Becket Fund stands up for Mr. Robert Soto, Lipan Apache tribal leader and feather dancer courtesy photo
Washington, D.C. – Today the federal government returned the property it had seized from a Native American man exactly nine years ago: his eagle feathers. (see video)
Although just moments ago Mr. Robert Soto, a Lipan Apache religious leader and renowned feather dancer, received the tribe’s sacred feathers, the federal government has not repealed an arbitrary federal law forbidding Mr. Soto and others like him from possessing eagle feathers, and it is still threatening Mr. Soto with punishment for practicing his faith. The Becket Fund continues to defend Mr. Soto in court, and today it will be filing a motion to obtain protection from this unjust law.
“The government has about a million better things to do with taxpayer money than send undercover agents to raid Native American powwows and confiscate their eagle feathers, ” said Luke Goodrich, Deputy General Counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
In 2006, the government sent undercover agents to a Native American religious ceremony called a powwow to confiscate eagle feathers, which play a central role in the Native American faith. The agent was enforcing federal laws that prohibit possession of eagle feathers without a permit. The laws grant permits to museums, scientists, zoos, farmers, and “other interests, ” such as large power companies. They also grant permits to Native Americans who are members of “federally recognized” tribes. But they don’t grant permits to Mr. Soto’s tribe–the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas. Although the Lipan Apache are recognized by historians, sociologists, and the State of Texas, they are not recognized by the federal government.
Mr. Soto challenged this arbitrary treatment under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act–the same law that featured in last year’s Supreme Court decision involving Hobby Lobby. In August 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in his favor.
Although the Government has returned Mr. Soto’s feathers, it persists in threatening Mr. Soto and his congregation with civil and criminal penalties if they use eagle feathers in their religious services.
“The government allows hundreds of eagles, if not thousands, to be killed every year for non-religious reasons. Yet it won’t allow these Native Americans to possess even a single feather. ” said Goodrich. “It’s time to let Native Americans practice their faith; we’re not living in the 1800s anymore. ”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is co-counsel in the case, together with the international law firm of Baker Botts LLP, and the Civil Rights Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Traditional club staff by Tulalip artist Richard “2 Doggs” Muir is decorated with a tuft of animal fur and a zigzag peyote stitch design. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News
TULALIP – Tulalip tribal artists, Richard “2 Doggs” Muir and David Fryberg, have begun work on a healing project for the families and students affected by the October 24 shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The healing project will consist of a large beaded staff and a brass plaque that will serve as a memorial to the only survivor and four students who were shot and killed.
“The purpose of this is for family, friends, staff and teachers to come by and remember these kids in a good way. The families can bring something and hang it off the staff if they want to. The school can make something to hang off the staff. It just symbolizes that these kids’ innocence was taken,” said Muir.
Courtesy of Hibulb Cultural Center & Natural History Preserve
Muir, who is known for his bead work with the Native American peyote stitch, and Fryberg, who is known for his work in cedar weaving and hand drums, are reaching out to the victims’ families for input on the project’s design. Muir will be donating the beadwork that will feature a simple peyote stitch using beads to wrap around a large staff that will also feature an eagle claw atop the staff. Fryberg will be crafting the bronze plaque that will have a short healing message engraved on it.
“I want to talk to the families to ask them how do they want their kids represented in this. What would they want to see on this staff to represent their child. I would like to feature the kids’ names, either their first names or their full names, because this project is for them. It is a
symbolization of these kids, it is more than just their initials or full names, it is a symbolization of who these kids were as people, and what they brought to this world,” said Muir.
The idea for the project is loosely taken from the tradition of a journey stick or memory stick. Many Native
Tribal artist David Fryberg Sr. will make carve a healing message into a brass plaque that will accompany the beaded staff made by fellow artist Richard Muir. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
American tribes used staffs or large sticks as a way to memorialize a person or place. The staff is left in place and travelers are encouraged to leave a memento of personal value or representation as a memorial. The staff is from a pine tree, which symbolizes peace to many Native American tribes. The beadwork, which will feature over a 1,000 beads, will take nearly seven months to complete. Muir states the staff will be completed near the one-year anniversary date of the shooting.
“It is going to take me awhile to complete. I am going to have to set it down and set it aside because of the emotional transfer that comes with this type of work,” explains Muir about the traditional cultural practice in not crafting or completing tasks with negative thoughts. “My mind has to be in the right spot and clear of negative thoughts.”
