Good Morning, NUNAverse,
Although the Supreme Court issued the two most important opinions of the term last week, upending a near 50-year-old precedent on abortion and expanding gun rights for the first time in a decade, this blockbuster term is not over. New opinions will be announced Wednesday morning, and one of the four disputes includes how non-Indians will be convicted on Native lands. Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, a non-Indian, was convicted of child neglect in a case concerning his stepdaughter, who is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. His conviction was wiped away after a state appeals court held that because the crime occurred in Indian Country, the state lacked jurisdiction. Now the court will decide whether a state has the authority to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian Country.
The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) announced Monday that they will offer non-credit classes in Alaska Native languages this fall with no tuition or fees required. Students can pay tuition for the classes to receive credit. The university said it will offer classes in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Students can take free classes without credit or pay tuition and fees to receive credit. The classes will run from August 29 to December 17, according to course listings. The courses are listed as available at all three of UAS’s campuses: Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. The university said their free language courses are offered both in-person and online. Dr. X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, one of the language instructors, said in the statement that UAS looks forward to “doing all we can to help move our language communities to places of safety.”
The Biden administration is fully supporting bipartisan efforts to study the Indian boarding school era amid an ongoing investigation into the genocidal policies that were once supported by the U.S. government. In her first appearance before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Secretary Deb Haaland said she viewed the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act as “complementary” to the investigation being undertaken at the Department of the Interior. The bill would authorize a comprehensive review of the educational institutions in which Indian children were taken from their families, with some being sent thousands of miles away, and where they were discouraged from maintaining their tribal traditions, languages, and cultures. “The administration strongly supports this legislation, especially the development of national survivor resources to address the intergenerational trauma and the inclusion of the commission’s formal investigation and documentation practices,” Haaland told the committee at an oversight and legislative hearing last Wednesday. “Federal Indian boarding school policy is a part of America’s story that we must tell,” said Haaland.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Health:
Why Indian Country Won’t Become Safe Harbors For Abortions
Daily Yonder, Kristi Eaton, June 27
Legal, financial, political, and ethical considerations make it unlikely that tribal reservations could be a safe place for abortion procedures, according to a new article on the subject. Written by Indigenous law scholars, the article entitled “The Indian Country Abortion Safe Harbor Fallacy,” looks at why Indian Country is not likely to be a place for safe harbors for abortion access in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The article came about because of an onslaught of media requests and social media posts regarding the issue, said Stacy Leeds, foundation professor of Law and Leadership at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, in an interview with The Daily Yonder. “Everyone was presuming that there was some loophole around a potential abortion ban, if these clinics could be open on an Indian reservation. And so the legality question was raised to a number of us,” she said of herself and other Indigenous legal scholars.
Law:
Women Of Indian Country Respond To The Overturning Of Roe V. Wade
Native News Online, June 27
Women across Indian Country react to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Here are some of their public statements on the issue. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo): Today’s decision is a shameful step backwards that seeks to disempower women by micromanaging our bodies. Women in this country deserve better. Congress must act. Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe): Our Administration will continue to do everything in our power to protect people’s right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions. In Minnesota, your reproductive rights will stay protected. U.S. Kansas Representative Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk): This is no longer hyperbole or hypothetical. For 50 years, we’ve been protected from the most extreme attempts to control people’s decisions about their bodies, but that protection is now gone and Kansas is at a major decision point.
The 4 Remaining Supreme Court Cases Of This Blockbuster Term
KAKE, Ariane de Vogue, June 27
Although the Supreme Court issued the two most important opinions of the term last week, upending near 50-year-old precedent on abortion and expanding gun rights for the first time in a decade, this blockbuster term is not over. New opinions will be announced Wednesday morning, and one of the four disputes includes how non-Indians will be convicted on Native lands. Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta, a non-Indian, was convicted of child neglect in a case concerning his step daughter, who is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. His conviction was wiped away after a state appeals court held that because the crime occurred in Indian country, the state lacked jurisdiction. Now the court will decide whether a state has the authority to prosecute non-indians who commit crimes against Indians in Indian country. In 2020, in an opinion penned by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by the court’s liberals, the majority held that Oklahoma had no jurisdiction to prosecute an Indian who had committed a crime in Indian country.
