National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby delivered the annual State of Indian Nations address in Washington, D.C., calling on the federal government to enact legislation to support tribes as they seek to encourage economic growth as well as secure their land base, combat climate change and ensure public safety. President Cladoosby, who is Chairman of…
(Loren Holmes photo) US Fish & Wildlife Service Announces New Native American Cooperation Policy The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the adoption of an updated Native American policy, emphasizing the need for federal collaboration with tribes to protect natural resources and tribal cultural resources on federal lands. The new policy provides a framework for…
Kitsapsun.com The 9th Cirucit Court of Appleals has ruled that Washington state must repair road culverts that are blocking salmon from swimming to spawning areas because the pipes violate fishing rights protected by tribal treatie. The ruling is a major victory for 21 tribes joined by the U.S. government that sued Washington state in 2001, arguing that…
The Central Council of Tlingit-Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is doing something few tribal organizations do. This month the Tribes acquired KIRA, Inc., an international maintenance contracting company that has undertaken more than $1 billion in federal contracting work, and KIRA will serve as a prime engine for the Tribes’ economic development program Tlingit-Haida President Richard…
Native prayer gathering at United States Supreme Court (fncl.org) Opposition Grows Against Bar Association Proposal To Ban Indigenous Blessings At Legal Conferences The Washington State Bar Association is considering a proposal that would curtail or eliminate blessings and spiritual invocations at Continuing Legal Education seminars and related events attended by legal professionals. It is common…
Canada has launched an investigation into missing and murdered Indigenous women that will last at least two years with a budget of up to $54m. Five independent commissioners will provide recommendations to deal with violence against the country’s indigenous women. The five commissioners are Marion Buller, British Columbia’s first female First Nations judge; Michele Audette, a former…
Bonneville Dam When the Bonneville Dam was constructed in 1938, the resulting expansion of waters behind the dam displaced dozens of Native American families from their homes along the Columbia River, their ancestral fishing area. For many, adequate funds and sites for new housing were not forthcoming. The lack of housing for tribal members along the river…
Attorney Brooke Pinkham has joined the Center for Indian Law and Policy at Seattle University School of Law as the new Staff Director. A member of the Nez Perce tribe who grew up within the community of the Yakama Nation in south central Washington, Brooke brings a lifelong commitment to Native American people and tribes. Brooke joins…
I’ve spent seven years hustling across the UW’s iconic, cherry-tree-lined “Quad” on my way to teach journalism classes. But it wasn’t until this week that I learned those red brick pathways zigzag over what was once a Duwamish village. “Are you sure you know where you are standing?” asks Professor Megan Bang, co-director of the…
Before and after photos of Animus River (grindtv.com) Navajo Nation Sues EPA Over Animus River Heavy Metals Spill The Navajo Nation has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the EPA has failed to adequately remediate the disaster a year after the dispersal of 880,000 pounds of heavy metals into the Animus river watershed near Silverton, Colorado. The chemicals…
