COVID-19 Cases Near 8,000 on Navajo Nation

By Levi Rickert - July 08, 2020 at 12:00AM

Published July 8, 2020

5,650 recoveries, 27 new cases, and one more death related to COVID-19 reported

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Tuesday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 27 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and one more death. The total number of deaths has reached 379 as of Tuesday. 

Reports from all 12 health care facilities on and near the Navajo Nation indicate that approximately 5,650 individuals have recovered from COVID-19. 60,323 people have been tested for COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation is 7,941.

Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:

• Chinle Service Unit: 1,998
• Crownpoint Service Unit: 682
• Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 501
• Gallup Service Unit: 1,328
• Kayenta Service Unit: 1,138
• Shiprock Service Unit: 1,276
• Tuba City Service Unit: 705
• Winslow Service Unit: 309

* Four residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.

The Navajo Nation’s Stay at Home Order remains in effect requiring all individuals on the Navajo Nation to stay at home and strictly limit movement, and limit public contact with others. Individuals may leave their place of residence only for emergencies or to perform “Essential Activities.” All residents are also required to avoid close contact with people who are sick, wash your hands for 20 seconds often, avoid touching high-touch surfaces, wear a mask, clean and disinfect your home, avoid public gatherings, and avoid non-essential travel.

“The state of Arizona now has the highest percentage of COVID-19 cases in the country. That’s an alarming fact and that’s why we need to continue wearing masks in public, staying home as much as possible, washing your hands often, practicing social distancing, and praying for our Nation. We are flattening the curve on a consistent basis, but this pandemic is far from over so let’s keep fighting the coronavirus together,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said on Tuesday.

During Tuesday’s online town hall, President Nez once again presented the Nez-Lizer Administration’s proposal for the remaining CARES Act funds, which includes the following:

• $300 Million for water infrastructure and agriculture projects
• $150 Million for powerline and solar infrastructure
• $50 Million for Broadband/Telecommunication
• $50 Million for scholarships to assist students entering the health care and public safety fields
• $60 Million to help Navajo businesses, and promote economic development
• $20 Million to address housing needs on the Navajo Nation
• Remaining amount for additional chapter projects and direct aid for the Navajo people

There remains approximately $662 million in CARES Act funding after the approval of $61 million for first responders, care packages, bathroom additions, and other resources to help protect employees and to start the process of reopening the government when the time is appropriate.

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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

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Trump Tweets about Washington NFL Team and Cleveland MLB Team Name Changes

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 11:29PM

On Thursday, FedEx, the title sponsor of the team stadium in Landover, Md., released a statement that read “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name.
Bernard Gagnon / CC BY-SA

Published July 6, 2020

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday weighed in on Twitter about two professional sports teams that are reviewing their names in wake of increased racial justice momentum across America after the death of George Floyd.

The president tweeted: “They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redsk!ns & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!”

His tweet comes after Friday’s announcement by the Washington National Football League (NFL) team that the team had started a thorough review of their name, which American Indians consider a slur and have worked for decades to change. The decision to conduct a thorough review came after the team’s corporate partners including FedEx and Nike called for the name change.

Then later on Friday, the Cleveland Indians, a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, announced they too were reviewing their name.

“We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality,” the Cleveland Indians said in a statement.

The president’s mention of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) follows his pattern to criticize the senator for claims her family had American Indian ancestry. Trump has for years mocked Warren by calling her “Pocahontas.”

While the president appears to think American Indians find the review process offensive, Native American advocates such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) praised the movement towards changing the name of the Washington franchise.

“We are encouraged by the Washington NFL team’s announcement that it will conduct a ‘thorough review’ of the team’s name and mascot,” NCAI President Fawn Sharp said in a statement. “This moment has been 87 years in the making, and we have reached this moment thanks to decades of tireless efforts by tribal leaders, advocates, citizens, and partners to educate America about the origins and meaning of the R-word.”

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STUDY: Non-Gaming Tribal Businesses in Michigan Generate $288.8M Economic Impact

By Levi Rickert - July 07, 2020 at 07:36PM

A newly released study found that 38 non-gaming business entities owned by nine federally recognized Michigan tribes created nearly $288.8 million in economic impact in 2019.

Published July 7, 2020

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — About three dozen non-gaming business entities owned and managed by Michigan tribes generated more than a quarter-billion dollars in economic impact across the state last year, according to a new study.

The Michigan Non-Gaming Tribal Economic Impact Study found that 38 non-gaming business entities owned by nine federally recognized Michigan tribes created nearly $288.8 million in economic impact in 2019. The study was commissioned by the tribal businesses involved and underwritten by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).

The study, which was presented to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office on Monday, also found that the economic multipliers resulting from the overall 2019 economic impact led to 1,847 jobs with an average wage of $45,664.  

