Good morning, NUNAverse:
The U.S. Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Bryan Newland as Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. Newland was nominated by President Joe Biden in April to serve as the highest-ranking Senate-confirmed official in Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to his nomination, Newland was tapped by President Biden in February to serve as Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. In his role, Newland will oversee the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative that was established by Secretary Haaland in June.
The Department of the Interior is proposing updates to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and will hold three online consultation meetings this month for tribal members and Native Hawaiians. The proposed changes are meant to simplify and fix issues that exist under the current regulations. According to letter sent to tribal and Native Hawaiian leaders, the consultations will also seek input about whether the current organizational placement of the NAGPRA program (i.e., within the National Park Service) is working well, or if placement within the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, or elsewhere, would be preferable.
In an annual report released by the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) on Monday, the New York Times is shown to use Native stereotypes in more than half of the publication’s articles about Native peoples that were published between 2015 and 2021. Each year, NAJA uses a scorecard called the NAJA BINGO Card to track how publications portray Native people through reliance on tropes or stereotypes when reporting on Indian Country. The Bingo card contains trigger words or terms, such as “alcohol,” “a warrior,” “horses,” “plight,” “poverty,” “dying language,” and “violence.” Researchers identified the number of items using clichéd themes and stereotypes from the Bingo card that appeared in hard news, opinion, and stories about Indigenous peoples by the second-largest newspaper in the country.
Two Indigenous filmmakers are smashing the caricatures and stereotypes of Native people. Sterlin Harjo, (Seminole/Muscogee) a filmmaker from Oklahoma, teamed up with Taika Waititi, (Maori) a director from New Zealand, on “Reservation Dogs,” a new series debuting today on FX on Hulu that features four rough-and-tumble teenagers in a rural Oklahoma town. Filmed entirely on the Muscogee Nation in eastern Oklahoma, the network says the half-hour comedy is the first show on cable TV in which all the writers, directors, and regular characters on the series are Indigenous.
Finally, Indian Country Today’s August donor campaign is currently ongoing, with a total fundraising goal of $230,000 from individual donors. To kick off the campaign, Indian Country Today editor Mark Trahant published a letter from the editor: “The case for Indigenous media.” For more information about the fundraising campaign, Indian Country Today, and more, check out the piece here.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
Former Bay Mills Leader Bryan Newland Confirmed By Senate To Be Assistant Secretary Of The Interior – Indian Affairs
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, August 7
The U.S. Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Bryan Newland as Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. Newland was nominated by President Joe Biden in April to serve as the highest-ranking Senate-confirmed official in Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to his nomination, Newland was tapped by President Biden in February to serve as Principal Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Dept. of the Interior. Newland now has the solemn responsibility of maintaining the United States’ government-to-government relationship with the 574 sovereign tribal nations. He will be the first assistant secretary of the Interior-Indian Affairs to serve under the first Native to serve as Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo).
In his role, Newland will oversee the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative that was established by Sec. Haaland in June.
Echohawk Says Seattle Campaign ‘Elevated And Amplified’ Unheard Voices
Indian Country Today, Richard Arlin Walker, August 7
Colleen Echohawk (Pawnee) has acknowledged her failed but historic bid for mayor of Seattle but wrote on social media that she is confident that her campaign “elevated and amplified the voices of the homeless in our community.” Echohawk’s concession came Aug. 5, as late results from the Aug. 3 primary showed her updated vote counts failing to close in on the two top finishers, who will advance to the Nov. 2 general election. Several other Indigenous candidates will be on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election, however, in Olympia, Omak, Port Angeles and other cities across the region.
Haaland Hasn’t Made Decision On Alaska Refuge Road Issue
AP News, Becky Bohrer, August 6
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has not decided the position she will take on a proposed land exchange aimed at building a road through a national wildlife refuge in Alaska, a U.S. government attorney said Wednesday in arguing the position taken by Haaland’s predecessor. Michael T. Gray, a Justice Department attorney, told a federal appeals court panel Haaland planned to review the record and visit King Cove, the community at the heart of the dispute, before making a decision. He said the position he was arguing had not been “taken back in any way.”
Law:
Line 3 Pipeline Opponents File Suit On Behalf Of Wild Rice
AP News, August 6
Opponents of Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 oil pipeline replacement across northern Minnesota are taking a novel legal approach to try to halt construction — they are suing on behalf of wild rice. Wild rice is the lead plaintiff in a complaint filed Wednesday in White Earth Nation Tribal Court. The lawsuit, which names the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources among the defendants, advances a legal theory that nature in itself has the right to exist and flourish, the Star Tribune reported. The lawsuit is only the second “rights of nature” case to be filed in the U.S., said Frank Bibeau, a lawyer for the White Earth tribe. The plaintiffs include manoomin, which means “good berry” in Ojibwe, several White Earth tribal members and Indian and non-Indian protesters who have demonstrated along the Line 3 construction route. They say the DNR is failing to protect the state’s fresh water by allowing Calgary-based Enbridge to pump up to 5 billion gallons of groundwater from construction trenches during a drought.