Education:
University Of Alaska Southeast To Offer Free Alaska Native Language Courses
Native News Online, Andrew Kennard, June 27
The University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) announced Monday that they will offer non-credit classes in Alaska Native languages this fall with no tuition or fees required. Students can pay tuition for the classes to receive credit. The university said it will offer classes in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Students can take free classes without credit, or pay tuition and fees to receive credit. The classes will run from August 29 to December 17, according to course listings. They take place in the late afternoon and evening, and most are in session twice a week. The courses are listed as available at all three of UAS’s campuses: Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. The university said their free language courses are offered both in-person and online. Dr. X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, one of the language instructors, said in the statement that UAS looks forward to “doing all we can to help move our language communities to places of safety.”
University of Arizona To Provide Tuition-Free Education For Native Undergraduates In Arizona
The University of Arizona, June 27
Undergraduate students from the state’s 22 federally recognized tribes will no longer have to pay tuition and mandatory fees at the University of Arizona main campus in Tucson. Beginning in the fall, new and continuing full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates will be eligible for the Arizona Native Scholars Grant, the first program of its kind in Arizona. The program, funded through a reallocation of financial aid dollars, will be administered by UArizona Enrollment Management. To be eligible, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, and provide tribal identification. Tribes’ federal legal status allows universities to administer scholarships and grants to tribal members. More than 400 students enrolled at UArizona last year meet the criteria for the new program.
Boarding Schools:
Biden Administration Backs Indian Boarding School Bill
Indianz.com, Acee Agoyo, June 27
The Biden administration is fully supporting bipartisan efforts to study the Indian boarding school era amid an ongoing investigation into the genocidal policies that were once supported by the U.S. government. In her first appearance before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Secretary Deb Haaland said she viewed the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act as “complementary” to the investigation being undertaken at the Department of the Interior. The bill would authorize a comprehensive review of the educational institutions in which Indian children were taken from their families, with some being sent thousands of miles away, and where they were discouraged from maintaining their tribal traditions, languages and cultures. “The administration strongly supports this legislation, especially the development of national survivor resources to address the intergenerational trauma and the inclusion of the commission’s formal investigation and documentation practices,” Haaland told the committee at an oversight and legislative hearing last Wednesday. “Federal Indian boarding school policy is a part of America’s story that we must tell,” said Haaland.
Other:
Native Growers Can Help the US Meet Its Climate Goals. Will the New Farm Bill Offer Enough Support?
The Nation, Danielle Renwick, June 27
Many regenerative agricultural practices have their roots in Indigenous agriculture. In the Southwest, Hopi farmers plant their crops in the shade to shield them from the hot sun and conserve water. In California, the Pauma tribe use no-till farming and plant cover crops to sequester carbon in the soil. Indigenous peoples around the world have maintained food biodiversity, which, increasingly, is understood to ensure food security on a heating planet.“Tribal producers have different kinds of operations—some have large-scale commercial operations—but it’s safe to say Indigenous peoples, based on our relationship with the land, have different perspectives as far as what agriculture looks like, and what steps need to be taken for sustainability and resilience,” Carly Griffith Hotvedt said. But she added that Indigenous producers are often overlooked in federal conservation programs. Many Native farmers don’t hold formal titles to their land as individuals, which makes it difficult to access credit, disaster relief, and conservation funding. “We want to reduce those barriers and really see an injection of support for Indian Country agriculture,” she said. Supporting sustainable agriculture practices could help the US meet its climate goals. Farms make up about 40 percent of all US land, according to the most recent census, and agriculture accounts for about 11 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Senate Committee On Indian Affairs Holds Field Hearing On Infrastructure
Indianz.com, June 27
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is going back on the road this week with a field hearing on infrastructure. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, a member of the committee, will chair the hearing, which takes place in Minnesota on Tuesday. It is being hosted by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, located just outside of the Twin Cities. According to the committee, the hearing will focus on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The historic law provides over $13 billion in direct funding to tribal nations, and it opens up billions of dollars in additional funds to Indian Country through more than 150 programs across the U.S. government. The hearing begins at 11am Central in the Minnetonka Conference Room at the Mystic Lake Center. It is open to the public. The committee has not said whether a livestream will be provided. Recent field hearings in Hawaii and Alaska have been carried online.