“Tribal business entities have a positive impact on the economy,” said Eric Trevan, Ph.D., a co-author of the study. “A job on the reservation is a job for the region. Public policy should support ongoing growth that increases multiplier effects for surrounding economies.”

The study included businesses across 11 industries including manufacturing, real estate, construction, professional services, finance, insurance and other sectors.  All the businesses involved are owned and managed by nine Michigan-based tribes:  

• Hannahville Indian Community 
• Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians 
• Little River Band of Ottawa Indians 
• Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians 
• Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) 
• Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Indians 
• Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians 
• Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 
• Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians 

“The purpose of the study was to quantify and provide empirical data used to consider the benefits of non-gaming tribal business entities in Michigan,” said Trevan, who serves as a faculty member at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. “Specifically, this study analyzes jobs, business development and retention, expansion and development investments. Ultimately, we’re considering how and in what way tribal business entities impact overall economic development throughout the state.” 

The study was co-authored by Jon Panamaroff, chief compliance officer & senior vice president of business integration for Koniag Government Services and chief executive officer of the Kodiak Brown Bear Center in Kodiak, Alaska. 

“A tribe’s business approach often focuses on much more than revenue generation,” said Deidra Mitchell, president and CEO of Waséyabek Development Company and coordinator of the study. “Many times, it also encompasses environmental stewardship, career development opportunities and community sustainment, all aimed at fulfilling the tribes’ socio-cultural mission on behalf of their citizens and their communities.” 

This is the first of its kind collaboration among the Michigan tribes. 

“This project highlights what tribes, operating as minority-owned business investors, can do when they work together,” Mitchell said. “While the overall impact is significant, it’s still small compared to the overall state GDP – and well below the population rate of Native Americans in Michigan. We see this as a baseline from which to further grow non-gaming tribal business activity and impact.” 

While the impact of Michigan’s tribal non-gaming businesses is growing, it represents a fraction of the economic impact created by Michigan’s 24 tribally owned casinos. Tribal gaming facilities in Michigan generated nearly $3.4 billion in economic impact and supported 21,540 jobs in 2019, according to the American Gaming Association.   

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to diversify away from gaming and hospitality businesses, as tribes voluntarily closed their casinos to halt the spread of the coronavirus, costing them millions of dollars in lost revenues.     

“When we decided to diversify from tribal gaming to help our tribal community, we made a conscious effort to stay away from the hospitality and entertainment industries,” Waséyabek’s Mitchell said. “The COVID-19 pandemic shutdown in the economy taught us we made the right decision. Our manufacturing firms were deemed essential and our consulting firm was needed to assist other businesses.”

The results also provide a glimpse into the future of what Michigan tribes can bring to the state’s economy, according to another tribal executive. 

“I look back at a time not so long ago where federal policy has gradually moved from assimilation towards self-determination,” said Eugene Magnuson, CEO of Manistee, Mich.-based Little River Holdings, the economic development corporation of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. “This impact study evaluates and quantifies the economic contributions tribes can realize, if only allowed to. The ability for true self-determination is represented in the economic results achieved within this report.”

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NDN Collective’s Nick Tilsen, Mount Rushmore Protest Organizer, Charged with Two Felonies

By Levi Rickert - July 07, 2020 at 06:59PM

Nick Tilsen (far right) was arrested at the Mount Rushmore protests of President Donald Trump and charged with multiple offenses. He was the only person arrested to spend the entire weekend in jail. (Photograph from NDN Collective video.)

Published July 7, 2020

RAPID CITY, S.D. — One of the organizers of last Friday’s protest prior to President Donald Trump’s visit to Mount Rushmore was charged with multiple offenses at an arraignment hearing on Monday in Rapid City.

Nick Tilsen (Oglala Sioux Tribe), the 38-year old president and chief executive officer of NDN Collective, was one of more than 15 people arrested at the protest, which drew as many as 300 people. 

Tilsen was charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors on Monday, including one count of robbery for allegedly stealing a riot shield from a police officer. The robbery charge, a felony, stems from the riot shield that was taken briefly and sprayed painted with the words “land back” on it. A law enforcement officer in riot gear was photographed using the shield as the militarized police line moved to contain and disperse the protesters.

Tilsen is accused of stealing this shield that was apparently recovered in time to disperse the American Indian protesters. (Photo from Facebook)

Tilsen was also charged with simple assault, the other felony, after a law enforcement officer claimed she “feared for her life.”

The misdemeanor charges include one count of obstruction of highway; one count unlawful assembly; and alternating counts of disorderly conduct.

Tilsen’s lawyer Bruce Ellison and his family believe law enforcement and the state’s attorney office are targeting Tilsen for his role at the protest.

“He’s been treated in an unusual manner” because “he’s been identified as someone who had a leadership role,” Ellison said after the hearing, noting that Tilsen could have been released over the weekend like the other protesters who were arrested.

