As you know, the Lakota People’s Law Project does all we can to ensure that my fellow Native Americans can cast their ballots each election cycle. In recent weeks, we’ve been writing to you about our effort to pass the Native American Voting Rights Act (NAVRA). Now we’re taking things to the next level. We’ve partnered with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and leading up to the election we’ll run a joint phone bank where tribal members activate their neighbors and Native voters in swing states like North Carolina and Arizona. We’re doing all we can to see that Indian Country makes a big noise in the 2020 election.
Our first team members feel the joy after a day of making a difference in the 2020 election.
We’ll hire and train about 30 tribal residents as get-out-the-vote organizers. Using data-driven targeting and leveraging the latest tech to increase efficiency, we’ll have tens of thousands of conversations with voters. In addition to boosting the number of people casting ballots in important regional elections, this will put Standing Rock’s citizens to work learning valuable skills at a time when earning money is harder than ever on the reservation.
Dana Yellow Fat works the phones to Standing Rock the Vote.
Meanwhile, growing support for NAVRA has moved it closer to getting out of committee and into law. Over the past month, partly because of our efforts, the bill gained five new sponsors in the House of Representatives (including some in critical swing states). We’re also engaged with investigative journalists at national press outlets to ensure high-level coverage of the suppression tactics and other difficulties faced by Native voters in 2020.
We’ll maintain our ambitious media and video production calendar to make sure you’ve got a clear window into the work. As always, your support makes all we do possible — and I can’t thank you enough for helping us lead the struggle. Let’s stay committed!
Wopila tanka — my gratitude for continuing to propel this movement forward.
Phyllis Young Standing Rock Organizer The Lakota People’s Law Project
Lakota People’s Law Project 547 South 7th Street #149 Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
Visit the Many Nations of America Participants in Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2020 (from left to right): Performing artist Frank Waln; Youth in Action panelists Brook Thompson, Dylan Baca, Lina Krueck, Julian Brave NoiseCat, Michaela Pavlat (moderator), and Alberto Correa III Visit the Museum in Washington, DC To reserve your free, timed-entry passes to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, please visit our website. The museum location in New York remains closed at this time.
Can’t make it to our museum on the National Mall? Visit our wide range of resources online, including exhibition websites.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Mascots, Monuments, and Memorialization Monday, Oct. 12, 1 PM ET Streaming online at americanindian.si.edu/online-programs How do people’s memories of the past inform and influence the current racial and social landscape? As part of the museum’s new series Youth in Action: Conversations about Our Future, participants can hear from young Native activists who are propelling this conversation forward and addressing the tension between history, memory, and the current movements happening across America. Featured panelists include Brook Thompson (Yurok and Karuk), Julian Brave NoiseCat (Canim Lake Band Tsq’escen and Lil’Wat Nation), Lina Krueck (Oglala Lakota), Dylan Baca (White Mountain Apache), and Alberto Correa III (Taíno).
This event will feature an introduction by Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the National Museum of the American Indian, and a musical performance by hip-hop artist Frank Waln (Sicangu Lakota). The panel will be moderated by museum cultural interpreter Michaela Pavlat (Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Indians).
WNYC’s The Greene Space Presents First Peoples Week Through Saturday, October 12 Full schedule available at https://thegreenespace.org/series/first-peoples-week/ Celebrated Native creators, artists, podcasters, poets, photographers, and others take center stage during First Peoples Week at The Greene Space. This free, online program series features conversations that touch on COVID-19, land treaties, mascots, storytelling, and more, led by This Land host Rebecca Nagle, director and producer Madeline Sayet, community leaders from the Lenape Center, and Iakowi:hi’ne’ Oakes, director of the American Indian Community House.
Native New York in your classroom October 8 and 15, 4 PM ET Register online These free, hour-long webinars are designed for education professionals who teach about the Native Nations of New York State. Educators whose primary teaching focus is social studies, English language arts, or library sciences, and who work with students in grades 4–12 are encouraged to register. We also invite homeschoolers, parents, and others looking for digital educational resources about Native Americans.
The Great Inka Road | El Gran Camino Inka Learn about the ingenuity of the Inka who built an empire, through our bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition website. The site includes sections on ancestors of the Inka, the Inka universe, the invasion of the empire, and the Inka Road today.
New in our Smithsonian Store online: face masks! The museum’s online store now carries adult face masks designed by Native artists in several patterns: Eagle Vision, Orca Family, Sasquatch, and Tradition. For these and other gifts and accessories, visit the museum’s shop on the Smithsonian’s website. Stay Connected with the Museum Follow the museum at AmericanIndian.si.edu, or via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The National Museum of the American Indian is able to reach people everywhere thanks to generous support from individuals like you. Thank you.
