Good Morning, NUNAverse,
Covering the Oklahoma Gubernatorial election, AP News writes that many of the state’s 39 tribes are wielding their considerable influence to oppose a second term for Republican Governor Kevin Stitt, himself a Cherokee citizen, who is facing a tough reelection challenge after feuding with the tribes for nearly his entire first term. With the election just weeks away, five of the state’s most powerful tribes jointly endorsed Stitt’s Democratic opponent, Joy Hofmeister, the state’s public schools superintendent.
Three White couples who sought to adopt Indigenous children will have their legal cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next month. Each of the foster families, including a couple from Minnesota, says the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) discriminated against them because of their race. The outcome of the case challenging ICWA, Brackeen v. Haaland, has far-reaching implications: not only for the battle against family separation in Indian Country, but potentially for the foundational rights of tribes in relation to the U.S. government.
The San Francisco Chronicle published a column by Jaqueline Keeler alleging that Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native actress who famously took the stage at the 1973 Oscars dressed in a beaded buckskin dress in place of Marlon Brando, is not actually Native. Keeler writes that she spoke to Littlefeather’s biological sisters who claim that she fabricated her Native ancestry. Littlefeather passed away on October 2 of this year.
Keep reading for a full news update.
MMIW:
There Are Nearly 200 Missing Native Americans From New Mexico And The Navajo Nation. The FBI Is Working To Tackle Unsolved Cases
CNN, Josh Campbell, October 22
Politics:
Native People Angry After Bloody Indigenous Peoples’ Day Tweet By Kari Lake Campaign Aide
AZ Central, Debra Utacia Krol, October 21
Feud With Tribes Threatens Oklahoma Governor’s Reelection
AP News, Sean Murphy, October 20
Law:
A Native Grandmother’s Custody Battle Reaches The Supreme Court
Indian Country Today, Nancy Marie Spears, October 23
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Challenging Policy Barring Native Americans From Accessing South Dakota Hotel And Sports Lounge
US DOJ, October 19
Boarding Schools:
University Of Kansas Returning Native American Remains
AP News, October 18
Kansas To Search Grounds Of Former Native American School
AP News, October 17
Other:
Native Americans Are Getting Left Behind In The Remote Work Economy
Brookings, Matthew Greg, October 24
2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit Set for November 30 & December 1
Native News Online, October 22
New Policy Brief Cites Geographic Information System As Tool For Landback Strategies
Native News Online, October 20
Speaking From Orbit, The First Native-American Woman In Space Reflects On Earth’s Fragility
Time, Jeffery Kluger, October 20
Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann Answered Questions From Native Students, Indigenous Media In Live Interview From Space Station
Native News Online, October 19
Sacheen Littlefeather Was A Native American Icon. Her Sisters Say She Was An Ethnic Fraud
San Francisco Chronicle, Jacqueline Keeler, October 22