Based in Rapid City, S.D., the NDN Collective that Tilsen heads is a non-profit organization dedicated to Indigenous power through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grant making, capacity-building and narrative change.

In its news release, the NDN Collective quoted Tilsen before he was escorted away from the protest site Friday in handcuffs.

“Our people have fought for this land and we will continue to. This won’t be the last. Our goal isn’t just to resist, but to radically imagine a better future,” he said, according to the organization.

The news release also shared a comment from Krystal Two Bulls, a veteran and founder of Voices of the Sacred, who was also arrested on Friday. She said: “I’m a Native veteran, and here we have the national guard being deployed against U.S. citizens. The U.S. Military is the mechanism that upholds white supremacy and perpetuates militarism. We don’t need the military here, especially on this land, because this is Lakota territory. I’m a warrior, first and foremost I’m Oglala and Northern Cheyenne. Half of those soldiers down there probably don’t want to do this work. They have to follow orders. Deploying them on our own people, their neighbors and community members is wrong, and disgraceful. What I’m doing, in standing here for my people, that’s real service.”

Among those arrested on Friday, Tilsen was the only one held all weekend. He was released from jail Monday on a $2,000 bond. A resident of Porcupine, S.D., which is part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Tilsen faces 12 years in prison if convicted.   

A trial for the charges against Tilsen has not been scheduled. 

 

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Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Controversial Keystone XL Pipeline

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 06:37PM

Protesters rally against the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. (Photo Courtesy of Martine Zee)

Published July 7, 2020

BILLINGS, Mont. –– The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that blocked an important environmental permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, delivering another major setback to a project that’s been long-disputed by Indigenous environmental groups. 

Canadian company TC Energy––which plans to use the Keystone XL to transport crude from Canada to the Gulf Coast––needs the permit to build the pipeline across U.S. rivers and streams. Construction had recently begun on the pipeline and now the project, which moved forward after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in support of the Keystone XL in 2017, faces more delay and uncertainty. 

Though Monday’s ruling also cleared the way for some 70 other pipeline projects to proceed under a fast-track permitting process and is a partial victory for the oil and gas industry, the order comes after two other pipeline shutdowns within the past two days: the Atlantic Coast gas pipeline on Sunday and the contentious Dakota Access pipeline on Monday. 

In May, a federal judge sided with environmental groups and required new oil and gas pipelines go through an arduous permitting and approval process to construct projects across lakes and rivers. 

That ruling effectively canceled an environmental permit for several pipeline projects, which authorized and accelerated work on projects set to cross bodies of water. The ruling also stated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to consider the damage that would be done to the environment and endangered species, and ordered that projects that received the permit be halted while an environmental impact study takes place.

Monday’s order invalidated the previous court’s ruling, but excluded the Keystone XL. 

The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana and South Dakota’s Rosebud Sioux tribe have long opposed the pipeline, arguing that the Keystone XL was approved despite the potential damage oil spills and construction could have on cultural sites. Proposed in 2008, the pipeline would carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has said he would kill the Keystone XL project if he wins the election this fall. 

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Yurok Tribe Asserts Sovereignty in Keeping COVID-19 Off the Reservation

By Nanette Kelley - July 07, 2020 at 04:53PM

Despite more than 200 positive cases of COVID-19 in two neighboring counties, the Yurok Tribe has managed to keep the virus at bay on its reservation. (Photo: Yurok Tribe Facebook)

Published July 7, 2020

KLAMATH, Calif. — There’s a reason the Yurok Reservation has zero cases of COVID-19, according to its leaders: tribal sovereignty.

Despite more than 200 positive cases of COVID-19 in two neighboring counties, the Yurok Tribe has managed to keep the virus at bay on its reservation. In doing so, the tribe has asserted its sovereignty and pushed back against non-Natives who failed to respect the tribe’s right to self-govern.

“We have the tightest restrictions to stop the spread of COVID within the state of California,” said Serene Hayden, chief of Yurok Office of Emergency Services (YOES) and the tribe’s Incident Commander for COVID-19. Hayden praised Californians for their efforts to flatten the curve, but urged county, state, and local tribes to work together more closely. 

“Counties around us have looser restrictions, and the numbers have increased,” she said. “They need to expand their closures.”

As of Tuesday, Humboldt County, which is south of the tribe’s reservation in Klamath, had reported 149 positive cases and four deaths. Del Norte County, which is adjacent to the reservation on the north, had reported 58 positive cases. Those numbers could increase after a busy Independence Day weekend that drew holiday travelers from around the state, according to local media reports.

As the numbers rise in adjacent counties, the tribe is continuing to be vigilant when it comes to protecting its most vulnerable members. Nearly 60 percent of citizens living on the reservation are either elders or individuals with underlying medical conditions (Screenshot: YOES website)

As the numbers rise in adjacent counties, the tribe is continuing to be vigilant when it comes to protecting its most vulnerable members from the virus. Nearly 60 percent of tribal citizens living on the reservation are either elders or individuals with underlying medical conditions that make them most vulnerable to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.  

