A criminal pardoned, a statue smashed and an Indian country friend walks on. All this and more during The Week That Was as of August 27.
STILL TIME TO VOTE: In a first for an all-star Native hip hop artist lineup, the collaboration between Taboo from the Black-Eyed Peas and actors Martin Sensmeier and Shailene Woodley for the music video Stand Up/Stand N Rock #NoDAPL has been nominated for an MTV video music award. Votes can be cast until 3pm Sunday August 27 (that’s today!).
DEATH AND REBIRTH: The moon blotted out the sun for just under three minutes, causing many to stay indoors and others to snag a special pair of glasses in order to witness what came to be known as the Great American Eclipse. As the moon’s shadow covered most of Turtle Island, many Navajo and members of other tribes stayed indoors, while others used it to host eclipse events along the path of totality.
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UNPARDONABLE: President Donald Trump pardoned Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, wiping out Arpaio’s conviction for criminal contempt of a federal court. His conviction had been for “arresting people for driving while brown after being ordered to cease and desist,” as ICMN contributor Steve Russell described it, adding that the pardon highlights the falsity of Trump’s calling himself a “law and order” president by clearly endorsing different treatment of people based on color.
IT’S OVER: ICMN Contributor Mark Trahant joined the increasing chorus of people declaring that the Trump presidency is over after the top executive’s lackluster condemnation of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville. Overall, September promises to be a mess in Congress, Trahant reported, with fights ahead over budgets, spending and debt. Meanwhile, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson visited Indian country and emphasized consultation with tribes on the Indian housing programs he administers.
CARRYING ON: On the silver-lining side, Trahant also reported on potential Native or Native-friendly candidates for the 2018 election. Among others, Alaska’s Bill Walker and Byron Mallott are seeking second terms, and the races in New Mexico, Utah and Oklahoma promise to be interesting for Indian country as well.
NOT MUCH NEW HERE: Illustrating that the current rise of white supremacism in the U.S. does not contain new sentiments, Harlan McKosato related a racist incident that happened to him in his Oklahoma hometown.
STATUE-SMASHING NOT (ALWAYS) THE ANSWER: As Confederate statues get toppled, the question of going back even further, to monuments commemorating the founders of the United States, has arisen. At least one news outlet suggested blasting Mount Rushmore, which is carved into a Native sacred site. Only problem is, as Gyasi Ross noted, Indigenous Peoples were not consulted—another old story that continues in Indian country to this day.
EXCEPT SOMETIMES: Going deeper into this nation’s white supremacist past, activists smashed a 200-year-old statue commemorating Christopher Columbus in Baltimore.
IN THIS CASE, HOW ABOUT NEVER: In contrast to tearing down racist sculptures, in Canada vandals are destroying ancient indigenous pictographs across the country at an alarming rate, while activists are calling attention to the desecration and its consequences.
INUIT CONSULTATION: Now that the Inuit of Clyde River have won a victory before the Supreme Court of Canada against seismic testing, what is the next step after being heard? The ideas and assumptions that underlie much of the consultation between the Canadian government and sovereign indigenous nations in Indian country are still a communications stumbling block.
IT DEPENDS WHO YOU ASK: When it comes to consultation, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has it down. At least that’s what the builder of the Dakota Access Pipeline asserted in a lawsuit filed against Greenpeace, the Red Warrior Camp and others affiliated with the water protectors who took a stand in North Dakota over the fall and winter of 2016–17. The racketeering suit seeks $300 million in damages.
STANDING UP AND STANDING OUT: Native Americans in Philanthropy CEO Sarah Eagle Heart, Oglala Lakota, received the 2017 NGen Leadership Award, which honors nonprofit and philanthropic community leaders under age 40. Meanwhile, Navajo student Kinsale Hueston, 17, was named one of five National Student Poets for 2017, the nation’s highest honor for young poets.
DESPERATE SEARCH: The infant daughter of Savanna Greywind was found safe in a neighbor’s apartment, but the new mother’s whereabouts were unclear. Authorities in Fargo, North Dakota feared the worst as the search continued.
LOSS OF A TRUE FRIEND: Dick Gregory, the African-American comedian and activist for Native rights among others, has walked on at age 84. “Indian country has lost a true friend,” wrote Steve Russell. Puyallup Tribe elder Nancy Shippentower penned a heartfelt letter detailing Gregory’s work with the Tribes of the Pacific Northwest during the Fish Wars. “Dick Gregory was a warrior for Native people and for justice all over the world,” wrote Ross in a Thing About Skins column. “Rest in Peace.”