Man Arrested After Native American Statue Stolen, Damaged
AP News, August 6
A man has been charged with receiving stolen property after Kansas City police recovered pieces of a statue of a Native woman that was stolen earlier this week. Clay County prosecutors charged Charles Fuentes, 56, on Friday. He is being held on $25,000 bond. Help from the public helped detectives find a large section of the 400-pound, 7-foot-tall statue but it had already been cut into pieces, police said. The statue was sheared from its bolts at the François Chouteau and Native American Heritage Fountain in northern Kansas City sometime between Monday and Wednesday, police said. It has an estimated value of $80,000.
Indigenous Communities Are Still Fighting For The Return Of Their Ancestors
VICE News, Reana Johnson, August 9
The displacement of Native peoples over the course of centuries not only dispossessed them of their land and belongings, but also made it harder to pass down traditions and artifacts, and made it more difficult to find ancestors. Unsuprisingly, Native people want their artifacts and ancestors back.
Boarding Schools:
Why Don’t Indigenous Children Buried At Carlisle And Other Former Indian Boarding Schools Qualify For Repatriation Under NAGPRA?
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, August 8
Under legislation passed by Congress in 1990 — the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) — certain cultural artifacts, funerary objects, and human remains held by museums and federal agencies are subject to a process of federal review and return to their respective tribal nations. But NAGPRA doesn’t apply to the 173 Native children buried on federal lands in Carlisle, Pa., according to the US Office of Army Cemeteries, which oversees the graveyard. Instead, the Army has instituted its own process for returning the youth buried at Carlisle. That process, though, is too restrictive to tribes seeking justice and healing, according to attorneys who specialize in repatriation matters and the application of NAGPRA.
Sovereignty:
Interior To Host NAGPRA Consultation With Tribes, Native Hawaiians
Native News Online, August 7
The Department of the Interior is proposing updates to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and will hold three online consultation meetings this month for tribal members and Native Hawaiians. The proposed changes are meant to simplify and fix issues that exist under the current regulations. According to letter sent to tribal and Native Hawaiian leaders, the consultations will also seek input about whether the current organizational placement of the NAGPRA program (i.e., within the National Park Service) is working well, or if placement within the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, or elsewhere, would be preferable.
Push To Return 116,000 Native American Remains Is Long-Awaited
The New York Times, Zachary Small, August 6
In 1990, when Congress passed a law that set criteria under which federally recognized Native American tribes could reclaim ancient burial remains and sacred objects, legislators hoped to encourage the return of items by museums and other institutions. But more than three decades later, some officials acknowledge that the law, known as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, has not been as effective as they had hoped. The remains of more than 116,000 Native American ancestors are still held by institutions around the country, and the National Park Service says that, for nearly all of them, the institutions have not linked the remains to a particular tribe, a designation known as “culturally affiliated” that allows Indigenous groups to reclaim the bones of their forebears. Now the Biden administration is seeking to make regulatory adjustments that would help expedite repatriation proceedings and require museums to complete the process of identifying the remains.
Casinos:
Four Winds South Bend Upgrades To Class III Gaming Casino
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, August 7
There was excitement in the air on Thursday morning as the Four Winds South Bend casino unveiled its Class III gaming after a compact was signed between the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Gaming Authority and the State of Indiana. The excitement was shared by Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians Tribal Council Chairman Matthew Wesaw, who also serves as CEO of the tribe’s gaming authority, along with Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb and National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernest L. Stevens, Jr. The compact was signed earlier this year, but the gaming authority waited until Thursday to implement Class III gaming. The compact calls for the State of Indiana to receive eight percent of the profits. Also included in the compact is the establishment of a $1 million education fund that will allow Pokagon citizens to attend two- and four-year Indiana state-funded colleges or vocational schools with all expenses paid.
COVID-19:
Rep. Sharice Davids Tests Positive For COVID-19
Native News Online, August 7
Kansas Representative Sharice Davids disclosed on Friday she tested positive for Covid-19. Davids (Ho Chunk), who was vaccinated in January 2021, says her symptoms are mild. Davids, 41, who serves in an eastern Kansas congressional district, was already in the district recovering from outpatient surgery when she tested positive for Covid-19.
Indian Country Still Not Ready To Return To Normal From COVID-19 Pandemic
Native News Online, August 6
After almost a year and half of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Country and the rest of the nation are more than ready for a return to normalcy. At the same time, recent surges of new cases fueled by the Delta variant have led to calls to resume mask-wearing and event cancelations. According to the CDC, even though Native people are getting vaccinated at high rates, they are still seeing an increase in new COVID-19 cases. On July 31, Native people and Alaska Natives had the highest number of weekly cases of any racial or ethnic group, with 86.6 cases per every 100,000 people, according to CDC data. Health officials across the country blame unvaccinated individuals and an uptick in Delta variant for the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Other:
Native Hawaiians ‘Reclaim’ Surfing With Moore’s Olympic Gold
AP News, Sally Ho, August 6
Carissa Moore wore a white and yellow plumeria pinned next to her ear for her victory-lap interviews after making history as the first Olympic gold medalist at surfing’s historic debut. Her mother — crowned the Honolulu Lei Queen in 2016 — had given her the flower hair clip before she left for Tokyo to remind the only Native Hawaiian Olympic surfer of where she came from. At this pinnacle point, Moore is still in disbelief when she’s compared to Duke Kahanamoku, the godfather of modern surfing who is memorialized in Hawaii with a cherished monument.