Beginning in March, as the virus began to emerge in the Pacific Northwest, the Yurok Tribal Council took aggressive actions to protect its tribal citizens on the 85-square-mile reservation.   

On March 13, the Yurok Tribal Council issued a State of Emergency declaration, and announced a subsequent reservation closure on April 6. The closures affected all tribal offices, facilities and schools, and postponed all meetings and events. The reservation closure response was triggered by a tribal member’s presumptive positive COVID case in Humboldt, just south of Del Norte, and “to protect the most vulnerable and prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed.”

Although the Yurok Tribe closed all offices until further notice, tribal leaders are in constant contact with their community providing information to help protect their citizens through a series of press releases and social media postings.

Even with the Tribal Council’s proactive measures, there have been challenges.  

According to a statement released by the Yurok Tribe, a challenge to their sovereignty involved a dispute with a local diner over sit-down service that violated tribal laws established to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The tribe alleged the Log Cabin Diner was located on fee land within the Yurok Reservation and therefore under the tribe’s jurisdiction.

The owners of the diner and some members of the community, including a county supervisor, believed differently.

“The Tribal Council is acutely aware of the tremendous strain this public health emergency is having on local businesses,” Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe said in a statement. “We fully support the Log Cabin Diner’s ability to offer to-go orders, but we do not support this affront to Tribal sovereignty and the health of our people.”

In addition, although Klamath is not in his district nor where he resides, Del Norte County Supervisor Roger Gitlin displayed a “complete disregard for the Tribe’s sovereignty and the safety of local citizens” for inviting his followers on social media to “drive down to Klamath” and dine at the Log Cabin, according to the Tribe.  

Del Norte County Supervisor Roger Gitlin displayed a “complete disregard for the Tribe’s sovereignty and the safety of local citizens” by inviting his followers on social media to “drive down to Klamath” and dine at the Log Cabin, the Tribe claims (Facebook Photo)

On May 4, the Yurok Tribal Police Department, in coordination with the Yurok Tribe’s Incident Command team and Public Health Officer, delivered a cease-and-desist letter advising the owners of the Log Cabin Diner to immediately discontinue dine-in service. As stated by tribal officials in a press release that same day, “Local Diner Owners Violate Tribal Directive, Put Reservation Community at Risk.”

In a Facebook post, Supervisor Gitlin contradicted the tribe’s sovereignty in a comment, writing, “The Log Cabin is not under the jurisdiction of the Yurok Tribe. The Log Cabin sits on a County Assessor Parcel Number (APN) and answers to the Public Health Officer and the Sheriff’s Department.” 

Gitlin’s comments challenging the tribe seemed to contradict his own county’s local public health guidelines. A May 11 statement issued by Del Norte Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Officer Warren Rehwaldt, M.D. advised: “On March 19, 2020, the Governor Issued Executive Order N-25-20, requiring all residents to heed the guidance of state health officials, which in turn provided that ‘restaurants should be closed for in-restaurant seated dining, and should be open only to drive-through or other pick-up/delivery options.’”

In its continued efforts to protect its citizens from the coronavirus, the Yurok Tribal Council recently appointed Angie Brown as the COVID-19 Incident Command Team’s Public Health Officer. Brown will provide medical oversight on the enforcement of the Tribe’s Public Health Ordinance and other regulations while assisting the Yurok Public Health Task Force, which is responsible for developing and implementing plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

“I am excited to help the community in this new capacity and am looking forward to building upon all of the great work that has been accomplished to date and continuing in an effort to create community wellness and prevention through a culturally sensitive, holistic and trauma informed/resiliency approach,” Brown said in a press release.

Rod Mendes, the Yurok Incident Management Team’s Deputy Commander, urged community members to stay vigilant.  

“This is not the time to let our guard down,” Mendes said. “We are 100 percent vigilant in terms of protecting the most vulnerable community members. We are headed in the right direction, but we are not out of the woods yet.” 

 

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Trump Tweets about Washington NFL Team and Cleveland MLB Team Name Changes

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 02:07PM

On Thursday, FedEx, the title sponsor of the team stadium in Landover, Md., released a statement that read “We have communicated to the team in Washington our request that they change the team name.
Bernard Gagnon / CC BY-SA

Published July 6, 2020

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday weighed in on Twitter about two professional sports teams that are reviewing their names in wake of increased racial justice momentum across America after the death of George Floyd.

The president tweeted: “They name teams out of STRENGTH, not weakness, but now the Washington Redsk!ns & Cleveland Indians, two fabled sports franchises, look like they are going to be changing their names in order to be politically correct. Indians, like Elizabeth Warren, must be very angry right now!”

