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President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument in Nevada, following up on a promise he made in late 2022.
Biden also declared a national monument in Texas and the creation of a marine sanctuary in U.S. waters near the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawai’i.
Biden spoke at the White House Conservation in Action Summit at the Interior Department with Fort Mojave Indian Tribal Chairman Timothy Williams commending him during his introduction.
“Under his leadership we have a seat at the table and we are seeing an unprecedented era and opportunity for our tribal communities,” Williams said. “And we are all grateful to the president for taking historic action to combat the climate crisis and conserve and restore our nation’s land and waters.” READ MORE — Kalle Benalie, ICT
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state of Alaska is suing Assistant Secretary of Interior Bryan Newland over whether the federal agency can take land into trust in Alaska, that is, whether tribes can transfer title to the federal government to hold land for the tribe’s benefit. The state said the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) ended the Interior’s ability to do so.
“The purpose of the case is to receive unambiguous legal clarity for the State, local governments, the tribes and all Alaskans, on the question of placing Native land into federal trust for the tribes,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy in a prepared statement. The state said the Interior department’s decision to take land into trust limits the state’s sovereign jurisdiction in Alaska and undermines key terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
However, Lloyd Miller, an attorney who specializes in tribal law, said there’s no confusion; the question’s been raised before and settled in federal court.
“I don’t think he (the governor) is really asking for clarification. He just doesn’t like that he lost and he wants to play the game again, in the courts, in the hopes of a win. This is why it strikes me as somewhat abusive of the legal process to not accept the loss they suffered in the courts,” Miller told Alaska Public Media host Lori Townsend on the radio show, “Talk of Alaska” on Feb. 28. READ MORE — Joaqlin Estus, ICT
Around the world: Myanmar repatriation raises concerns, Sami protesters removed by police in Norway, reindeer racing heats up in Finland, and Japan’s Indigenous people fight to reclaim their identities.
MYANMAR: Activists wary about refugee project
Activists are questioning a pilot project aimed at repatriating about 1,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar, saying they fear Myanmar’s ruling junta has agreed to the plan only under diplomatic pressure from China, Radio Free Asia reported on March 14.
The project could affect about 1 million Rohingya refugees who are sheltered in camps located in Cox’s Bazar, a district in southeastern Bangladesh that shares a border with Myanmar. Among those are 740,000 refugees who escaped a military crackdown in Rakhine state since August 2017.
Myanmar has refused to grant the Rohingya community freedom of movement, citizenship, and access to healthcare, education, and employment, Radio Free Asia reported. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT
WASHINGTON — Legendary Native American studies professor and historian, Henrietta Mann, Cheyenne, was all smiles as she made her way into the White House for the 2021 National Humanities Medals dinner and ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.
Following close behind her was Shawn Spruce, Laguna Pueblo, Jaclyn Sallee, Inupiaq, Denise Morris, Aleut, and Art Hughes of Native America Calling and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation, which produces the iconic radio show.
All were in Washington, D.C. to receive a National Humanities Medals presented by President Joe Biden. For 2021, only 12 medals were awarded. As a surprise, Sir Elton John was awarded his medal in 2022.
“We’re here surrounded by some really interesting people, some very notable, high profile individuals, celebrities from the arts and humanities world,” Shawn Spruce, host of Native America Calling, told ICT. “We’re just enjoying it.” READ MORE — Pauly Denetclaw, ICT
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Ryan Redington is Iditarod royalty. His father Raymie Redington competed in the grueling Alaska sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome, 14 times. His grandfather Joe Redington, Sr. co-founded the race in 1973. Ryan became the first in the family to win the race and topped an all Alaska Native podium – with both the second place and third place finishers also being Alaska Native.
A Hopi runner came in as the top American in the 38th L.A. Marathon last weekend. Hosava Kretzmann came in sixth place out of nearly 22,000 runners. This was his debut, running in his first marathon ever.
Water rights were the topic of discussion in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. The case before the high court is called Arizona v. Navajo Nation. Holly Cook Macarro is an ICT regular contributor and partner with Spirit Rock Consulting.
PHOENIX — A Native American group that’s trying to stop an effort to build one of the largest copper mines in the United States told a full federal appeals court panel Tuesday that the project would prevent Apaches from exercising their religion by destroying land they consider sacred.
U.S. federal government plans for a land swap that will allow Resolution Copper to build the mine will destroy the land in eastern Arizona known as Oak Flat, “barring the Apaches from ever accessing it again and ending their core religious practices forever,” said attorney Luke Goodrich, arguing for the group Apache Stronghold.
“We asked the court today to recognize the obvious — that when the government destroys a sacred site, religious liberty law has something to say about it,” Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at the nonprofit legal institution Becket Law, said in a prepared statement distributed after the hearing in Pasadena, California. “A win for Apache Stronghold will be a win for people of all faiths.”
The Apache group is seeking to halt the land swap while the case plays out in court. The panel of 11 judges on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to issue a decision in the next few months. READ MORE — Associated Press
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- BNSF fuel train derails on Swinomish Reservation: Diesel spill comes as BNSF and tribe head to court in a right-of-way dispute
- Maine tribes left out of tribal resurgence: A decades-old federal law might be to blame for hindering tribes like the Wabanaki from economic growth
- A dead budget, no budgets, and a coming catastrophe: The federal budget process makes no sense, especially because political divisions put the larger United States economy at risk
- Transgender youth: ‘Forced outing‘ bills make schools unsafe
- Why TikTok’s security risks keep raising fears
- Nevada to add gas plant as drought threatens power grids
We want your tips, but we also want your feedback. What should we be covering that we’re not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. dalton@ictnews.org.
