Good Morning NUNAverse,
Oklahoma tribal public safety officials say the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling is strengthening momentum for improvements to public safety infrastructure in their police departments. The Choctaw and Muscogee nations have hired additional public safety officers and are entering into more cross-deputization agreements with tribal, state, and federal agencies. Choctaw Public Safety has hired 30 additional public safety officers since application of the McGirt decision on the Choctaw reservation, according to Michael Hall, the tribe’s executive director of public safety. The nation now employs 80 officers to patrol the 11,000-square-mile reservation.
While the 2022 midterm election is still 12 months away, more than a dozen Native candidates ran for local office across the country this year, including at least 11 in Washington State. Indian Country Today has compiled a rundown of the Native candidates who were on the ballot earlier this week, as well as an analysis of the political landscape heading into 2022. Read about the Native candidates here.
One of Canada’s newly elected Members of Parliament, Blake Desjarlais, won office in the September 20 election for the New Democratic Party in the voting district of Edmonton-Griesbach, flipping a seat long held by a Conservative Party member in the heart of Canada’s oil country. Desjarlais, 27, is Indigenous, two-spirit, and a self-declared “climate champion.” He is one of 10 Indigenous candidates in Parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the so-called “snap election” in hopes of gaining a majority for his Liberal Party. But while the balance of power didn’t shift, the New Democratic Party picked up one additional seat overall, most significantly the Alberta post won by Desjarlais.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Native American Heritage Month:
Chicago Kicks Off Native American Heritage Month
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, November 3
Earlier this week, the Field Museum hosted a kick-off event for Native American Heritage month, a celebratory observance in the city of Chicago. An inter-tribal song by David and Niyel Spencer, both singers of the local drum group Red Line Singers, was organized by Field Museum staff to officially begin the month-long celebration at the world-renowned museum. The museum organized a series of events about the objects at the museum, both at the museum and online with staff members and guest speakers. According to Field Museum staff, they have more than 770,000 items of Native American origin in their collection, but the public sees under 1% of the items on display. The Field Museum has several Native American exhibits, including Pokagon Potawatomi Black Ash Baskets: Our Storytellers, Robert R. McCormick Halls of the Ancient Americas, Rice Native Gardens, which is outside of the museum and was where the kick-off event was hosted, and the Native North America Hall, which is closed until May 2022 and will reopen as a brand new exhibit, said Field Museum Conservation Technician J. Kae Good Bear.
Everything You Need to Know About Native American Heritage Month
People, Skyler Caruso, November 3
Native American Heritage Month (NAHM), also commonly recognized as American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, takes place in November and is a time to acknowledge and celebrate the rich and diverse traditions, cultures, and histories of Native people. It’s also the time to to educate the general public about the tribes’ past and present experiences, raising awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced historically – and continue to face in the present. The way tribal citizens have worked to conquer and overcome these obstacles are recognized. Google kicked off the celebration with an interactive Doodle on Nov. 1 to honor the late We:wa – “a revered cultural leader and mediator within the Zuni tribe, devoting their life to the preservation of Zuni traditions and history.” The doodle was illustrated by Zuni Pueblo guest artist Mallery Quetawki.
Native American Heritage Month: LA Councilman O’Farrell Says Ancestry Guides Him
ABC7, Carlos Granda, November 3
November is Native American Heritage Month. It’s a commemoration that is particularly important to Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell. Raised in Oklahoma, O’Farrell is the first and so far only Los Angeles city council member of Native American ancestry. He says his past guides what he does every day. On his mother’s side of the family in Oklahoma, his great, great grandfather is part of the history of the Wyandotte nation. His grandfather was the chief in the 1940s and ’70s. He says it’s a deep and personal responsibility. That’s why when he became a councilmember he wanted the ceremony at the Los Angeles River, which was vital to the native people in Southern California. He was sworn in by Chief Billy Friend from Oklahoma.
Native American Heritage Month Celebrates Indigenous Communities
Arizona Mirror, Shondiin Silversmith, November 2
November is Native American Heritage Month, and for Indigenous people across the country, it’s a chance to share the unique ancestry, traditions, and contributions their communities make today and have made throughout history. Biden signed a proclamation on Oct. 28, proclaiming November as National Native American Heritage Month. This provides a national spotlight for Indigenous people, communities, and organizations as they work to educate and share stories about the tribal nations across the US.