His tweet comes after Friday’s announcement by the Washington National Football League (NFL) team that the team had started a thorough review of their name, which American Indians consider a slur and have worked for decades to change. The decision to conduct a thorough review came after the team’s corporate partners including FedEx and Nike called for the name change.

Then later on Friday, the Cleveland Indians, a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, announced they too were reviewing their name.

“We are committed to making a positive impact in our community and embrace our responsibility to advance social justice and equality,” the Cleveland Indians said in a statement.

The president’s mention of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) follows his pattern to criticize the senator for claims her family had American Indian ancestry. Trump has for years mocked Warren by calling her “Pocahontas.”

While the president appears to think American Indians find the review process offensive, Native American advocates such as the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) praised the movement towards changing the name of the Washington franchise.

“We are encouraged by the Washington NFL team’s announcement that it will conduct a ‘thorough review’ of the team’s name and mascot,” NCAI President Fawn Sharp said in a statement. “This moment has been 87 years in the making, and we have reached this moment thanks to decades of tireless efforts by tribal leaders, advocates, citizens, and partners to educate America about the origins and meaning of the R-word.”

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Native News Online Hires Award-Winning Journalist Kyle Edwards as Managing Editor

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 11:56AM

Award-winning journalist Kyle Edwards (Anishinaabe), a member of the Ebb and Flow First Nation, has joined Native News Online as its first-ever managing editor. (Photo: National MagazineAwards)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Native News Online announced today that Kyle Edwards has joined the staff as its first-ever managing editor. The hire is part of the publication’s broader initiative to expand its coverage of Indian Country and build its audience of Native and non-Native readers.  

Edwards (Anishinaabe) comes to Native News Online from ProPublica, where he was the Lorana Sullivan Senior Business Reporting Fellow. His reporting revealed how wealthy GOP donors lobbied former Florida governor Rick Scott for a lucrative Trump tax break meant for poor communities, and he contributed to ProPublica’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other projects focused on the Trump administration. 

Before ProPublica, Edwards was a staff writer at Maclean’s, where he investigated the sexual abuse of Indigenous women at worker camps in Canada’s pipeline industry and the disproportionate number of First Nations children in Manitoba’s foster care system. His reporting on Indigenous affairs in Canada earned him a Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Emerging Indigenous Journalist. In 2019, he and colleagues won a Canadian National Magazine Award for an oral history of a bus crash that killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey team from Saskatchewan. He won silver at this year’s NMAs for a feature about Neskantaga First Nation, an Indigenous community in northern Ontario that has been without safe drinking water for 25 years. 

“Kyle is a strong addition to Native News Online as we endeavor to change the narrative about Indian Country by providing fair, balanced and accurate coverage of social issues, policy matters and economic development involving tribes throughout the United States,” said Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi), founder and publisher of Native News Online. “We’re excited to have him on the team as we build out our newsroom, and he’s joining us at an important time, as we prepare to launch a new digital presence and expand our coverage of American Indians and Alaska Natives with our new ‘Local Impact’ series about tribes and tribal citizens that are often overlooked by the media.”  

Edwards is Anishinaabe and was raised on Lake Manitoba First Nation in Manitoba. He is a member of Ebb and Flow First Nation. 

“It’s an exciting time to join Native News Online, which has long been a crucial voice for our Indigenous communities,” Edwards said. “I’m thrilled to become part of a growing team that is committed to telling important and diverse stories from all corners of Indian Country.” 

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Forex Pairs That Bring Highest Profit

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 10:06AM

The global exchange never sleeps. It is the biggest intercontinental marketplace, where close to 6 trillion US dollars circulates daily. Participants, both retail and institutional, choose from a rich array of instruments. So, which ones are generally the most lucrative?

Pairs that change hands the most frequently include the US dollar. Majors are popular because they are tied to strong economies where trends are relatively predictable. A trader may receive real-time data via GBP/USD chart online, and make decisions accordingly. Meanwhile, exotics represent emerging systems that are prone to unforeseeable changes.

Overview of Pairs

Any tradeable pair, whatever its type, follows the same formula. This is ‘base currency’/‘quote (or counter) currency’. General classification may vary between brokerage brands. 

• Majors are the most liquid, as they are tied to nations with the biggest trade power. This means they are the easiest to buy and sell. These combinations are connected to the vastest economies, and they normally include the USD. 
• Minor pairs do not involve the key currency. These are fairly liquid and bound to strong systems like the Euro or the Swiss franc. 
• Exotics are the rarest choice. These are monetary systems of developing states valued against stronger peers, e.g., The Euro priced in the Turkish lira. 

Which Should You Choose

Majors seem like an obvious choice by default. Alas, the reality is not that straightforward. Naturally, the US dollar is the key reserve currency worldwide, and it is involved in most transactions. The most popular choices are also the most liquid. 