A beaded staff spear by Richard “2 Doggs” Muir features the peyote stitch with intersecting design patterns. (Tulalip News/ Brandi N. Montreuil)
“I want this to be for anybody who wants to take a moment to remember these kids, because who knows what these kids would have accomplished if they hadn’t been tragically murdered. They could have been the ones who invented renewable energy or saved our natural resources. We will never know now,” said Muir.
The beaded staff and bronze plaque, once complete, will be gifted to the Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Staff will then decide where the items will be placed for students and visitors to access.
Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com
The Native-American murals at Wilson-Pacific, a Seattle Public Schools building, have been vandalized. (Andrew Morrison)
By Seattle Sketcher Gabriel Campanario, Seattle Times
Murals painted by local Native-American artist Andrew Morrison at the Wilson-Pacific school building have been desecrated.
Muralist Andrew Morrison filed a police report Monday for damage done over the weekend to his Native American murals on the side of the Wilson-Pacific school building. (Mark Harrison / The Seattle Times)
Andrew Morrison’s murals at Seattle’s Wilson-Pacific school building were desecrated over the weekend. The words DAPKILO were painted over, said Morrison, who sent me the photo you see above. DAP is the name of a crew of graffiti artists. It stands for Down Around Pike, said Morrison, and KILO is the name of one of their artists. “We know who did it,” Morrison told me over the phone. “He was stupid enough to write his own name.”
Morrison said the only explanation to the crime is “jealousy and hate.” He said the murals, which the city agreed to preserve intact, have become known and are a celebration of life. “Only someone who is against that could do this.”
The towering murals on the Wilson-Pacific School campus in North Seattle are among just a few notable examples of local public art honoring Native Americans. In 2013, they seemed destined for destruction when Seattle Public Schools announced plans to demolish the buildings to make way for a new campus. The school district proposed taking photographs of the murals and displaying them in the new school so the artwork could be remembered. But officials eventually changed their mind and agreed to preserve them given their cultural and historical value.
Johnpaul Jones, an architect involved in the preservation process, plans to visit the site Tuesday morning to assess the damage.
The Senate confirmed Diane Humetewa to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, making her the first-ever Native American woman to serve on the federal bench.
Jennifer Bendery, Huffington Post
WASHINGTON — The Senate quietly made history on Wednesday night when it confirmed Diane Humetewa as a federal judge — the first Native American woman to ever hold such a post.
Humetewa was confirmed 96-0 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. She is a former U.S. attorney in Arizona and a member of the Hopi tribe. She is now the first active member of a Native American tribe to serve on the federal bench and only the third Native American in history to do so.
The National Congress of American Indians celebrated Humetewa’s achievement.
“NCAI greatly appreciates the efforts of the President and Senate in achieving this historic confirmation,” the organization said in a statement. “There are many qualified, talented people like Diane Humetewa in Indian Country who are able and willing to serve. We eagerly anticipate many more nominations of Native people to the federal bench and other offices.”
The University of Washington Bothell held its 3rd annual Reaching American Indian Nations (RAIN) event Friday, February 6. It was a day dedicated to preparing American Indian, Alaskan Native, and First Nations students with the tools necessary to access higher education. Students interacted with UW Bothell and Cascadia College students, staff and faculty, engaged with speakers, and participated in cultural and educational workshops.
Native high school students and faculty from Native American educational programs from all across Washington State were invited to attend RAIN 2015. Amongst those who attended were tribal students from Tulalip, Puyallup, Yakima, Port Gamble S’Klallam, La Conner, Central Kitsap, Edmonds Indian program, and representatives from Tacoma.
“We have created this culturally relevant event where we can bring amazing people out to speak on all the reasons you, as a Native American high school student, should go to college, and to explain why higher education is important as a Native American person. How can you use it to connect to your community or be more a part of your community or work for your community,” explains Rachael Meares, Native American Outreach Coordinator for UW Bothell. “We just hope that they get that idea here. It doesn’t matter if they want to attend this campus or another college. We invite Northwest Indian College out and we have Cascadia College here, so they can see their college options. We just want them to think about planning for college.”
This year’s RAIN attendance was by far the highest in its history. In 2013, the first year RAIN was held, only Tulalip Heritage high school students were participants. The following year there were roughly 55-60 students from tribes all over the state. This year the attendance nearly doubled with an estimated 110 Native students participating.
The inspiration that led to UW Bothell creating RAIN three years ago happened right here on the Tulalip Reservation. It was during a routine admission workshop that Rachael Meares was undertaking at Tulalip Heritage High School that inspiration struck. The junior and senior high school students at Tulalip Heritage were so eager to participate in her workshop and to learn of the opportunities available at UW Bothell that Meares thought it would be really beneficial for the students to spend a day at the UW Bothell campus, participating in various workshops, exploring and learning about the campus, and receiving an alternative college perspective that wouldn’t otherwise be available to them here on the reservation.
