Good Morning NUNAverse,
Prior to game one of the World Series yesterday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred defended the Atlanta franchise’s continued use of the “Braves” name and imagery. Manfred was responding to questions about whether the league would pressure them to change identities, the way other teams with Native monikers have in recent years (including the Cleveland franchise, which will soon be known as the Guardians). Manfred’s point about the region’s Native population being supportive of the name and the chop should be scrutinized. As baseball scribe Craig Calcaterra noted in his newsletter, the Atlanta Baseball Team often points to the support they have from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as irrefutable evidence that all Native people are on board with their identity. What tends to go unnoted is that the Eastern Band is technically a business partner of the team, as their casino serves as a corporate sponsor of the team.
New York State is second only to Texas in its failure to collect and analyze COVID-19 data from American Indian and Alaska Native populations, according to a Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) study. The study ranked states based on their quality of COVID-19 racial data and their effectiveness in collecting and reporting data on Native populations. Texas got a grade of 20 percent, and New York 27 percent. New York is among 16 states that fail to report data on COVID-19 among American Indians and Alaska Native people as a distinct demographic category. Rather, they lumped them in as “other.” Despite the Empire State’s eight federally recognized tribes and official population of 318,858 Natives (according to state data listed in the report), the New York Department of Health does not include any data specific to Natives in its reporting.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing entitled “Voting Matters in Native Communities” on today at 2:30 P.M. EDT. Chairman Schatz and the Committee will hear from tribal leaders and Native voting rights advocates about ongoing challenges to exercising the right to vote in Indian Country and consider the less-formally documented Native Hawaiian voter experience.
Jailing people because of a mental health issue is illegal in Montana and every other state except New Hampshire. But the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes is a sovereign nation with its own laws. An 11-year-old tribal policy allows law enforcement to put members who threaten or attempt suicide in jail or juvenile detention to prevent another attempt. Fort Peck’s tribal leaders say they approved the policy out of necessity because there were no mental health facilities equipped for short-term housing of people in mental crisis. Tribal officials and various mental health advocates have been trying to find an alternative for nearly a decade. But the reservation is still badly lacking in both secure psychiatric facilities and qualified mental health workers. Despite funding available for new positions, recruitment efforts have failed and there is still no viable alternative to keep people safe.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Native Mascots:
IllumiNative Issues Statement Ahead Of Start Of World Series On The “Tomahawk Chop”
Native News Online, October 26
As the World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros, one Native American organization is voicing its concern about the offensive “Tomahawk Chop” gesture fans in Truist Park use during the Braves home games. Ahead of the first World Series game tonight, a highlighted statement urging the Atlanta Braves to change their name came from Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director of IllumiNative – a Native-led nonprofit dedicated to increasing the visibility of Native peoples and challenging and changing the narrative about Native peoples.
Rob Manfred Defends Braves’ Name, Use Of Tomahawk Chop: Team Has ‘Done A Great Job With Native Americans’
CBS Sports, R. J. Anderson, October 26
The Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros are kicking off the 2021 World Series on Tuesday night. Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is at Minute Maid Park for Game 1, and, prior to the game, he defended the Atlanta franchise’s continued use of the “Braves” name and imagery. Manfred was responding to questions about whether the league would pressure them to change identities, the way other teams with Native American monikers have in recent years (including the Cleveland franchise, which will soon be known as the Guardians instead of the Indians). Manfred’s point about the region’s Native Americans being supportive of the name and the chop should be scrutinized. As baseball scribe Craig Calcaterra noted in his newsletter, the Braves often point to the support they have from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as irrefutable evidence that all Native Americans are on board with their identity. What tends to go unnoted is that the Eastern Band is technically a business partner of the Braves, as their casino serves as a corporate sponsor of the team.
Politics:
Senate Committee On Indian Affairs To Hold Hearing On Voting Matters In Native Communities
Native News Online, October 26
The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing entitled “Voting Matters in Native Communities” on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 2:30 p.m. – EDT. The Committee is chaired by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaiʻi). Chairman Schatz and the Committee will hear from tribal leaders and Native voting rights advocates about ongoing challenges to exercising the right to vote in Indian Country and consider the less-formally documented Native Hawaiian voter experience.
South Dakota House, Senate At Odds Over Redistricting Maps
AP News, Stephen Groves, October 25
Committees in the South Dakota House and Senate approved different legislative district maps on Monday, showing a schism among Republicans who lead each chamber over how to draw the political boundaries the state will use for the next decade. Negotiations on the map proposals will continue over the coming weeks and into the legislative session, as lawmakers try to iron out several key sticking points. One of the most significant is ensuring representation for Native American voters. Federal law requires that racial minorities receive adequate representation in legislative boundaries. In the past, South Dakota has run into trouble for diluting the representation of Native American voters — a federal judge found that the Legislature broke the federal law during redistricting in 2001. This year, tribal leaders and advocates for Native American voters have told lawmakers they believe the U.S. Census Bureau undercounted the population on several American Indian reservations. Lawmakers have previously insisted that they are bound to use the census numbers, but on Thursday, they acknowledged the tribes’ concerns.