However, this does not mean a badly timed trade will not bring a loss. You still need knowledge and foresight to spot lucrative points for entry and exit. Still, general trading conditions (including spreads) are more favourable than those for other pairs.  

Examples: Popular Choices

If you want to play it safe, stick to USD/EUR. The duo gives tight spreads and decent predictability. Risk is seen as moderate due to low volatility. Besides, it is easy to find news concerning the state of both economies.

Alternatively, consider USD/GBP as a more volatile option. On the one hand, you may gain more from momentary ups and downs. On the other hand, the risk is higher. Data for analysis is also easy to gather.

No Magical Shortcut

No instrument guarantees profits. Results depend on personal skills and foresight. As most options include the US dollar, keep an eye on the health of the respective economy. Top trading terminals provide such data in real-time.

A rule of thumb is to choose pairs you are most knowledgeable about, and those that offer tight spreads (0-3 pips). The currency of your own country, if it is liquid enough, could be a reasonable choice, too. Knowledge of domestic trends will make its dynamics understandable and thus foreseeable.

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5 Facts You Should Know About Writing a Press Release

By Native News Online Staff - July 07, 2020 at 10:04AM

You may wonder that in today’s times of social media and digital marketing writing a Press Release has no value. But it is not quite so. Organizations still need to send press releases to the various media channels, upload it on their website, or just send it out to the business world informing what’s happening in their company. They still need the press release distribution service as a communication tool to reach out to their audience. 

Press Release: What is it?

Press releases are factual and short news stories that are written in the third person and handed over to the media to give them an idea of the event and to encourage the editors, journalists or broadcasters to feature it in their programs as well as publications.

What you should know about a press release?

1. It should cover a newsworthy story: To write a press release, you must have something important or worthwhile to state. A press release is not for promoting any product or service and writing about its benefits or features. The press release is to announce anything new that has happened with the product or service or the organization. So, you and your client must consider these factors before writing a press release.

2. Target Audience: When writing a press release it is important to know which kind of audience you have in mind. But you can write it for the editor, broadcaster, or the journalist and they can in turn target their audience during their publication or program.

3. The top 6 “W” Questions: Every press release must answer these questions – 

a. Who – Who are you targeting, which company or organization?

b. What – What are you writing about, which event are you covering?

c. Where – Where is the event held?

d. Why – Why is the event held?

e. How – How is the event planned?

4. Structure of the Press Release: To start writing the press release, you must ensure that you address the most important information of the content first. Have a short but powerful heading which should announce the media about the story. The first paragraph must cover the story in a couple of sentences. The second paragraph mentions the context and its importance. The Third paragraph presents the details about the story, the people involved, and the reason for the event. The fourth paragraph must add credibility to the story with a quote, any opinions or information that are relevant and the fifth paragraph should mention where they can find more information about the product, connect and buy the product or service. 

5. One Story in one Press Release: You must ensure that your story sticks to one page and covers only one story. If you are running into two pages, you are probably trying to cover two stories. Discipline yourself to know when one story ends and the other one begins. If you want to add any extra information, you can do that in the notes to the editor’s section which is at the end of the press release. Else decide to write a new press release.  

 

 

 

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Stay-at-Home Order Re-issued for Navajo Nation

By Native News Online Staff - July 06, 2020 at 11:11PM

“Stay Home” – “Stay Safe” signs up on Navajo Nation (courtesy photo)

Published July 6, 2020

5,604 recoveries, 74 new cases, and no recent deaths reported as Department of Health re-issues stay-at-home order

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — On Monday, the Navajo Department of Health, in coordination with the Navajo Epidemiology Center and the Navajo Area Indian Health Service, reported 74 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and no new deaths. The total number of deaths remains at 378 as previously reported.

Reports from all 12 health care facilities on and near the Navajo Nation indicate that approximately 5,604 individuals have recovered from COVID-19. 59,205 people have been tested for COVID-19. The total number of COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation is 7,914.

Navajo Nation COVID-19 positive cases by Service Unit:

• Chinle Service Unit: 1,996
• Crownpoint Service Unit: 680
• Ft. Defiance Service Unit: 497
• Gallup Service Unit: 1,319
• Kayenta Service Unit: 1,134
• Shiprock Service Unit: 1,272
• Tuba City Service Unit: 703
• Winslow Service Unit: 309

* Four residences with COVID-19 positive cases are not specific enough to place them accurately in a Service Unit.

On Sunday, the Navajo Department of Health issued Public Health Emergency Order 2020-017, a Stay at Home (Shelter in Place) order that requires all individuals on the Navajo Nation to stay at home and strictly limit movement within and outside of their immediate communities, and limit public contact with others. Individuals may leave their place of residence only for emergencies or to perform “Essential Activities.” All residents are also required to avoid close contact with people who are sick, wash your hands for 20 seconds often, avoid touching high-touch surfaces, wear a mask, clean and disinfect your home, avoid public gatherings, and avoid non-essential travel.