A few months later, the entire Tulalip Heritage High School student body, with chaperoning teachers, spent a day at the UW Bothell campus learning about the university and opportunities available only a short thirty minute drive south on I-5. That day marked the first culturally relevant outreach event for Native American students, which was given the name Reaching American Indian Nations, or more commonly referred to as RAIN. The next year Meares and her colleagues from the UW Bothell Division of Enrollment Management extended invites to Tulalip Heritage and other tribal schools across Washington. The event has continued to grow with an increasing number of tribal students attending and more workshops being offered.
“Before RAIN our Native American student admission numbers were like five, six, or ten some years. Now we have eighty-three Native American students enrolled and attending UW Bothell. Our Native American student population has grown a lot over the last few years and we want to continue building upon that momentum RAIN has given us,” states Meares, who also carries the title of Admissions Advisor and Recruiter for UW Bothell.
At this year’s RAIN event the keynote speaker was the Executive Director of Chief Seattle Club, and member of the Pawnee tribe, Colleen Echohawk who gave a very passionate speech to her tribal student audience. Echohawk told her story of growing up in remote Alaska, not just living off the land but living with it, and how attending college opened up opportunities she had never imagined.
“Be brave, be strong, be bold and stay connected. You are the indigenous voice and are on a hero’s journey,” Echohawk said to the tribal students in their pursuit of higher education. “We are not just surviving, we are thriving.”
After a light breakfast, introductions of the coordinating event staff, and the keynote speech, the students chose two out of five available on-site workshops to attend. Keeping the idea of cultural relevancy in play, each workshop was specifically tailored to the Native American student pursuing higher education. The workshops were also led by a Native American staff members of UW Bothell.
“Paying for College” Financial Aid and Funding Resources workshop was led by Danette Iyall (Nez Perce), Director of Financial Aid. This workshop provided a unique opportunity for the students to meet with UW Bothell’s Director of Financial Aid to learn about the many ways to fund their education through grants, scholarships, loans and more. Students were introduced to the FAFSA as well as University funding resources such as the Husky Promise.
“Airplanes” Opportunities at Boeing workshop was led by Dr. Deanna Kennedy (Cherokee), UW Bothell Assistant Professor. This workshop allowing the tribal students to experience the interactive UW Bothell student classroom. Students got a feel of the UW Bothell classroom lecture about Boeing productions processes and learned first-hand about academic approaches in the School of Business and career pathways.
“Pathways to College” was led by Sara Gomez Taylor, Cascadia College Outreach Specialist. Students learned about the admissions process and the vast opportunities for academic growth from representatives from three college settings; 2-year institution, 4-year institution, and Tribal College.
UW Bothell Wetlands Tour was led by Alice Tsoodle (Kiowa), Islandwood Instructor and UW Bothell Alum. Students learned about the restoration design and how the campus and students have influenced the UW Bothell ecosystem. Participants left with a better understanding of how this campus resource is used in the classroom.
The fifth workshop offered was the Campus Tour led by current UW Bothell students. The campus visitors got to see all that UW Bothell has to offer thought current student perspective; classrooms, café’s, housing, sports field, library, and much more. A highlight of the campus tour was a walkthrough of the 3-story high student library. The UW Bothell student library features Native American artwork from tribal artists near and far. For the students participating in the tour they were happy to see artwork from their culture being so stunningly displayed throughout the campus library.
Among the tribal student attendees was Oceana Alday, Tulalip tribal member and current senior at Marysville Getchell High School. She is also a Running Start student in her 3rd quarter at Northwest Indian College. Alday expressed her enthusiasm for RAIN and hopes more Tulalip high school students attend in the future.
“Attending RAIN, I think Tulalip high school students could learn that there are college alternatives other than attending EvCC or NWIC,” says Alday. “They can consider their options at UW Bothell and Cascadia College. We have a few tribal members who attend UW and WSU, so I think they can see other options besides those close to the reservation.”
A small protest in Rapid City, S.D., including members of the Native American community, gather in front of the Civic Center where the incident occurred. Charles Michael Ray/South Dakota Public Broadcasting
The group of middle-school students made a two-hour bus trip from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to a Rapid City Rush hockey game in late January. The school-sanctioned outing was a reward for academic achievement.
But the group left the game in the third period when some men sitting above them in a corporate box allegedly began to pour beer on and shout racial slurs at the parents and students.
Angie Sam says she believes her 13-year-old daughter and 56 other students, ages 9 to 13, are victims of a hate crime.
