Good Morning NUNAverse,
North Dakota’s Legislature approved a new legislative map Wednesday that reflects a continued loss of political clout in rural areas due to population shifts in the past decade. Though the map maintains 47 legislative districts, it creates three new districts in the state’s fastest-growing areas but erases an equal amount in rural regions. The new map also separates House districts on two reservations in the state, a move tribal leaders believe will increase the odds for electing their own members to the Legislature. The redistricting plan was drafted by a GOP-controlled committee of lawmakers over several weeks. It was required due to population shifts shown by the 2020 federal census.
As part of the Native American Heritage Month celebration, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is bringing the annual Native Cinema Showcase to online audiences on November 12–18, making them available to everyone. Focusing on language, healing, building community, and a continued relationship with the land, the films reveal a strong thread of activism at the heart of the stories. It is a unique forum for engagement with Native filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere and the Arctic. The program includes 47 films, including seven features and 40 shorts, with 28 of those by women. The films represent 39 Native nations in 13 countries: the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Sweden, Greenland, and the Solomon Islands.
On October 29, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland opted out of a scheduled meeting with a delegation of tribal leaders. It was the second time Secretary Haaland had cancelled in a month. On both occasions, Secretary Haaland’s staff confirmed that she would be present to receive the Wolf Treaty and to discuss growing concerns among Tribal Nations and the Indigenous community as the impacts of the Trump Administration’s ESA wolf delisting rule escalates threats to not only the viability of the wolf, but also tribal treaty rights, sovereignty, consultation mandates, and traditional spiritual and religious freedoms. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland, stepped in for Haaland at the last minute. One attendee observed that it was unclear if Newland had even read the Wolf Treaty as his did not respond affirmatively when directly asked. Over 700 tribal nations on both sides of the US-Canada border have signed the Wolf Treaty.
Keep reading for a full news update.
Politics:
North Dakota Legislature Approves New Redistricting Map
AP News, James MacPherson, November 10
North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved a new legislative map Wednesday that reflects a continued loss of political clout in rural areas due to population shifts in the past decade. Though the map maintains 47 legislative districts, it creates three new districts in the state’s fastest-growing areas but erases an equal amount in population-lean rural regions. The new map also separates House districts on two American Indian reservations in the state, a move tribal leaders believe will increase the odds for electing their own members to the Legislature. The redistricting plan was drafted by a GOP-controlled committee of lawmakers over several weeks. It was required due to population shifts shown by the 2020 federal census.
Law:
Member Of Colville Tribes Convicted Of Killing Her Rapist, Court Denies Self-Defense Claim
Native News Online, Darren Thompson, November 10
A member of the Colville Tribes has been the center of a controversial criminal court case that has many questioning who is protected when claiming self-defense. Maddesyn George, 27, pleaded guilty last month in federal court for voluntary manslaughter and intent to distribute methamphetamine. George was initially charged with second degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence. She had told police she shot and killed her rapist, Kristopher Graber, 43, in self-defense in the summer of 2020 on the Colville Indian Reservation.
Health:
LGBTQ+ Native Americans Facing Mental Health Crisis
MSNBC, November 10
A recent study shows 42% of LGBTQ Native American and Alaskan Native adults have been diagnosed with depression, compared to just about 7% of the general U.S. population. GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis discusses what can be done to help.
Hospitals Serving The Navajo Nation Adjust As Beds Keep Filling Up
Source New Mexico, Arlyssa Becenti, November 10
Gallup Indian Medical Center was one of several New Mexico hospitals that was praised by the state’s Department of Health for its treatment of COVID-19 patients by using monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients is an infusion given to patients through IV, and takes about an hour. Studies have shown that it has decreased the chances of death or hospitalization by 70 percent. This is an outpatient treatment and is used for patients who are identified to have mild-to-moderate COVID-19.
Native Mascots:
Get To Know The History Of Native Americans In Baseball
NBC Sports, Max Molsky, November 10
With November being Native American Heritage Month, here’s a guide to American Indians in baseball and some history behind persistent depictions in the sport.
Other:
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Apologizes for Twice Opting Out of Receiving Historic Wolf Treaty from Tribal Delegation
Native News Online, November 10
On October 29, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) opted out of a scheduled meeting with a delegation of tribal leaders. It was the second time Secretary Haaland had cancelled in a month. On both occasions, Haaland’s staff confirmed that the first Indigenous Interior Secretary would be present to receive the Wolf Treaty and to discuss growing concerns among Tribal Nations and the Indigenous community as the impacts of the Trump Administration’s ESA wolf delisting rule escalates threats to not only the viability of the wolf, but also tribal treaty rights, sovereignty, consultation mandates, and traditional spiritual and religious freedoms. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland, stepped in for Haaland at the last minute. One attendee observed that it was unclear if Newland had even read the Wolf Treaty as his did not respond affirmatively when directly asked by Rain. Presenting the treaty to Secretary Haaland was the purpose of the meeting. Over 700 tribal nations on both sides of the US-Canada border have signed the Wolf Treaty.
UArizona Health Sciences Study Identifies Breast Cancer Treatment Disparities Among Native American, Indigenous Women
Native News Online, November 10
University of Arizona Health Sciences-led study uncovered disparities in breast cancer treatments that may lead to poorer health outcomes in Indigenous women, who currently have the worst breast cancer survival outcomes of any racial group in the U.S. People with early-stage breast cancer often choose between two treatment options: mastectomy or lumpectomy, also known as breast-conservation therapy. Jennifer Erdrich, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of surgery in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson, led a small research team that used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute to stratify female patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from 2010 to 2015 by race and ethnicity, surgical procedure, radiation and region. In total, the study looked at 3,292 non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native women and 165,225 non-Hispanic white women. They found that American Indian and Alaska Native women with early-stage breast cancer had a higher percentage of mastectomy (41% versus 34.4%) and a lower percentage of lumpectomy (59% versus 65.6%) compared with white women. Geography mattered, too. Women in the Northern Plains and Alaska experienced the most significant difference, where 47-49% of American Indian and Alaska Native women received a mastectomy compared with 33-36% of white women in the same region.
Apsáalooke Honor Tomb Of Unknown 100 Years Later
Indian Country Today, Jourdan Bennett-Begaye, November 9
It’s quiet at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Plaza. The public and press can only whisper. One by one, eight members of the Chief Plenty Coups Honor Guard from Pryor, Montana, placed a flower down in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saluted the unknowns Tuesday morning. The eight members are descendants of Chief Plenty Coups. Dozens more Crow Nation representatives, including students from Plenty Coups High School, follow suit. Jingling from the regalia can only be heard in the silence as they line up to lay down a flower. It’s the first time in 96 years the public and visitors are allowed to approach the Tomb in the plaza. It’s a privilege only given to the sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” according to the Arlington Cemetery. The flower ceremony kicked off a two-day event of the centennial commemoration.
Native Cinema Showcase Opens For World Viewing
Indian Country Today, Sandra Hale Schulman, November 10
As part of the Native American Heritage Month celebration, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is bringing the annual Native Cinema Showcase to online audiences Nov. 12–18, making them available to everyone. Focusing on language, healing, building community, and a continued relationship with the land, the films reveal a strong thread of activism at the heart of the stories. It is a unique forum for engagement with Native filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemisphere and the Arctic. The program includes 47 films, including seven features and 40 shorts, with 28 of those by women, she said. The films represent 39 Native nations in 13 countries: the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil, Sweden, Greenland, and the Solomon Islands.