News For All Americans
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NCAI wraps up its winter executive session with strong opposition to President Trump’s proposed budget An executive for a BIE community college remains on leave pending a sexual harassment investigation Friends and family mourn the death of noted Native film advocate Michael Smith
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Senator Elizabeth Warren earns praise and criticism for remarks about her heritage at NCAI. Advocates mark Valentines Day as a time to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women. Canada’s prime minister proposes overhauling government relations with Indigenous people.
The proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska will require a number of major infrastructure projects to support the operation. The projects are among the details revealed when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made the company’s permit application public. “We are proposing a natural gas pipeline from the Kenai Peninsula across Cook Inlet and then under Iliamna Lake in order to get natural gas to our mine site in order to run our electrical generation,” said Pebble Limited Partnership spokesperson Mike Heatwole.
In a surprise announcement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is suspending its effort to reverse environmental protections for the Bristol Bay Watershed. That is a blow to the Pebble Mine proposed for southwest Alaska. Mine opponents praised the EPA’s actions. “The fact that the Trump Administration is choosing to keep them in place and keep them on the shelf is a recognition Pebble Mine is too toxic–too toxic even for the Trump Administration,” said Alannah Hurley with the United Tribes of Bristol Bay
At the start of the Navajo Nation’s new winter legislative session, President Russell Begaye made it clear which issue sits high on the leadership’s agenda. Begaye signed a proclamation aimed at raising awareness of human trafficking in and around the border-towns of the sprawling reservation. In August, Begaye enacted a tribal council resolution to criminalize the sex slave trade within the reservation borders, something the International Labour Organization estimates is a $150 billion industry worldwide.
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Three South Dakota Tribes take aim at opioid manufacturers and distributors A member of the Choctaw Nation announces his candidacy for Congress The Navajo Nation launches a modular home program on a site previously off-limits to housing construction
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Details of the Pebble Mine proposal in Alaska are revealed for the first time as the U-S Army Corps of Engineers accepts the mine’s permit application. President Trump’s nominee to oversee the Indian Health Service remains under a cloud The California Justice Department concludes a college American Indian studies lecturer discriminated against a white student.
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Owners of four closed beers stores near the Pine Ridge Reservation dispute the state’s claims of unpaid taxes and fees Grassroots efforts in the Southwest fight the root causes of obesity and diabetes
The proposed copper and gold Pebble Mine could bring needed jobs for Native people in southwest Alaska. The open pit mine plan stalled during the Barack Obama Administration because of its size and its threat to the environment, including a prolific and fragile salmon fishery. Now, a new administration and a company promising a smaller, safer project are giving the mine renewed momentum. That also revives worries among Native commercial fishers and others who want to preserve the important and pristine resource. Read and listen to Daysha Eaton’s five-part series Alaska Water Wars.
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President Trump’s action to downsize Bears Ears National Monument triggers a host of legal challenges As the Pebble Mine proposal picks up momentum in Southwest Alaska, Native Tribes keep up pressure against it
