The Morongo Band of Mission Indians wasn’t interested in a traditional utility right of way. The tribe wanted ownership so a deal was put together to make that happen. And create a new model for economic development.

Trahant Reports

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Indian Country Today had its 40th anniversary last week. The newspaper has published a lot of history in that time. And one narrative that stands out, the story of founder Tim Giago.

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A new film explores the story of John Peabody Harrington. He was an ethnologist and linguist who spent more than fifty years conducting exhaustive research that preserved some 150 languages (including detailed notes with more than 1 million pages). (Repeat)

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Are the United States and Canada ready to reconcile their national myth with a brutal truth of history? Secretary Deb Haaland’s op-ed in the Washington Post was a first step.

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Cartoonists have the talent to take a complicated idea and boil it down to its essence. The best cartoons make us laugh. And then we think. So it’s disheartening when the Pulitzer Prize board cannot reach a conclusion and give its annual award.

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There is a lot of complexity in criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. That’s because when federal policy changes … the law often does not. So some laws support tribal sovereignty while others undermine that same idea. And that’s how a common sense decision became a “bare minimum standard” for law enforcement in a tribal nation.

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The return of inflation impacts people in a variety of ways. It’s an old problem, one that really hasn’t surfaced in recent years.

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A memorial day story. American Indians and Alaska Natives have a long history of signing up for military service. Even the Public Health Service is a uniformed civilian branch of the United States. And so many people lost their lives wearing one of those uniforms.

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The latest research confirms what we already know: The impact from sports mascots is harmful to Native people. And, as people learn more, they are compelled to be good neighbors. It only takes one visit to a team with a mascot, watching the fans in all their crazy and offensive celebrations, to understand.

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As tribal governments decide the next steps to limit the spread of COVID-19, one thing is clear. American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest rates of vaccination in the country, according to the CDC. Already nearly 40 percent of the total population has had at least one dose. That compares to 25 percent of white Americans.

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Summary: Fifty years ago last week the federal government’s experiment with a policy called “termination” was crushed at the ballot box on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state. Termination was a policy that was designed to end the United States government’s role in Indian affairs. The vote on May 8 was not close.No other tribe anywhere in the United States had to deal with the termination policy again.

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American Indians and Alaska Natives had a tough time during the pandemic and faced a disproportionate impact. But there is a brightspot: Vaccinations. As Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flangan said: “We know how to do this.”

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This might be a moment for a new climate conversation. Jade Begay, who just was appointed to a White House advisory council on environmental justice, says a rethinking could “liberate us” from dependency on fossil fuels and create a space for practices that are more harmonious.

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Trahant Reports

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