“The Navajo Nation has had a stay-at-home order in place since the pandemic began in March, but with the latest public health emergency order we are clarifying and adding new language based on everything we have learned over the last few months. The orders that are in effect are based on the advice and input of our Nation’s health care experts. It’s very important that everyone adhere to these provisions in order to keep yourselves and your families safe from the coronavirus. There is still plenty that we don’t know and we don’t expect to have a vaccine for quite some time,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

The order also states that all individuals on the Navajo Nation shall comply with the following consistent with the current Public Health Emergency Orders:

1. Daily curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. (from Public Health Emergency Order No. 2020-013 (June 5, 2020)). Weekend Curfews or Lockdowns, as may be ordered.
2. Wear a mask in public (from Public Health Emergency Order No. 2020-007 (April 17, 2020)
3. Avoid public gatherings of more than 5 people. “Drive-In” gatherings are permissible during non-curfew hours (from Public Health Emergency Order No. 2020-14 (June 5, 2020)
4. Remain in your vehicle for curb-side and drive-through essential activities.

_______________________________________________________

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.

_________________________________________________________________

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

 

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We Don’t Need Donald Trump and His Cohorts Telling Us Who Are American Heroes Are

By Levi Rickert - July 06, 2020 at 06:59PM

 

President Trump named zero American Indians on his list of statues for the proposed National Garden of American heroes.  Sitting Bull, a true American hero, would be a fine choice. 

OPINION

Published July 6, 2020

President Donald Trump went to Mount Rushmore on the eve of Independence Day and brought a message aimed to excite his base as the summer progresses to the November presidential election.

Trump’s appearance was already an insult to American Indians, particularly the Sioux leaders who banned him from their historical treaty territory. He managed to make it worse when he unveiled a proposed national “National Garden of American Heroes” there.

Trump’s proposed garden was his attempt to respond to the movement to remove Confederate statues and racially inappropriate imagery in this country, such as sports mascots.

“Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities,” Trump said at Mount Rushmore. “This attack on our liberty, our magnificent liberty, must be stopped.”

At Mount Rushmore, Trump mentioned the arrest of those who attempted to topple the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park near the White House. Mentioning Jackson, who is labeled the “Indian killer” president, was an insult to Indian Country on the stolen ground where Mount Rushmore was carved by a sculptor with ties to the Klu Klux Klan.  

Earlier on Friday, Trump signed an executive order that included the following names to be included in the proposed garden and named some commissions, who are packed with his political appointees, to oversee the proposed American heroes garden.

In the executive order, Trump says:

“The National Garden should be composed of statues, including statues of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright.”

While several U.S. presidents are named to the list, there are no Democrats. Even Democratic presidents who have gained high marks through the years from historians, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt or John F. Kennedy did not make the list.

As with Trump’s administration, there is a lack of diversity on Trump’s heroes list. A quick breakdown of the proposed heroes list shows 31 individuals named. Eight are women (25.8 percent) and are five African Americans (16,1 percent).

There are no American Indians (zero percent), Hispanics (zero percent), or Asians (zero percent) named to the list.

There is no mention of Cesar Chávez or Delores Huerta, both Mexican Americans on the list.

Since Trump did not name any American Indians to the proposed list, I decided to name some American Indian leaders who readily come to mind, such as Tecumseh, Pontiac, Sitting Bull, Sacagawea, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud.

Jim Thorpe, named the Greatest Athlete in the World, definitely should have made the list.

In modern times, I can think of people I consider American Indian heroes, such as Billy Mills, Wilma Mankiller, Dennis Banks, and Billy Frank. All of them should have been great contenders for the list.

Trump’s treatment of American Indians as inconsequential from consideration for the American heroes list is his way — and that of his cohorts — to erase this country’s first people from history. 

Because if you don’t mention them, they never existed. This notion contributes today to how American Indians struggle to get past “other” on statistical data.

Given the complexities of problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest that exists in the country today, it would seem presidential for Trump to spend his time attempting to bring COVID-19 and racial division under control.

But it appears Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes is one more distraction. The president who should be the unifier of the nation shows he is more interested in sowing discord and division.

It would be ludicrous for this country to allow the man who defended the white supremacist group in Charlottesville to name American heroes. It would be ludicrous to allow the man who allowed putting refugee children in cages to determine who should be American heroes.

We don’t need Donald Trump to tell us who our heroes are.

Levi Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the publisher and editor of Native News Online. He may be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net

 

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DOJ appoints Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons coordinator for Michigan

By Native News Online Staff - July 06, 2020 at 06:35PM

 

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Department of Justice has hired a new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) coordinator to cover the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan. 

The U.S. Attorneys for the Western and Eastern Districts of the state announced July 2 that they appointed veteran FBI agent Joel Postma to the post. 

