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Photo: Protest signs hang near Great Plains Hall in Arapahoe, Wyo., on Oct. 17. Northern Arapaho tribal member Antonio Roman walks in the background. (Courtesy Chris Clements / Wyoming Public Media)
The Northern Arapaho Tribe recently held its primary election.
Wyoming Public Radio’s Chris Clements has more.
Voters braved a rainstorm near Great Plains Hall in Arapahoe to select which candidates should move to the general election for the tribe’s Business Council.
It’s made up of six officials who handle the day-to-day operations of the tribe.
Michael Yellowplume is a candidate who lives in Arapahoe.
“I wanted to, like, try to find more funding for the youth to, you know, do after school stuff with them, and, yeah, just a lot of things. And then for the senior centers too.”
Aloysius Bell, Sr. says he’d like to see an audit of the tribe’s finances, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of that money, I don’t think it was well spent or went to the where it’s supposed to go.”
Tensions between the Business Council and the tribe’s General Council have piqued recently.
The General Council is the tribe’s main governing body, made up of all adult tribal members who attend meetings.
Recently, the Business Council put out a statement saying it wouldn’t carry out two General Council resolutions.
That led to protests.
Nicole Wagon is a tribal member who attended one of the protests.
“General Council is our supreme governing body, not the NABC. They work for us. The people have spoken.”
The top twelve candidates for the Business Council who receive the most votes will move forward.
The Northern Arapaho Tribe’s general election is set for November 21.
Cultural leader, anthropologist, and Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, Ph.D., was awarded a 2023 National Humanities Medal Monday at the White House.
President Worl (Tlingit) has served as president of Sealaska Heritage Institute since 1998.
She has conducted research throughout Alaska and the circumpolar arctic, and taught at the University of Alaska Southeast.
In an interview with National Native News in Anchorage, Alaska, last week, Worl talked about her legacy.
“I want to see the next generation speaking our language, I want to see the next generation as they are now coming out to celebrate our culture. For those of us, we grew up in a period where our Native languages and cultures were suppressed. So, if I know that’s a legacy I can leave behind, beside my children. If I have any success, it’s in my children.”
The award “recognizes an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizen engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.”
2022 recipients were also honored including Native poet Joy Harjo and Indigenous higher education administrator Robert Martin.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) recently announced that California is expanding access to culturally-based substance use disorder treatment services.
It marks the first time Medi-Cal will cover traditional medicine and healing practices.
According to the governor’s office, the practices have been shown to improve health outcomes, particularly for individuals with substance use disorders.
It allows two new categories of interventions to be covered by Medi-Cal developed by the state in partnership with tribes.
Starting January 1, 2025, an Indian Health Care Provider can request reimbursement for Traditional Healer and Natural Helper Services provided to residents of qualifying counties.
In the coming months, the state says it will consult with tribes to develop guidance.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved use for California, along with Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon.
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