“Some of our kids — they’ve had nightmares, they cry,” she says, as she herself fights back tears. “We as parents, we cry for our kids, because we protect them. And they were being rewarded for good behavior, and these drunk, white men ruined that for them.”
The incident was reported on social media after the game, then to law enforcement. Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris condemned the attack and said charges could include hate crimes.
“It is what I would call ‘scorching of your soul,’ so it upsets me greatly that this occurred here in our community,” he says. “And it certainly is a criminal act that occurred; we do have an ongoing, open criminal investigation.”
Suspects in the investigation have not yet been named, and police say any charges could be weeks away.
“Being patient in this process is part of it, but we can’t be too patient — we need action,” says Mato Standing High, an attorney for some of the families involved. “Rapid City should not tolerate the abuse of children, period.”
Standing High says the incident adds to racial tension that already was elevated by a police shooting of a Native American man in December. He notes a pattern of troubled race relations extending all the way back to the white settlement of the area in the late 19th century, but says that what’s different this time is that it involves so many kids.
“You add on top of that factors of race, and that’s when people get really, really excited and taken back in history to horrible treatment that Indians have faced,” he adds.
Many of those like Standing High say that past racist acts or even hate crimes against Native Americans here have occurred with few repercussions. Social media is seen as a game-changer in this case.
The Native community is using it to organize protests, which have been attended by Native Americans and others. Organizers see that type of cross-cultural communication as a positive step, but note that it will take more than one rally to heal the deep racial divisions here.
Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney and a founder of the group Lastrealindians, spread the story on his website after it was posted on Facebook. He warns that anyone who is overtly racist now runs the risk of being called out on the Internet.
“We control our own presses, we control our own media networks,” he says. “We reach a million people a week, for instance, on my media network, easily. And so things are changing. There’s an evolution here, coming.”
Obama Administration Officials to meet with young people across Indian Country to better understand and act on unique challenges facing Native Youth
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (“Gen-I”) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will kick off the Obama Administration Native Youth Listening Tour tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10, in the Phoenix, Arizona area with tribal visits and student discussions at Salt River Elementary and Gila River Crossing Community Schools.
During the sixth White House Tribal Nations Conference, President Obama announced that members of his Cabinet would visit Indian Country to hear directly from Native youth on how to bolster federal policies to help improve the lives and opportunities for the next generation of Indian Country. Over the coming year, Obama Administration Cabinet Secretaries will hold listening sessions with native youth across the country.
As part of her visit with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Secretary Jewell will learn about the tribe’s Family Advocacy Center which follows a ‘co-location’ model for social services, such as counseling, law enforcement and other professional social services. The Center serves as a national model for taking a ‘whole-of-child’ approach to youth and social services.
At the Gila River Crossing Community School, Secretary Jewell will meet with students who are part of Akimel O’odham/Pee-Posh Youth Council, an active and well-established youth council that has served to provide an avenue for empowerment and mutual support for native youth within the community.
According to a recent White House report, nearly half of Native American people (42 percent) are under the age of 24; more than one-third of Native children live in poverty; and Native youth have the lowest high school graduation rate of students across all schools.
WALLULA, Wash. — KEPR investigating into reports of human remains being found just north of Wallula Junction.
A 14 year old and his father were hunting near the river when the came across a skeleton with a hole in the skull.
“I was about 100 yards in front of him, I just walked right up on it,” said 14 year old Mitchell Jackson.
He didn’t snag any geese on his hunting trip this weekend, but he did make a chilling discovery.
“I just see this white thing on the ground and I go walking closer to it. It looked like skull to me and I waited until my dad caught up to me and I said, ‘Dad, I think I found a human skull,” he said.
And he was right.
A skull, jaw bone, vertebrae, and rib cage just sticking out of the ground near their hunting spot along the river near Wallula. Mitchell’s father called the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office who initially thought they could be looking at a homicide. But once the coroner and an archaeologist could took a closer look, they squashed that theory.
The land where they found the remains just north of Wallula Junction is all owned by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. So when they got the call, they knew they had a full plate.
We asked an archaeologist how old he might think the bones are.
“You know, they’re older than ten years old. I can’t tell you if they’re older than 100, 200, years old. They’ve definitely been there for quite a long time.”
Fish and Wildlife archaeologist Dale Earl is tasked with identifying and dating the remains which are now under lock and key at the McNary office in Burbank. He says the body could have been placed where the skeleton was found, or been carried by the river.
They are currently in talks with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to see if it could be one of their ancestors.
While that could be the story, could we possibly be looking ground breaking find?
