NATIVE AMERICANS(ET)

Kelly LaChance

Published May 20, 2020

DENVER — The American Indian College Fund announced it selected five tribal colleges and universities to participate in a new 30-month program to increase the schools’ capacity to better recruit and work with students while also increasing their sustainability as higher education institutions in the process.

The AICF’s “Cultivating Native College Student Success Program” targets tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). TCUs work hard to provide affordable access to higher education for Native students, which also helps build sustainable tribal communities through education.

The American Indian College Fund hired Kelly LaChance (a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and descendant from the Dakubetede of Southern Oregon and the Northern California and Southern Oregon Shasta Nation) to manage the program.

LaChance has devoted her education and career to American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) education with a focus on student success. Prior to joining the College Fund, she served as an Education Director and Education Specialist for two federally recognized tribes. She is currently completing a doctorate of education degree in educational methodology, policy, and leadership from the University of Oregon.

Five TCUs were chosen to participate in a program that represents a diverse group of institutions with different sizes, program scopes, and program stages to create a cohort for cross-institutional support and to develop a community of practice around strategic enrollment and staff implementation strategies.

The five TCUs selected include:

•   Oglala Lakota College, Kyle, South Dakota
•   United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, North Dakota
•   Stone Child College, Box Elder, Montana
•   Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Hayward, Wisconsin
•   Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Montana  

Shinnecock Indian Nation’s Monument Sign getting a face lift last week. Photograph courtesy of the Shinnecock Indian Nation

Published May 19, 2020

SHINNECOCK NATION — The Shinnecock Indian Nation got a victory in New York state Supreme Court in its fight to keep its electronic billboard, built on a right-of-way along Sunrise Highway on Long Island.

On Monday, Judge Sanford Neil Berland denied the state of New York’s request for a preliminary injunction to the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s billboard and monument on Sunrise Highway. The state of New York had been trying to force the tribe to take down the 61-feet electronic digital billboard, called the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s Monument Signs project. Located 90 miles from Manhattan, the Shinnecock Indian Nation serves at a gateway to the Hamptons with neighbors who live in posh mansions for the rich and famous.

The sign is the first of two that the tribe has planned in the area. The signs are a means of economic development for the tribe, generating advertising revenue for the Shinnecock Nation, which gained federal recognition in 2010.  Unlike many other tribes in the northeastern U.S., the Shinnecock Nation does not have a tribal casino to generate revenue to fund the tribal government and services.   

At the time the billboard was erected, the Shinnecock Indian Nation faced strong resistance from the adjacent town of Southampton, which served the tribal nation with a cease-and-desist order. The town said the Nation began building the billboard without the proper local permits. As a federally recognized tribe, the Shinnecock Nation maintained because it is a sovereign nation, it did not need to even apply for local permits.

The State of New York Dept. of Transportation soon became involved and sought an injunction to have the existing sign removed and prevent the construction of the second billboard sign.

On May 24, 2019, the New York State Attorney General’s Office brought a lawsuit against the officers of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, soon after the first sign was operational, but before the second sign could be completed.

Monday’s ruling dissolves a temporary restraining order issued when the lawsuit was brought last year.

“Our signs are clearly within the Shinnecock Territory Monument,” said the Shinnecock Nation Council of Trustees in a press release issued on Tuesday. “It is the Shinnecock Nation’s right to conduct economic development on Nation lands.”

Judge Berland rejected the merits of the State’s arguments that the Nation lacked jurisdiction over the land and that the sign itself posed a hazard to the broader community

“It’s a good day for the Shinnecock. I cannot say that about everyday, but today is definitely a good day for the Shinnecock,” Shinnecock Vice Chairman Lance Gumbs told Native News Online on Tuesday.

Gumbs said the tribe was excited with the rationale used by the judge in the ruling. In particular, Gumbs referred to Judge Berland’s explanation that “It is undisputed that the Shinnecock Nation’s ancestral domain encompassed essentially the entirety of what is now the Town of Southampton, and it has been established that the presence of the Nation in that domain has been continuous.”

Berland further determined that the signs “pose no unacceptable safety risk.” He stressed the greater importance of the Nation’s opportunity to produce revenue through economic activities on its own land, unencumbered by State interference, deciding that the balance of interests in this case favored the Tribe.

“The Shinnecock Indian Nation has continued to operate the Monument Billboard while the lawsuit was pending,” the Council of Trustees said. “Most recently, and at the request of the Town of Southampton, the Billboard has displayed public service announcements relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, providing safety information, and demonstrating its presence as a benefit, rather than hazard, to the surrounding community.”

With the lawsuit, Gumbs says some national advertisers have been reluctant to place advertisements on the billboard during the litigation. With Monday’s ruling, he is hopeful the concern will go away and the tribe can bring in more revenue. 

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez gets his temperature taken as he gets ready to distribute food.

Published May 20, 2020

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation reported 82 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths from the virus on Tuesday. The latest data reported brings the Navajo Nation to a total of 4,153 and the total number of deaths is now 144. from the COVID-19, with a fatality rate of 3.47 percent among the confirmed infections.