Law:
Tribal Law Enforcement Officials Say McGirt Strengthening Public Safety
Gaylord News, Nancy Marie Spears, November 3
Oklahoma tribal public safety officials say the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling is strengthening momentum for improvements to public safety infrastructure in their police departments. The Choctaw and Muscogee nations have hired additional public safety officers and are entering into more cross-deputization agreements with tribal, state and federal agencies. Choctaw Public Safety has hired 30 additional public safety officers since application of the McGirt decision on the Choctaw reservation, according to Michael Hall, the tribe’s executive director of public safety. The nation now employs 80 officers to patrol the 11,000-square-mile reservation.
COVID-19:
COVID-19 Cases Surpass 37,000 On Navajo Nation
Native News Online, November 3
With 80 news COVID-19 cases reported on the Navajo Nation on Wednesday, the nation’s largest reservation surpassed 37,000 cases since COVID cases were first reported on March 17, 2020. The Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 80 new COVID-19 cases for the Navajo Nation and no recent deaths. The total number of deaths remains 1,487. Health care facilities across the Navajo Nation continue to administer COVID-19 vaccines. If you would like to receive one of the COVID-19 vaccines, please contact your health care provider and schedule an appointment. The vaccines should be available at all health care facilities on the Navajo Nation in the next few days. Please contact your health care provider about vaccination events or to setup an appointment.
Politics:
Native Candidates Show Up On Election Day
Indian Country Today, Kalle Benallie, November 3
It’s still 12 months before Election Day 2022 and the midterm election. While Tuesday’s election results hold some truths as to what might happen, they are merely clues.
The Democrats hold the majority at the federal level. For now. More than a dozen Native candidates ran for local office across the country, including at least 11 in Washington state. Here are some of the Native candidates who ran on Election Day, Nov. 2.
‘Climate Champion’ Makes Waves In Canada’s Parliament
Indian Country Today, Miles Morrisseau, November 3
One of Canada’s newly elected Members of Parliament, Desjarlais won office in the Sept. 20 election for the New Democratic Party in the voting district of Edmonton-Griesbach, flipping a seat long held by a Conservative Party member in the heart of Canada’s oil country. And that’s not the half of it. Desjarlais, 27, is Indigenous, two-spirit, and a self-declared “climate champion.” He is one of 10 Indigenous candidates in Parliament. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the so-called “snap election” in hopes of gaining a majority for his Liberal Party. But while the balance of power didn’t shift, the New Democratic Party picked up one additional seat overall, most significantly the Alberta post won by Desjarlais.
Native Mascots:
Group Sues Colorado Over Ban On Native American School Mascots
The Denver Post, Saja Hindi, November 3
A North Dakota-based organization this week sued Colorado for banning American Indian school mascots, arguing the state shouldn’t outlaw culturally-sensitive uses of Native American names and imagery. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by the nonprofit Native American Guardian’s Association, names several Colorado officials, including Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and Kathryn Redhorse, the executive director of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. The suit alleges SB21-116, which was signed into law in June, is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Other plaintiffs include a John Doe and Jane Doe, and three others who cite Native heritage in the lawsuit: Demetrius Marez, a Lamar High School alumnus; Chase Aubrey Roubideaux, a Yuma High School alumnus; and Donald Wayne Smith Jr., a pastor at Yuma Christian Church and former teacher.
Other:
A New Kind Of Native American Dance Troupe
The New York Times, Brian Seibert, November 3
One day in October, the dancer Kenneth Shirley got a message from Injury Reserve, a hip-hop group he had befriended in Phoenix, where he grew up and still lives. The band was performing in Manhattan and had noticed from Shirley’s Instagram posts that he was on the East Coast, too. Would he like to come to the show as a guest? And so, an audience expecting rap and maybe a mosh pit opened a circle on the floor so that Shirley and his crew, Native Americans from several tribes, had some space. Decked out in many-colored beads, bells and huge feathered bustles, accompanied by flute, drum and song, they did a Fancy Dance, a Jingle Dance, a Prairie Chicken Dance. Before kaleidoscopically juggling as many as 11 hoops, Shirley’s colleague Jorge Gonzales-Zuniga Jr., of the Salt River Pima tribe, crowd-surfed from the stage. This is one way that the members of Indigenous Enterprise, almost all in their early or mid-20s, are updating what a Native American dance troupe can be.