LATEST GLOBAL INDIGENOUS NEWS

In 2016, the Nathan E. Stewart tugboat ran aground and sank in the First Nation's fishing territory on B.C.'s Central Coast, spilling 110,000 liters of diesel and heavy oils into a marine harvesting area called Gale Pass, affecting cultural and economic activities to this day.

The Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians has accused California and its governor in federal court of failing to negotiate a new gaming compact in good faith, saying the state wants to hamper its casino operations by repeatedly asking for unacceptable labor relations and other changes.

The litigation and media maelstrom following allegations that famed plaintiffs attorney Thomas Girardi and his law firm misappropriated clients' funds provides myriad ethics and professional responsibility lessons for practitioners, especially with regard to misconduct reporting and liability insurance, says Elizabeth Tuttle Newman at Frankfurt Kurnit.

Indianz.Com Video: Secretary Haaland addresses National Congress of American Indians #NCAIAnnual21

Two tribal citizens are joining the Indian Affairs team at the Department of the Interior.

Joaquin Gallegos, a citizen of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, will be serving as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, the department said in a news release on Wednesday. And Wizipan Little Elk, citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is the new Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

“The Interior Department is hard at work turning President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda into reality. said Larry Roberts, a citizen of the Oneida Nation who serves as Chief of Staff to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

“These new team members will help serve our mission to honor the federal government’s trust responsibilities to Indian Country, strengthen the Nation-to-Nation relationship, and conserve our public lands and waters for current and future generations,” said Roberts.

.@Interior today announced key members of agency leadership who will work to advance President Biden’s agenda to tackle climate change, protect endangered wildlife, and honor our responsibilities to Indigenous communities. https://t.co/ezSS7MrGrg

— US Interior Press Team (@USInteriorPress) October 13, 2021

Gallegos, who also hails from the Pueblo of Santa Ana, most recently served as a law clerk on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, according to Interior’s release.

Little Elk worked at the department during the Barack Obama administration. He most recently served as the chief executive officer for REDCO, the economic development enterprise of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

In addition to Gallegos and Little Elk, Mike Martinez is joining Interior as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. He most recently served as a policy analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, which supports the treaty rights of tribes in western Washington.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Photo: Tami Heilemann / U.S. Department of the Interior

The Indian Affairs team at Interior is overseen by Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community. He was confirmed to his post by the U.S. Senate on August 7.

The department itself is led by Secretary Halaand, who was confirmed to her post on March 15. She is the first Native person in a presidential cabinet.

“At Interior, we believe that honoring our relationship with tribes and upholding the trust responsibility is paramount to fulfilling this department’s mission,” Halaand, who is a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, said in an address to the National Congress of American Indians on Tuesday.

“For too long, Indian issues were relegated only to the Indian Affairs,” said Haaland, who is the first Native person to lead the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country. “We’re going to make sure that tribal communities thrive that tribal sovereignty is respected and strengthened.”

The Department of the Interior includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education and the recently-created Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, which is taking over most of the functions of the former Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.

The positions announced on Wednesday do not require Senate confirmation.

Biographical information from Interior follows:

Joaquin Gallegos, Special Assistant, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
Joaquin R. Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache Nation/Pueblo of Santa Ana) recently served as a law clerk to Judge Allison H. Eid on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Previously, Joaquin served as a legislative staff attorney to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. He has also served as a legal fellow to former Senator Tom Udall on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and as a policy fellow to former Senator Byron Dorgan at the Aspen Institute. Joaquin graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the University of Colorado Denver.

Wizipan Little Elk, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs
Wizipan Little Elk is a citizen of the Sicangu Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe). Most recently, he served as the CEO of the REDCO ecosystem of organizations. Wizipan’s previous experience includes serving within the Sicangu Oyate government and at the Interior Department as deputy chief of staff to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and his law degree from the University of Arizona. Wizipan is a hunter and writer. He lives on the homelands of the Sicangu and is married to the love of his life and together raise four children.

Mike Martinez, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks
Michael Martinez most recently served as a policy analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, where he focused on water resources and fisheries in western Washington. He previously served for seven years as a natural resources law and policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Michael also served for over a decade in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and as a judicial law clerk at the Washington Supreme Court. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resources recreation planning and management, master’s degrees in environmental studies and environmental law, and a Juris Doctor.

Allergan has struck a $30 million deal with buyers of dry-eye medication Restasis to end allegations that the pharmaceutical giant fought to keep a generic version of the medication off the shelves.

Vice President Harris says administration invests in tribes Community members protest White Mesa Uranium Mill

The post Wednesday, October 13,2021 appeared first on National Native News, by Antonia Gonzales.

Once every 10 years federal and state districts are drawn up from data released by the U.S. Census. In New Mexico, the state’s legislature will vote in December to approve new redistricting maps.

RANDALLS ISLAND, New York—The word “recognize” doesn’t exist in the Shinnecock Nation language, according to tribal member Chenae Bullock. She is one of the organizers of the seventh annual New York City Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration on Randalls Island, a small island located in the East River, between Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. 

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland addresses the National Congress of American Indians on October 12, 2021.

NCAI, the nation’s largest inter-tribal advocacy organization, is hosting its 78th annual convention this week. Tribal leaders are meeting virtually to hear from top officials from President Joe Biden’s administration like Haaland, who is the first Native person to lead the Department of the Interior.

Haaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, addressed NCAI from Boston, Massachusetts. She ran the Boston Marathon there a day prior, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“Running as a part of who we are as Native people,” Haaland said. “So in honor of my ancestors running tradition, I joined runners at the starting line on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day that for the first time ever was recognized by the president of the United States. What an important step for our country.”