Health:
Data Genocide: The State Of New York Neglects To Count Native Americans In COVID Data
Native News Online, Jenna Kunze, October 26
New York State is second only to Texas in its failure to collect and analyze COVID-19 data from American Indian and Alaska Native populations, according to a Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI) study. Published in February, the study ranked states based on their quality of COVID-19 racial data and their effectiveness in collecting and reporting data on Native populations. Texas got a grade of 20 percent, and New York 27 percent. New York is among 16 states that fail to report data on COVID-19 among American Indians and Alaska Native people as a distinct demographic category. Rather, they lumped them in as “other.” It was the only state that did not list complete racial information for any of the cases reported. Despite the Empire State’s eight federally recognized tribes and official population of 318,858 Natives (according to state data listed in the report), the New York Department of Health does not include any data specific to Natives in its reporting.
Native American Groups Capitalize On Record Donations To Confront Chronic Hardship
The Guardian, Anthony Wallace, October 26
Leaders of non-profit organizations serving Native American communities in the US say they have been inundated with unprecedented financial support over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. With all this loss and hardship has come media attention and donations from the public, Indigenous organizations say. At least $8.7m poured into GoFundMe campaigns for Native communities between March and October 2020 alone, according to Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP). In June, NAP announced it had also received a “multimillion-dollar” donation from MacKenzie Scott, former wife of the Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos. Indigenous-led organizations across the country have stepped up to try to tackle the crisis – distributing food and water, hand-making masks, delivering essentials like diapers and bleach so people don’t have to leave their homes.
Casinos:
Oregon Tribes Question State Gambling Regulations
The Oregonian, Jeff Manning, October 25
Six tribal nations called on Gov. Kate Brown and other state political leaders to launch a thorough review of Dutch Bros founder Travis Boersma’s plan to open a gambling entertainment center in his hometown of Grants Pass on Oct. 6. They argue that that Boersma’s planned “Flying Lark” will fundamentally change gambling in Oregon with little formal review. Consultants hired by opponents contend the Flying Lark will be the first casino allowed off tribal lands. It will lure business away from tribal casinos and the Oregon State Lottery, their analysis found, and could lead to more gambling venues at other tracks in the state. Boersma and his team offered a study of their own that analyzed the economic upside offered by Grants Pass Downs and the Flying Lark, which found the two venues would generate more than $10.7 billion in spending in southern Oregon over 30 years of operation.
Boarding Schools:
20 Scholarships Awarded To Indian Boarding School Descendants
Native News Online, October 26
In a collaboration to assist descendants of Indian boarding school survivors, the American Indian College Fund and the National Native American Boarding School (NABS) Healing Coalition have joined forces to provide scholarships of $3,000 each to 20 recipients. The scholarship is designed to acknowledge the experiences of boarding school survivors and to allow families to come together and heal. In the application process, students share a 500-word essay about their relationship with a boarding school survivor in their family. This process is designed to prompt sharing and healing, while acknowledging the impact of this trauma on their lives and relationships.
Survivors See A Link Between Indigenous Boarding Schools’ Harsh Discipline And Later Domestic Violence
The Salt Lake Tribune, Alastair Lee Bitsóí, October 26
Since the discovery of Indigenous children at boarding schools in Canada and then the unverified findings of Paiute bodies at the Panguitch Boarding School, the nonprofit Restoring Ancestral Winds (RAW) began research on the association between Indigenous boarding schools and domestic violence across Utah’s Indigenous communities. On a panel called “Utah Native American Boarding Schools and other Assimilation Projects on Native Children and Families” hosted by RAW, Indigenous organizers said the Indian Civilization Act of 1819 is a precursor to some of the domestic violence among Native Americans in Utah. While the correlation between domestic violence and Indigenous boarding school has not been well studied, activists say that the discipline experienced among Indigenous children influences how they eventually parent. Children were subjected to harsh punishments in the schools, ranging from the forced cutting of their hair, which is considered an important part of tribal identity, to eating soap for speaking their language, and other physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
Other:
Montana Tribes Want To Stop Jailing People For Suicide Attempts But Lack A Safer Alternative
Kaiser Health News, Sara Reardon, October 25
Jailing people because of a mental health issue is illegal in Montana and every other state except New Hampshire. But the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes is a sovereign nation with its own laws. An 11-year-old tribal policy allows law enforcement to put members who threaten or attempt suicide in jail or juvenile detention to prevent another attempt. Fort Peck’s tribal leaders say they approved the policy out of necessity because there were no mental health facilities equipped for short-term housing of people in mental crisis. The COVID pandemic has only exacerbated the crisis. In 2020, the tribes filed a record 62 aggravated disorderly conduct charges, the criminal charge they created in 2010 to allow law enforcement to book people they deemed a risk to themselves or others.
Rocky Boy Reservation Celebrates The Return Of The Buffalo
Native News Online, Tamara Ikenburg, October 25
No buffalo have roamed north-central Montana’s Rocky Boy Reservation since the 1990s. And the palpable absence of the animals left a hole in the health and harmony of its Chippewa Cree residents. However, Rocky Boy is getting a major dose of buffalo medicine via the arrival of 11 animals supplied by the American Prairie Reserve and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation (CSKT). The new residents will occupy 1200 acres surrounded by 7.1 miles of fencing. All 11 new buffalo will be honored with a day of events including guest speakers, traditional singing and dancing and a pipe ceremony.
Activists Protest Sinema At Bisbee Wedding
AP News, October 25
Activists protested outside a wedding where U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema was officiating over the weekend, the latest confrontation between demonstrators and the Arizona Democrat who opposes key parts of President Joe Biden’s social services and climate change package. Among the costumed guests at the wedding were people wearing Native American costumes with a headdress and face paint.