Good Morning, NUNAverse,
The primary suspect in the stabbing spree on James Cree Nation that left 10 people dead and 19 injured over the weekend, died in police custody last Wednesday afternoon, Canadian law-enforcement officials have reported. The suspect went into “medical distress” shortly after being taken into custody and later died at the hospital where he was taken, Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said.
The U.S. government has joined a ski resort and others that have quit using a racist term for a Native woman by renaming hundreds of peaks, lakes, streams, and other geographical features on federal lands in the West and elsewhere. New names for nearly 650 places bearing the offensive word “squaw” include the mundane (Echo Peak, Texas), peculiar (No Name Island, Maine) and Indigenous terms (Nammi’I Naokwaide, Idaho).
Queen Elizabeth II, the monarch who served the United Kingdom for more than seven decades, passed away on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, her summer residence. Her final statement before her death was addressed to the James Smith Cree Nation. The statement, released on Wednesday, expressed her condolences to First Nation citizens impacted by the horrific stabbings that occurred in the early morning hours on Sunday on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, Saskatchewan.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that it’s making $35 million in grant funding available to Native and Alaska Native tribes to ensure callers to the 988 trained mental health counselors receive culturally sensitive support as well as follow-up care if needed. The deadline to apply is October 25.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Law:
Judge Restores Oil Lease On Land Sacred To US, Canada Tribes
AP News, Matthew Brown, September 9
Oklahoma Appellate Court Next For Osage Nation Case
AP News, Sean Murphy, September 9
Judge Orders ‘Trespassing’ Enbridge To Pay Bad River
Indian Country Today, Mary Annette Pember, September 9
Lawsuit Contests Montana Vaccine Mandate Ban On Tribal Land
AP News, September 8
Second Suspect In Cree Nation Stabbings Died In Police Custody
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, September 7
South Dakota Settles With Tribes To Ensure Voting Rights
AP News, September 7
District Court Says Osage Reservation Disestablished
Osage News, Louise Red Corn,
Health:
COVID’s Toll On Native Americans
The New York Times, German Lopez, September 8
Indian Health Service Expands Services In Mid-Atlantic
Native News Online, September 7
Native Mascots:
Authorities Rename 28 Wisconsin Sites To Remove Racist Word
AP News, September 9
US Changes Names Of Places With Racist Term For Native Women
AP News, Mead Gruver, September 8
MMIW:
Alaska’s MMIP Investigator Role Vacant
Alaska Beacon, Lisa Phu, September 8
Other:
South Dakota Tribes Buy Land Near Wounded Knee Massacre Site
AP News, Steven Groves, September 10
City Of Oakland Announces Plan To Return Land To Indigenous Stewardship
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, September 9
Queen Elizabeth’s Last Official Statement Was To The James Smith Cree Nation Expressing Her Condolences For Stabbing Attacks
Native News Online, Levi Rickert, September 9
US To Award $35m In Grants To Native American And Alaska Native Tribes For 988 Crisis Line
AP News, Felicia Fonseca, September 9
Oakland 1st City To Give Land To Native Americans As Reparations
KTVU, September 9
Can Better Data Help UM Retain Indigenous Students?
Montana Free Press, Alex Sakariassen, September 8
U.S. Dept. Of Commerce Announces More Than $7 Million To Tribal Communities
Native News Online, September 7
10,245 Indigenous Remains Reported At University Of Alabama
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, September 7