“And so I ran. I ran for missing and murdered Indigenous peoples and their families. I ran for the victims of Indian boarding schools,” Haaland continued. “I ran for the promise that our voices are being heard and we’ll have a part in an equitable and just future in this new era.”

The Department of the Interior is the federal agency with the most trust and treaty responsibilities in Indian Country. It includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education and the recently-created Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, which is taking over most of the functions of the former Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.

Note: Thumbnail photo by Tami A. Heilemann / U.S. Department of the Interior

Vaccine hesitancy experts say appeals from those who have experienced the consequences of being unvaccinated could help counter frightening misinformation spread by anti-vaccine groups.

The RCMP says it has implemented about 22 recommendations made by its watchdog over the last fiscal year, but the status of dozens more recommendations regarding claims of Mountie misconduct remains unknown.

Native America Calling: Latest Shows

The album “Heartbroken Bones” is Ailani’s gift to the world and it’s full of youthful energy. It pulls in listeners with a clean sound and a voice that soulfully speaks with honesty.

This young Santa Clara Pueblo musician uses their music to dialogue about love, identity and human nature through playful indie pop compositions.

Native America Calling will hear what led this melodic creative down a musical and artful path and what it means to share stories through sound.

A state of emergency has been declared in Iqaluit after city staff found evidence of fuel contamination in the city's treated water supply. The water is unsafe to drink, even if filtered or boiled, the municipal health department said.

Chuck Hoskin Jr. serves as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Photo by Kevin Abourezk

The Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes (ITC) is an organization that unites the tribal governments of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee and Seminole Nations. Together these tribes represent about 815,000 Indian people throughout the United States. It is one of the oldest and largest tribal organizations in America.

For the past two years, I’ve had the privilege to serve as president of the ITC. I have worked in solidarity with the other executive board members: Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton, Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill and former Seminole Nation Principal Chief Greg Chilcoat. We have welcomed newly elected Seminole Chief Lewis Johnson to our ranks, and we are off to a wonderful start working with him.

Our mission as tribal government leaders is always to protect our sovereignty and advance issues critical to our people. While each tribe has a unique culture and history, the Five Tribes of the ITC share many concerns. We are all focused on how to best provide essential services like education, health care and housing for our people.

From its beginning in 1949, the founders of ITC had a clear and honorable mission that they expressed well in the organization’s Constitution: “…to secure to ourselves and our descendants the rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws of the United States of America, and the State of Oklahoma; to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian race; to preserve Indian cultural values; to enhance and promote general educational opportunity among members of the Five Civilized Tribes; to seek equitable adjustments of tribal affairs; to secure and to preserve rights under Indian Treaties with the United States; and other-wise to promote the common welfare of the American Indians….”

The ITC meets quarterly. Even though we have moved to mostly virtual meetings in the last year and a half for COVID-19 safety, we always set aside the time to listen and learn from our sister tribes.

At each ITC meeting, we draft joint resolutions that can only pass with unanimous approval from the five tribes. We weigh in on state and federal issues critical to our tribes. Staff from the various tribes participate in multiple committees, including housing, education, health, governance, natural resources and commerce, that allow true sharing of ideas between our issue experts and frontline workers. Cultural presentations give us all the opportunity to enjoy the talents and diversity of our people.

During my two years as president of ITC, the Five Tribes have faced many challenges. This time of dramatic progress and change for Indian Country has tested our strength and even our ability to find common ground. From the state gaming compact to the pandemic response and recovery to the opportunities to seize under the historic McGirt decision reaffirming our reservations, we remain strong and unified.

On McGirt in particular, the enemies of tribal sovereignty, including Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, have been counting on division between the Five Tribes. Certainly, each tribe as an independent sovereign nation has to look after its own interests when it comes to matters as critical as treaty obligations, the integrity of our reservations and sovereignty.

But, what opponents of tribal sovereignty mistook for division between the Five Tribes on McGirt was simply different approaches and strategies to achieve the same goal: protection of 100% of the wins achieved under the McGirt case and finding workable solutions to issues relating to criminal jurisdiction. When it comes to McGirt, ITC is unified on preserving this historic win, much to the disappointment of those who seek our demise. Governor Stitt will find ITC firmly united in defeating his efforts to destroy our reservations. Consequently, Governor Stitt’s effort to overturn McGirt will be a losing one.

Cherokee Nation’s influence on state and federal agendas is much greater when we collaborate with other tribal governments. As united Indian people, we ensure that federal and state policymakers understand the needs of our tribes and all Indian Country.

At ITC we are advancing legislation and ideas to make progress for our people today and for generations to come.

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The United States asked an Oklahoma federal court on Monday to sanction a group of wind farm developers for breaking promises to keep records related to its suit opened on behalf of Osage Nation alleging that the companies trespassed on the tribe's lands.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe announced that it is no longer helping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers create an environmental impact statement for the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the contractor developing the review is biased in favor of the pipeline company.

The ImagineNative Film and Media Arts Festival's August Schellenberg Award is given annually to an Indigenous actor based on the longevity and impact of their career.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced during the annual National Congress of American Indians conference on Tuesday that the administration is reopening its memorandum of agreement from 2017 for a program that was created to reduce unemployment in tribal communities.

Tried-and-true compliance lessons from recent decades can be applied to companies’ environmental, social and governance efforts, especially with regard to employee training and consistent application of policies — two factors that can create a foundation for ESG criteria to flourish, says Robert Katz at Jabil.

Altria Group Inc., Juul Labs Inc. and its executives are asking a California federal court to throw out claims in two bellwether suits from a pair of Native American tribes, saying they've failed to plead injuries that the court can grant relief for.