Preliminary reports from six health care facilities indicate that approximately 1,001 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, with more reports still pending. A total of 26,267 COVID-19 tests have been administered with 20,200 negative results.

“The Navajo Nation is testing our citizens at a greater rate per capita than any other state in the country. Close to 12-percent of our population on the Navajo Nation has been tested compared to less than 10-percent for states. Today, there was another large-scale testing event held in the community of Tonalea, so we might see another spike in our positive case numbers in a few days once those test results are confirmed. The more people we identify who have the virus, the more people that we can isolate to help flatten the curve,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Nez-Lizer team was joined by Council Delegate Kee Allen Begay, Jr. as they distributed food, bottled water, cleaning supplies, diapers, and other essential supplies to 402 Navajo families in the communities of Low Mountain, Whippoorwill, Tachee-Blue Gap, and Tselani/Cottonwood. Overall, the Nez-Lizer Administration has distributed supplies to nearly 9,000 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information including reports, helpful prevention tips, and more resources, please visit the Navajo Department of Health’s COVID-19 website at http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19. To contact the main Navajo Health Command Operations Center, please call (928) 871-7014.

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To Donate to the Navajo Nation

The official webpage for donations to the Navajo Nation, which has further details on how to support  the Nation’s Dikos Ntsaaígíí-19 (COVID-19) efforts is:  http://www.nndoh.org/donate.html.

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For More Information

For more information including reports, helpful prevention tips, and more resources, please visit the Navajo Department of Health’s COVID-19 website at http://www.ndoh.navajo-nsn.gov/COVID-19. To contact the main Navajo Health Command Operations Center, please call (928) 871-7014.

For up to date information on impact the coronavirus pandemic is having in the United States and around the world go to: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/?fbclid=IwAR1vxfcHfMBnmTFm6hBICQcdbV5aRnMimeP3hVYHdlxJtFWdKF80VV8iHgE

For up-to-date information about COVID-19, Native News Online encourages you to go to Indian Health Service’s COVID-19 webpage and review CDC’s COVID-19 webpage. 

Attractive plexiglass was installed throughout the Island Resort & Casino to prevent the potential spread of the COVID-19.

Published May 19, 2020

HARRIS, Mich. — Ten days after it was originally planned, the Island Resort and Casino reopened its doors for business on Saturday, May 16. 

The facility had been closed since March 21, when it voluntarily shuttered its doors due to concerns for the health and safety of its team members and customers related to COVID-19. 

The Island Resort and Casino is located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community, a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe.

The 10-day delay in reopening was due to a letter the tribe received from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office and the Menominee County Prosecutor Jeffrey T. Rogg. In the letter, Nessel and Rogg told the tribe, citing Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order, it should limit the resort and casino’s operations; otherwise, the tribe’s enrolled members living off reservation and customers could be cited and subject to civil and criminal penalties.

After the letter, representatives from the State of Michigan had discussions and a conference call with tribal leaders, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Khaldun and other State offices, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s office told Native News Online last week.  

Following those discussions, the Hannahville Tribal Council decided to move ahead with reopening.  

“The Tribal Council made their decision to open based on data from the Michigan Departments of Health, the rate of infection in the three-county area surrounding the Casino and the full range of precautions to be implemented for the safe operations of the gaming facility,” Hannahville Indian Community Tribal Chairperson Kenneth Meshigaud told Native News Online on Tuesday.

Photographs courtesy of the Hannahville Indian Community.

When asked about the reopening of the Island Resort today, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General’s office told Native News Online that they had no comment at this time.  

Meshigaud pointed out that the resort and casino have taken precautionary steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The most notable change is the requirement for all employees and guests to wear masks on the gaming floor.

Other notable changes are: Smoking is not permitted in any area of the facility at this time; plexiglass shields are in place; hand sanitizer stations have been increased; and social distancing is encouraged.

Currently, only slot machines are open with limited bingo.  Social distancing guidelines are in place at the hotel and both of the resort’s golf courses. Casino bars are open and limited food service is available at this time. The pool remains closed, as is the spa and the convention center. Tour busses are not scheduled at this time.

The safety guidelines instituted by tribal officials is posted on the Island Resort and Casino website.

The reopening happened on May 16, the date that Gov. Gretchen had planned to remove the stay-at-home order. However, in the interim, the governor extended her order to May 28. Then yesterday, she announced a phase-in reopening the state for business by zones. The Island Resort and Casino is in one of the zones the governor has set to reopen on this Friday, May 22.

“The Hannahville Indian Community, along with the casino management team and with the help of the Hannahville Health Clinic, will monitor the on-going operations. We will make adjustments as necessary to ensure the safety of our employees, the citizens of our community and our customers. Most important, we encourage our customers who do choose to visit to abide by these new safety guidelines as we tread these new challenging times together,” Meshigaud added.

All other tribal casinos in Michigan remain closed. Each tribe is developing their own plan for reopening.