Thu, Oct 1, 2020 6:36 pm Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota Law (info@lakotalaw.org)To:you Details
Warm greetings! As we look to escape the shadow of the most embarrassing presidential debate in the history of our still-young nation, our team here at Standing Rock has begun assembling tribal phone bankers. Our mission? We must remind Native voters in battleground states that their voice matters and help them cast their ballots. Much more news to come soon on that front.
Meanwhile, I share with you a powerful new video about our NoDAPL stand, produced by VICE News in conjunction with the Lakota People’s Law Project. As we’ve continued to work with students at Loyola University to compile our archive of NoDAPL resources, we’ve also been releasing videos to tell you the full story of our stand to protect Standing Rock’s water. Another key reason for compiling these materials is to allow journalists, like our friends at VICE News, to help tell that story effectively.
About a month ago, VICE News sent their “I Was There” production team to meet me in South Dakota so we could talk about what really happened at Standing Rock. We also provided their team with access to our archival resources. Using all of that plus other sourced footage, they produced “I was There: DAPL Protests.” I urge you to watch it to gain a fuller picture of the timeline and meaning of our movement, and how it fits into the present cultural moment. I hope that you will find it informative.
Please know that, as we ramp up our Vote 2020 campaign to protect the future of our right to be heard in this democracy, we won’t stop our continued efforts to defeat DAPL — and Keystone XL — once and for all. This year has shown us so clearly that we must take our vigilance to new levels to protect one another. We have to fight on multiple fronts and make sure that the truth always comes to light. We’re so grateful for responsible journalists like the team from VICE News who help us do that. And, of course, we couldn’t be more appreciative of you for helping us stay in the fight every single day.
Wopila tanka — thank you for standing with us and with Standing Rock!
Chase Iron Eyes Lead Counsel The Lakota People’s Law Project
Lakota People’s Law Project 547 South 7th Street #149 Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
The Lakota People’s Law Project is part of the Romero Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.
“We must fight back against this underhanded ruling,” said one Indigenous leader. “In the courts, on the frontlines and in the international courts, life itself is at stake.” By Brett Wilkins – October 6, 2020 36 SOURCE
I hope you’re hanging in there in what has become a more difficult and surreal year with every passing month. As if 2020 hadn’t hit hard enough yet, the death this week of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg landed yet another troubling blow to the health and safety of our democracy. But we’re pushing back in Indian Country.
The fate of the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) is one among many issues that could be adversely affected, if the Senate confirms a conservative nominee from President Trump as Justice Ginsberg’s replacement. But because Joe Biden’s team has announced his intention to shut down both DAPL and Keystone XL (KXL), the courts could be removed from the equation entirely should he become president.
In our new DAPL Archive video, SD Rancher Marv Kammerer — the personification of what mutual understanding and alliance-building should look like — discusses appropriate stewardship of land and water.
No matter what happens in November, we must stand unified, together, across dividing lines real and imagined, to protect our future in this homeland. To see exactly what that looks like, I invite you to watch our latest DAPL Archive video. In 2017, I wrote an op-ed in The Hill about DAPL’s continuation of the age-old battle between cowboys and Indians. I’m happy to say that, in 2020, we have now evolved a small cowboy-Indian alliance against DAPL and KXL. Listen to our ally, rancher Marv Kammerer. You’ll be inspired.
At the end of the day, it is our shared values — not our racial differences — that must determine where we stand and where we’re going. By giving our common values a chance to resonate, we can heal the past and present and create the future we want.
Please stay with us as we begin to hire and train dozens of Standing Rock tribal members to call voters in states like Florida and Arizona between now and Nov 3. We’ll make sure Native votes are cast and counted in this all-important election. Despite the challenges 2020 has brought, America will hear our voice. As Marv so eloquently puts it, we must be proper stewards of this land. So let us rise to the occasion.
Wopila tanka — thank you for being part of our alliance!
Chase Iron Eyes Lead Counsel The Lakota People’s Law Project
Lakota People’s Law Project 547 South 7th Street #149 Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
The Lakota People’s Law Project is part of the Romero Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.
Corrected: Added tribal affiliation for the director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay
The head of a proposed copper and gold mine near a prime Alaska salmon fishery has resigned after covertly filmed videos showed him talking about elected and regulatory officials and unreleased plans for the huge project.
Northern Dynasty, owner of Pebble Limited Partnership, announced the resignation of Pebble Limited CEO Tom Collier in a statement Wednesday.
The Environmental Investigation Agency, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, this week released secretly recorded Zoom conversations between Collier, Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen and activists posing as investors. The conversations occurred in August and earlier this month.
In the videos, the mine developers describe their plans for a much bigger and longer-lasting mine than they’ve presented in the permitting process. They also claim their political connections are working to their benefit.