California Heritage Commission To Investigate Claims That University Abused Sacred Native American Site
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, August 7
California’s Native American Heritage Commission voted last week to open an investigation into allegations that California State University Long Beach abused a sacred Native site on the university campus. The Puvungna site is a historic Indian village thought to be the site of creation for several tribal nations in the Southern California area, including the Tongva people, the Acjachemen people and other tribes. In the fall of 2019, Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation-Belardes tribe, a California state recognized tribe, joined with a local preservation alliance to file a lawsuit against the University, alleging it violated the California Environmental Quality Act. The suit claims that CSULB dumped 6,400 cubic yards of construction dirt and debris on a listed historic and sacred Native American site without conducting an environmental review of the potential impacts. A trial was originally set for before June 2021, but has been stalled due to COVID-19.
Native American Journalists Association Cites New York Times For Too Many Negative Stereotypes In Portrayal Of Indian Country
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, August 7
In an annual report released by the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) on Monday, the New York Times is shown to use Native stereotypes in more than half of the publication’s articles about Native Americans that were published between 2015 and 2021. With 900 members, NAJA is the nation’s largest organization representing Native American journalists in the country. Each year, the NAJA uses a scorecard called the NAJA BINGO Card to track how publications portray Native Americans through reliance on tropes or stereotypes when reporting on Indian Country. The Bingo card contains trigger words or terms, such as “alcohol,” “a warrior,” “horses,” “plight,” “poverty,” “dying language,” and “violence.” Researchers identified the number of items using clichéd themes and stereotypes from the Bingo card that appeared in hard news, opinion and stories about Indigenous peoples by the second-largest newspaper in the country.
‘Reservation Dogs’ Smashes Stereotypes Of Indigenous People
AP News, Sean Murphy, August 7
Two Indigenous filmmakers are smashing the caricatures and stereotypes of Native Americans, who since the earliest days of film and TV have often played supporting roles or been portrayed as bloodthirsty killers standing in the way of white, westward expansion. Sterlin Harjo, a (Seminole/Muscogee) filmmaker from Oklahoma, teamed up with Taika Waititi, (Maori) a director from New Zealand, on “Reservation Dogs,” a new series debuting Monday on FX on Hulu that features four rough-and-tumble teenagers who cuss, fight and steal their way toward adulthood in a rural Oklahoma town. Filmed entirely on the Muscogee Nation reservation in eastern Oklahoma, the network says the half-hour comedy is the first show on cable TV in which all the writers, directors and regular characters on the series are Indigenous.
‘Reservation Dogs’ Debuts In Hollywood At Red-Carpet Premiere
Native News Online, August 6
The new series Reservation Dogs debuted last night at a star-studded red-carpet event at the trendy NeueHouse in the center of Hollywood. The celebration concluded with a roof-top screening of the first two episodes, with the cast and crew in attendance. Also on hand were producers Sterlin Harjo (co-creator/executive producer/writer/director), Taika Waititi (co-creator/executive producer/writer) and Garrett Basch (executive producer). The edgy new comedy series, which showcases ample Indigenous representation, has already garnered praise from the New York Times, which called it “an often gritty, often dark look at life on a modern-day Native American reservation.”
‘Reservation Dogs’ Uses Humor, Not Magic, To Conjure Native Culture
The New York Times, Stuart Miller, August 6
Debuting Monday on FX on Hulu, “Reservation Dogs” is an often gritty, often dark look at life on a modern-day Native reservation as the Dogs engage in small-time criminality, try to keep the bullies at bay and dream of escaping to a wider world. But as the paintball scene helps establish early, the series forgoes the usual reductive clichés about reservation life — the show is neither pitying, nor mysticizing — in favor of a nuanced and comic realism. Thank the sensibilities of its creators, Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”), both of whom have deep roots in their respective Indigenous cultures and a keen satirical eye for both the hypocrisies and the pleasures of mainstream entertainment. (The title, as well as a sequence in the pilot, is a reference to Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs.”)
The Case For Indigenous Media
Indian Country Today, Mark Trahant, Augsut 1
This begins ICT’s August donor campaign. We have budgeted $230,000 to be raised from individual donors. As of today we’re at about $130,000 — so we have $100,000 to go for this year. I know this is a long shot, but as an incentive, if we hit that goal this month … we won’t bother our readers again in 2021. (An old public radio trick.) To put in perspective that’s about 10 percent of our annual budget.