Happy Wednesday! Here’s a look at what’s happening today:
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Sports betting: The new, shiny toy
From coast to coast, it’s one of the latest trends sweeping the nation. And no, it’s not a TikTok dance or another social media challenge.
Since the Supreme Court legalized sports betting in the 2018 landmark case, it has slowly but surely increased. While many states only allow in-person betting, more than two dozen states plus Washington, D.C., have made sports betting legal, according to a tracker from the Action Network.
Earlier this month, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill legalizing daily sports fantasy and sports betting in the state and last Friday Florida announced an agreement reached between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis to bring the action there.
The story continues in Washington state where the Tulalip Tribes also came to an sports wagering agreement to amend the gaming compact with the northwestern state. Legislation in Alabama is moving along, too.
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Residents vote to keep school’s Native American logo
WAKEFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Residents of a Boston suburb have voted to keep the high school’s Native American mascot and logo.
Wakefield voters on Tuesday supported keeping the school’s Warrior mascot and the accompanying image of a man wearing a feathered head dress by a 2,911 to 2,337 vote, according to the town’s unofficial results.
The nonbinding ballot question had sharply divided the town of some 27,000 residents north of Boston.
“THIS is why we (must) ban Native American mascots at the state level,” tweeted state Sen. Jo Comerford, a Northampton Democrat who has proposed banning Native American imagery in public school team names and logos statewide. “A racial justice, civil rights issue must not be left to a local vote.”
Net-zero home in Indigenous community wins award
Members of the Warrior Home team placed second at a competition run by the U.S. Department of Energy called the 2020 Solar Decathlon build challenge.
The University of Waterloo project was completed in collaboration with the Chippewa of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce, according to the CBC.
To read more, click here.
Watch: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing examines Native education
Education leaders testified Tuesday in an oversight hearing that focused on the federal coronavirus response in Native education system.
The hearing was called: “Examining the COVID-19 Response in Native Communities: Native Education Systems One Year Later.”
To watch a replay, click here.
Cicadas: ‘The other white meat’
Billions of Brood X cicadas are due to emerge from their 17-year slumber in coming weeks.
Cicadas are big, more than an inch long, with a wingspan of 3-4 inches and bright red eyes.
“Anticipating this year’s cicada occupation, I began to wonder if our Indigenous ancestors also feasted on this protein bounty.”
To read more, click here.
From social media:
The latest:
- Line 3 pipeline opposition quiet in Canada: Indian Country Today’s Mary Annette Pember joined APTN’s Nation to Nation to talk pipelines.
- Alaska legislators consider state recognition of tribes:‘Tribes are sovereign, whether we want them to be or not.’
- Montana marijuana legalization bill passes in Senate:Voters approved a ballot measure last year to legalize recreational marijuana sales.
- New calls to remove Snake River dams: The most endangered river in the country, long known for its salmon runs, is in the Pacific Northwest.
- Watch: ‘Trees are mighty and strong’:ICT talks with Henry Red Cloud who will be planting thousands of trees on the Pine Ridge Reservation with a little help from his friends.
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