Reporter: “What are the odds of this being the next Kennewick Man?” Earl: “Very very remote.”
Fish and Wildlife will team up with an anthropologist to date the bones. Archaeologists say the dating process will take several weeks if not longer.
20th Annual Na-ha-shnee Native American Health Science Institute June 21st – July 2nd, 2015
What is Na-ha-shnee? Na-ha-shnee is a 12 day summer program designed to encourage Native American and Alaska Native students to pursue health science degrees and health-related careers. The program is held on the WSU Spokane Campus & housing is in nearby dorms.
Who should apply? Native American and Alaska Native students that are currently in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade. Applicants should have a GPA of 3.0 or above and an interest in health science careers (nursing, medical research, nutrition, physical therapy, medicine, pharmacy, etc.) This year we will be selecting 25 students to attend Na-ha-shnee.
Where is the application? Applications can be filled out and submitted online or printed and submitted in paper copy form. The application can be found online at: http://spokane.wsu.edu/…/native-american-health-sciences-p…/ (Or google WSU Native American Health Sciences to find it).
What does it cost? FREE! The only cost that we cannot cover is transportation to and from our program.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 5PM, FRIDAY, APRIL 24th, 2015
Press Release, National Indian Education Association
WASHINGTON, DC – Following yesterday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Hearing on “Fixing No Child Left Behind (NCLB): Testing and Accountability,” National Indian Education Association (NIEA) President Melvin Monette issued the following statement explaining the need for an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization that upholds the trust responsibility of the United States and fairly provides Native students education services based on principles of accountability, equity, and excellence. President Monette stated:
The ESEA is in pressing need of updating and we commend the Senate HELP Committee under the leadership of Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) for moving forward the reauthorization through recently introduced draft language. However, the current iteration illustrates a need for improvement, so we request that the federal government honor its’ trust responsibility to tribes and Native education by fairly providing comprehensive educational opportunities to Native students within any ESEA reauthorization.
During the State of the Union Address, President Obama rightfully celebrated the nation’s all-time high graduation rates among high school students. Unfortunately, the stressed graduation rates and academic successes are often not representative of many Native communities. NCLB has done little to address the longstanding challenges affecting Native students. Over the past decade, Native students continue to trail their peers in reading and mathematics (grades four and eight). Nationwide, our students face some of the lowest high school graduation rates with even fewer students graduating from college. Native education is in a state of emergency and tribes have long awaited the opportunity to partner with Congress to take bold action that will significantly improve the education systems serving Native communities.
Tribes and Native communities have an enormous stake in their children’s education. While the ESEA reauthorization must provide effective accountability and protect the civil rights of all Americans, the ESEA reauthorization must also be a commitment to the sovereignty of this country’s First Americans. As such, the ESEA draft should be revised to support tribal nations as they develop their ability to deliver education services as well as coordinate with local and state educational agencies. Only by including the following priorities will an ESEA reauthorization ensure effective and efficient use of funds and delivery of resources to Native communities as well as increase Native student achievement.
NIEA calls on the Senate to include the following priorities:
Strengthen Native Participation in Education: Tribes should have the authority to build their capacity to administer education title programs. Native leaders understand their children best and can better address their students’ unique cultural and academic needs.
Encourage Tribal/State Partnerships: While the federal government has a trust responsibility to work with tribes, tribal concerns are often excluded at the state and local level. The ESEA reauthorization should require local and state educational agencies to closely work and meaningfully consult with tribes when developing applications and plans for ESEA title programs.
Preserve and Revitalize Native Languages: The continued existence of Native languages is crucial to protecting and strengthening Native culture and tribal communities as well as increasing the academic achievement of Native students. Any ESEA reauthorization should provide resources for eligible schools to participate in a program to develop and maintain Native language immersion education models.
Increase Access to Native Student Records: Native students often transfer between federal, state, and tribal school districts, which creates information gaps as systems are not required to track and coordinate student data. The ESEA reauthorization should provide the ability for schools and state and local educational agencies to share Native student data with their local tribes. Providing such information will create longitudinal student statistics that will help schools and Native partners alleviate issues that decrease Native student achievement.
NIEA, tribes, and our national and local partners look forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen this initial draft proposal. It is critical the ESEA reauthorization serves Native students and their peers by not only ensuring equity and accountability, but also including tribes within their local education systems. This great country cannot afford to ignore the needs of its most vulnerable students. By reinforcing America’s trust responsibility and strengthening tribal sovereignty throughout the ESEA, Congress will begin to reverse the negative impacts affecting Native communities and ensure local cooperation fosters efficiency and academic excellence for all students.
