Greetings, relatives.
A lot of news out there. Thanks for stopping by Indian Country Today’s digital platform.
Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you.
Okay, here’s what you need to know today:
Roselyn Tso is President Joe Biden’s nominee for director of the Indian Health Service, after more than a year without an appointed leader.
If confirmed by the Senate, she will serve and manage the Indian Health Service’s administration of health care programs and services, including its approximately $7.4 billion budget and 15,000 employees. The agency provides healthcare to approximately 2.6 million Indigenous people across the country. Indian Health Service is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s unclear when a confirmation hearing will be held.
Tso, Navajo, brings nearly 40 years of service in the Indian health system, including most recently on the Navajo Nation. READ MORE.— Kalle Benallie, Indian Country Today
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The Ukrainians and Indigenous people in Canada must have a bond because babas, Ukrainian for grandmother, and kokums, Cree for grandmother, still wear the same scarves today, said writer and author Marion Mutala.
Wearing the colorful kokum scarves or grandma scarves as many in Indian Country say, also known in Ukraine as babushka scarves, fuska or huska, has become a symbol of unification for Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24. Indigenous people across social media have explained the relationship of the scarves and affirmed their support for Ukraine.
“In solidarity to our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine I wear mine to say this: myself as a Comanche woman of Turtle Island, I stand with the Ukraine,” said an IndigenousTikTok creator. READ MORE. — Kalle Benallie, Indian Country Today
Navajo Nation officials are seeking anyone who purchased a car from a chain of dealerships on or near the reservation to claim part of a settlement.
The Daily Times in Farmington reports that the Office of Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission is searching for people eligible to receive part of a $450,000 settlement between Tate’s Auto Group and the Federal Trade Commission.
The owner of Tate’s Auto Group was accused of manipulating consumer information on financial documents, according to a FTC complaint filed in 2018. The settlement was reached last summer and approved by a federal judge in Arizona.
It’s believed as many as 4,000 consumers were impacted.
Tate’s Auto had locations in Gallup and the Arizona communities of Holbrook, Show Low and Winslow. Tribal officials believe many of the customers were members of the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission says their members who bought cars would have been greatly harmed.
Sandi Wilson, an investigator with the commission, says tracking down customers on the Navajo Nation can be hard because some often change mailing addresses. They hope to hear from customers by March 18. — Associated Press
Plans for the 2020 census were set well in advance to ensure Native Americans living on reservations were counted more accurately than during the 2010 census, when almost 5 percent of the population was missed.
COVID-19, politics and an ever-changing deadline that cut the decennial count short weren’t in those plans.
Instead of canvassing neighborhoods and setting up at huge events like the Gathering of Nations in New Mexico, advocates turned to phone banking, dropped off promotional material at entrances to tribal lands that were closed to visitors and tried to entice people to fill out the census with sacks of flour and potatoes at roadside stands.
Despite a well-financed campaign, Native Americans expect those living on about 300 reservations across the U.S. to be undercounted again. They’ll find out Thursday just how good a job the Census Bureau believes it did in counting every U.S. resident during the 2020 census when the statistical agency releases two reports assessing the national count based on race, Hispanic origin, sex and age. READ MORE. — Associated Press
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Coming up on the ICT Newscast, the Potawatomi Nation remembers its move to Indian Territory. And we’re discussing the rise in gas prices. Plus, the executive director of the Chief Seattle Club tells us how the Native powered non-profit supports unhoused Indigenous people.
Watch here:
Around the world: Māori and Aboriginal Australians protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Mi’kmaw elder in Canada heads to the Vatican in hopes of winning an apology, a bridge project in western Australia may destroy Aboriginal ancient heritage sites, a report finds “stunning” racism in a Canadian oil and gas agency, and evicted Indigenous residents in Brazil fight to return to their lands.
Coverage around the world on Indigenous issues for the week. READ MORE. — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to Indian Country Today
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- Wine chapter closes … as another story begins: Tara Gomez is a Chumash winemaker who adds stories to every bottle.
- ‘Being Indigenous is so beautiful’:Phoenix Indian Center celebrated 75 years with the Indigenous Community Fashion Showcase, now an annual event.
- New Mexico to offer equal pay to Native American teachers:The bill signing comes as Lujan Grisham’s administration fights a decade-old lawsuit brought by parents of underserved students, including Native people.
- Inupiat musher set to make history in Iditarod:Apayauq Reitan will be the first trans woman to compete in the iconic sled dog race.
- Indigenous studies classes to be required for graduation in B.C.
- Mi’kmaw Elder heading to Vatican, hopes for an apology from the Pope.
- Great Salt Lake ‘healing’ needs Native American input, Shoshone leader Darren Parry says
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. icteditors@indiancountrytoday.com.