&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMS8xLzU4MDcwIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogImRlMTY4NjBhLTZmZjgtZWExMS05OWMzLTAwMTU1ZDAzOWU3NCIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiYXp0ZWM4ODg4QGFvbC5jb20iDQp9&hmac=ke7PoBOq6ZnUqC2Qe0IQ_hFLFUE7lPUxAbGUF9lImFQ=&emci=5e2001a3-9cf3-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=de16860a-6ff8-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=2659296″>That’s why we’re launching a membership program for Lakota Law, and we want you to be one of the first to join. Because a donor has promised to match all gifts, your generosity will do twice as much good.
What does membership with us mean? It means that together, we can make an even bigger impact on our journey to justice for the Lakota People. It will give you new ways to build community with like-minded supporters, contribute to the projects that matter most to you, and ensure stability for our work during turbulent times.
&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMS8xLzU4MDcwIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogImRlMTY4NjBhLTZmZjgtZWExMS05OWMzLTAwMTU1ZDAzOWU3NCIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiYXp0ZWM4ODg4QGFvbC5jb20iDQp9&hmac=ke7PoBOq6ZnUqC2Qe0IQ_hFLFUE7lPUxAbGUF9lImFQ=&emci=5e2001a3-9cf3-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=de16860a-6ff8-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=2659296″>Renee, will you join us by becoming a member of the Lakota People’s Law Project today?
&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMS8xLzU4MDcwIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogImRlMTY4NjBhLTZmZjgtZWExMS05OWMzLTAwMTU1ZDAzOWU3NCIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiYXp0ZWM4ODg4QGFvbC5jb20iDQp9&hmac=ke7PoBOq6ZnUqC2Qe0IQ_hFLFUE7lPUxAbGUF9lImFQ=&emci=5e2001a3-9cf3-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=de16860a-6ff8-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=2659296″>Some of our foster kids with their tribal foster parent, at our kinship care home on Standing Rock Nation.
Over the years, your support has created a better world for Lakota children and families. In the beginning, I formed the Lakota Child Rescue Project. In 2012, we hosted an Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Summit. We transported dozens of Standing Rock families to Rapid City. There, tribal members from across South Dakota testified about the state’s Department of Social Services removing our children to illegally place them in non-Native care.
Now, your support can help fund a youth center adjacent to our Standing Rock foster home. We’re optimistic that, with your help, we could break ground as early as spring of 2021! So much of the suffering on our reservations — the suicide rates, the substance abuse, the juvenile offenses — could be solved by providing more resources for our young ones. We must work together to provide consistent places to sleep, learn, and play. That’s what building real stability looks like.
Wopila tanka — my deep gratitude to you for your committed friendship! Madonna Thunder Hawk Cheyenne River Organizer The Lakota People’s Law Project
&nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9FQS9FQTAwMS8xLzU4MDcwIiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogImRlMTY4NjBhLTZmZjgtZWExMS05OWMzLTAwMTU1ZDAzOWU3NCIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAiYXp0ZWM4ODg4QGFvbC5jb20iDQp9&hmac=ke7PoBOq6ZnUqC2Qe0IQ_hFLFUE7lPUxAbGUF9lImFQ=&emci=5e2001a3-9cf3-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&emdi=de16860a-6ff8-ea11-99c3-00155d039e74&ceid=2659296″>Please visit our website to learn more; and become a member by Saturday, Sept. 26 to join us for our special Membership Launch Event that day with me, Chase Iron Eyes, and our Lakota Law leaders!
Lakota People’s Law Project 547 South 7th Street #149 Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
The Lakota People’s Law Project is part of the Romero Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.
The best news I have heard this year! She should never have been arrested in the first place. It was a clear set up and attempt to intimidate protestors.
Image Credit: Twitter: @lakotalaw
An Indigenous water protector who was arrested during protests against the Dakota Access pipeline has been released from federal prison. Prosecutors accused Red Fawn Fallis of firing three shots from a handgun as police in riot gear, wielding batons, surrounded her to make an arrest amid mass protests against the pipeline in 2016. Red Fawn’s uncle, Glenn Morris, welcomed her release Thursday, telling Indian Country Today, “The real criminals continue to pump oil through the pipeline in violation of the 1851 and 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaties and US environmental laws.”
The coronavirus is affecting tribes across the country in different ways, depending on the location of the tribe, the size of the population and the access to healthcare.
In the pacific northwest, the Yakama Nation is working hard to keep COVID-19 at bay. On today’s newscast we have Yakama Chairman Delano Saluskin.
Our reporter-producer Kolby KickingWoman reflects on the Republican National Convention this week.
A few comments from today:
Chairman Delano Saluskin:
“We have 11,500 tribal members and we have had almost 2,900 tests and we’ve lost 35 tribal members. So we probably have recovered around 2,850 or so.”
