the new infrastructure law. Additionally, Secretary Haaland said the session will focus on public safety issues in Indian Country. A number of initiatives, including addressing the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, were announced during the White House Tribal Nations Summit last November. The session follows a series of consultations that are also taking place this month.
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced its nominees for the 2022 Writers Guild Awards last week, and “Reservation Dogs” is among the top nominees. Reservation Dogs earned two nominations, including best new series and best episodic comedy for the show’s pilot episode, written by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi. The nominations from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) include outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing during 2021. Winners will be announced at a joint 2021 Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 20, 2022. “Reservation Dogs” received a Golden Globe nomination in December 2021 for “Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.” Every writer, director, and series regular on the show is Indigenous, a first in Hollywood television history.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Updated Numbers
Indian Country Today
Center For Disease Control
Current Cases in the United States
Boarding Schools:
Tk’emlúps Te Secwépemc Former Councillor Connie Leonard: ‘They Chose Us’
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, January 18
Leonard, a Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc community member, mother and grandmother who served on the Tk’emlúps council from 2003 to 2012, told Native News Online that in her community, “no one knew the severity” of the impact of the residential-school system that was created to eliminate Indigenous culture. Many students of these schools endured physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. On May 27, the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 Chief Roseanne Casimir confirmed that an preliminary ground-penetrating radar scan had detected 215 unmarked graves of children at the site of the Kamloops residential school, about 260 miles northeast of Vancouver. And in early July, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc were endangered by severe heat and wildfires on their lands. Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc became the focus of international media attention after the unmarked graves became widely known. Leonard said that attention “needs to stay strong,” but questions from non-Native people became exhausting and frustrating.
Health:
Website To Order Free COVID-19 Tests Is Up And Running
CNN, Katilan Collins, Maegan Vazquez, Tami Luhby, January 18
The federal government has quietly launched its website to sign up for free Covid-19 tests, allowing people to order a maximum of four tests shipped directly to their household. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Tuesday that the government website to order free Covid-19 tests is up and running as part of a “beta phase” ahead of the government website’s formal rollout Wednesday morning.
US Faces Wave Of Omicron Deaths In Coming Weeks, Models Say
AP News, Carla K. Johnson, January 18
The fast-moving omicron variant may cause less severe disease on average, but COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are climbing and modelers forecast 50,000 to 300,000 more Americans could die by the time the wave subsides in mid-March. The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. has been trending upward since mid-November, reaching nearly 1,700 on Jan. 17 — still below the peak of 3,300 in January 2021. COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents started rising slightly two weeks ago, although still at a rate 10 times less than last year before most residents were vaccinated. Despite signs omicron causes milder disease on average, the unprecedented level of infection spreading through the country, with cases still soaring in many states, means many vulnerable people will become severely sick. If the higher end of projections comes to pass, that would push total U.S. deaths from COVID-19 over 1 million by early spring.
Navajo Nation COVID Update: 129 New Cases And No Deaths
Native News Online, January 18
On Monday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 129 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths. The total number of deaths remains 1,600. Also on Monday, the state of Arizona reported 12,066 new cases. The Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President will host an online town hall on Tuesday, Jan. 18th at 10:00 a.m. (MST) on the Nez-Lizer Facebook page and YouTube channel to provide important COVID-19 updates.
Other:
White House Council On Native American Affairs Schedules Tribal Engagement Session
Indianz.com, January 18
The White House Council on Native American Affairs is holding a tribal engagement session this month to discuss infrastructure and public safety in Indian Country. The session takes place on January 31. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who chairs the White House Council, said tribal nations will be asked about the best way to implement the funding provided by the new infrastructure law. Additionally, Haaland said the session will focus on public safety issues in Indian Country. A number of initiatives, including addressing the crisis of missing and murdered people, were announced during the White House Tribal Nations Summit last November. The session follows a series of consultations that are also taking place this month
‘Reservation Dogs’ Earns Nomination For Best New Series From Writers Guild Of America
Native News Online, January 18
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) announced its nominees for the 2022 Writers Guild Awards on Thursday, January 13 and “Reservation Dogs” is among the top nominees. Reservation Dogs earned two nominations, including best new series and best episodic comedy for the show’s pilot episode—“F*ckin’ Rez Dogs”— written by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi. The nominations from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) include outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio/audio, and promotional writing during 2021. Winners will be announced at a joint 2021 Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 20, 2022. “Reservation Dogs” received a Golden Globe nomination in December 2021 for “Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.” The FX and HULU series, co-executive produced by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, is a television comedy series that follows four Indigenous youth who attempt to get to California by stealing, robbing and saving in rural Oklahoma. Every writer, director and series regular on the show is Indigenous, a first in Hollywood television history.
US Plans $50B Wildfire Fight
AP News, Matthew Brown, January 18
The Biden administration said Tuesday it will significantly expand efforts to stave off catastrophic wildfires that have torched areas of the U.S. West by more aggressively thinning forests around “hot spots” where nature and neighborhoods collide. As climate change heats up and dries out the West, administration officials said they have crafted a $50 billion plan to more than double the use of controlled fires and logging to reduce trees and other vegetation that serves as tinder in the most at-risk areas. Only some of the work has funding so far. Specific projects weren’t immediately released, and it’s not clear who would pay for the full scope of work envisioned across almost 80,000 square miles — an area almost as large as Idaho. Much of that area is controlled by states, tribes or is privately owned. Reaching that goal would require an estimated $20 billion over 10 years for work on national forests and $30 billion for work on other federal, state, tribal and private lands, said Vilsack spokesperson Kate Waters.