Postma is one of 10 MMIP coordinators nationwide appointed by the DOJ to investigate cases involving missing and murdered Native Americans. 

During his career with the FBI, Postma spent several years investigating cases involving missing children and runaways and participated in death investigations in Indian County in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

Postma also served on the Tribal Multi-disciplinary Team and Child Protection Team, as well as established procedures to investigate drug crimes in Indian County. 

To improve the relationship between the FBI and tribal law enforcement, Postma also created a ride-along program that helped increase familiarity among the various agencies. 

“Tribal communities have long suffered disproportionate violent crime and now the MMIP challenges in particular have caught the attention of the Department,” Andrew Birge, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement. 

Birge called Postma “eminently qualified to help respond to the challenges” and noted that tribal law enforcement agencies recommended that he be appointed to the position. 

In the new position, Postma is charged with identifying MMIP cases in Michigan, reaching out to tribal communities and coordinating various law enforcement efforts to respond to and address MMIP. That also includes improving data collection and analysis around MMIP across the state. 

Postma is a graduate of the criminal justice program at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The MMIP coordinator position is part of a national effort the Department of Justice announced in November 2019 to address cases of missing and murdered Native Amiercans. The department committed $1.5 million to hire MMIP coordinators to work with U.S. Attorney Offices spanning 11 states. 

 

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MIGIZI’s Fire Aftermath Brings the Community Together

By Monica White Pigeon - July 06, 2020 at 05:45PM

The day following the fire, hundreds of Migizi supporters and neighbors flooded the streets to clean up the wreckage. (Courtesy photo)

MINNEAPOLIS—On the early morning of May 29, Migizi Communication staff scrambled to save what they could from the burning flames that consumed its building during the George Floyd riots. The fires spread from building to building, leaving Migizi caught in the middle and leaving its 40-legacy in uncertainty.

Migizi’s current and former executive directors, Kelly Drummer (Lakota) and Laura Waterman Wittstock (Seneca), were seen comforting one another outside of wreckage while wearing their facial masks and keeping their distance. 

Migizi’s former and current executive directors, Laura Waterman Wittstock (left) and Kelly Drummer (right) were seen comforting each other outside the wreckage. 

Nearly a month later, the surrounding community and online supporters are proving that compassion and determination can turn seemingly impossible circumstances around. 

Migizi Communication is a youth-based nonprofit that provides resources, access and support for Native youth to explore their creativity and educational opportunities to become self-sufficient and contribute to social change.

The day following the fire, supporters and neighbors flooded the streets to clean up the wreckage. The Migizi Facebook page posted videos and photos showing the care and comradery of its neighbors, despite increasing racial and social tensions within the city.

“We have had hundreds of hundreds of people helping us clean out and take out the things that survived, which is a miracle,” said Kelly Drummer, Migizi executive director, according to a May 30 post. “The outpour is just amazing. I just can’t believe it.”

As part of a healing ceremony and community appreciation, Migizi hosted a Healing + Unity event outside the building’s ruins on June 5. Crowds socially distanced in the street as eyewitnesses shared their stories, healing songs were sung, and prayers went out to ancestors. 

Migizi’s Facebook page says, “We were so glad to have seen so many people come join us as a community. We sang, cried, laughed, and ate some delicious food donated by our community organizations and people.”

Relatively new to the neighborhood, Migizi’s recently constructed building has only been in use since July 2019. Previously, the center was housed in independent office spaces around Minneapolis and relied on funding and donations from corporate and church sponsors. Now, the organization is reaffirming its commitment to youth and rebuilding to create a safe and sacred space.

Wittstock, who founded Migizi (“bald eagle” in Ojibwe) in 1977, served 27 years as its executive director. Her vision to train young journalists to dispel misconceptions of Native culture in the media transformed into other cultural and educational programs, including Native Academy with the goal to increase the number of graduating postsecondary education Native students. 

“I see potential in every Indian kid… The potential is there if we give them a chance,” Wittstock said.  

Amidst the chaos, the organization still offers online programming and services including student appreciation boxes of cedar and sage, online cultural sessions known as Medicine Mondays and summer program set for early July. 

In efforts to fund the rebuild, Migizi continues to find willing donors among the online community. 

Playwright and New Native Theatre founder, Rhiana Yazzie (Navajo) and Jacob Vang, Migizi’s marketing and communication’s coordinator, took to Facebook and raised over $154,000 — exceeding the original goal of $100,000 within three days.

A benefit album of local Minnesota artists will help fund the rebuild efforts for Migizi. 

To date, Migizi has raised $656,249 through nearly 13,500 donors. With four ways to contribute and through a partnership with Tompkins Square Radio, supporters can also buy a curated album entitled “Out of the Ashes: A Benefit Album for Minneapolis,” which features local Minnesota artists. 

To get involved or for more information, visit the Migizi website here.

 

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