“We’ve had pretty good collaboration between Indian health Service. There’s a group called Medical Teams International, Washington State National Guard, and so we’ve had a good collaboration and are trying to get tests for everybody that wants one or needs one. And we’re very grateful to all these other organizations that have been working with us the best they can.
“We’ve tried to educate our people a little bit about the coronavirus. We’ve done the best we can to show them where to go and get help. You know, we’ve done the best we can to get contact tracing. So we’ve let them know about what’s really going on in our tribal government.”
“I think that’s the most difficult group there is, trying to talk to our younger people. As a young person, I’m sure you realize a lot of them believe that they’re invincible. However, they don’t realize that they do pose a risk to their brothers and sisters, to their parents to their grandparents and other loved ones in their family that live in their house. We don’t know who has it, who doesn’t have it and when they go out as if there is nothing to be concerned about, we find that that’s where a lot of the coronavirus, that’s how it spreads is, maybe through our younger people, more so than anything.”
“That was one of the things that we identified early on is that this coronavirus impacts all of us. And there’s a lot of our tribal members who are very fluent in our language. Maybe they don’t fully understand the English language or the English significance of what we’re dealing with.”
“There have been a lot of things that he’s (Tony) really contributed to… our dealing with this coronavirus and the traditional aspect of it has been very difficult because, you know, we get told, ‘well, you can’t do this.’”
“We realize it, but we’re not preventing you from praying, or we’re not preventing you from singing. You can still do that. We’re trying to protect the general population. Sometimes, that isn’t an easy message to spread.”
“It’s good for the mind. And it’s good for the soul. And it’s good for the heart.”
“Our casino just opened up two weeks ago. We were the very last casino in the state of Washington to reopen. We took a very conservative approach to our casino reopening. And we did, we really tried to listen to the science, not just the need for dollars.”
“We’re way under counted. You know, like I mentioned, we did have a meeting with two of our staff, people that have a responsibility to get the complete count. And they had just begun some of their activities in March when the pandemic started and we shut down. And everybody, as you know, everybody’s a little bit leery of anybody that comes to your house or, or anything, but we had a meeting Friday, I think we’re back on track. Our goal is to get to a hundred percent or close to a hundred percent as possible. Right now we were told we’re at about 53%, so we’ve got a long way to go.”
“We should have been at all the graduations. We should have been at all the schools trying to get these young people registered at that time, but now we have to play catch up again.”
“We had to remind people that even though there’s pandemics going on, it’s no excuse for us not to participate in the Census.”
Kolby KickingWoman:
“He ran through a number of accomplishments that the Trump administration has achieved over these first three and a half years. Ranging from funding from the CARES act to the appointment of conservative judges. He specifically mentioned Neil Gorsuch who was the swing vote in McGirt as we all know. He also talked about the reestablishment of the White House Council on Native American affairs, as well as the executive order and establishment of the White House task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. I think it’s also worth noting that he was in the Oval Office when that executive order was signed.”
“Yeah. And not long after that, I believe he’s mentioned that every time that he’s met with Trump or that he believes Trump has met with Indian country, that he’s worked to repair the relationship between the federal government and Indian country. And in fact, to your point, he said, quote, ‘Our People have never been invited into the American Dream. We for years fought congressional battles with past congressmen and senators that were part of a broken system that ignored us,’ I thought that was a very interesting quote.”
“It didn’t include tribes. And I believe the Navajo Nation wrote a letter regarding the inclusion of Alaska Native Corporations that were a part of the $8 billion and how it was distributed. And there was also a very much delay in delivering those funds.”
“As you said, a lot of Trump’s… it seems to ring hollow, when it comes to Indian country. And so of course people are going to bounce on that, but I think it’s also important to note that Indian country issues are nonpartisan and tribal leaders need to work with whoever is in office, if they’re a Democrat or Republican. And so it’s good to have representation at the Republican National Convention as well as last week at the Democratic National Convention.”
“As far as I’ve seen as on the schedule, he is the only Native American to speak.”
“I saw something on social media recently that said, election day is 10 Tuesdays from now. And so you can frame it in all these ways, but election day will be here before we know it. And I believe there are some States that start next week, as far as mail-in ballots.”
“Every election seems to be the most important election of our lifetime and 2016 and 2018, there were concerns about voter suppression against Native Americans. And so, you know, getting out the vote for tribes is very important.”
“I think they’re stressing the importance of getting out the vote, however you can. And, it certainly seems this year that mail-in ballots will be used widely.”
Our first team members feel the joy after a day of making a difference in the 2020 election.
Dana Yellow Fat works the phones to Standing Rock the Vote.
Water is Life 