Here is a summary of some of the top Native American-related news stories this week:
Biden to Sign Bill Repealing Archaic Indian Laws
The House of Representatives has passed legislation to repeal 11 obsolete federal laws that are discriminatory to Native Americans. Among them is an 1847 law giving agents permission to withhold money and goods from any Indians possessing or under the influence of alcohol.
Another 1893 law allowed the Interior secretary to withhold rations, money, and other benefits from Native American parents or guardians who refused to send their children to school.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds first introduced the Repealing Existing Substandard Provisions Encouraging Conciliation with Tribes (RESPECT) Act in 2019.
“Throughout history, Native Americans have been subjected to unfair treatment from our federal government, including the forced removal of their children from their homes,” Rounds said. “Clearly, there is no place in our legal code for such measures, and it is appalling these laws are still in our federal code. I am pleased this bipartisan, commonsense legislation is heading to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”
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FILE - In this photo provided by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, a lake trout swims off Isle Royale, Mich., in Lake Superior, Sept. 12, 2018.
Michigan Tribes Sign Great Lakes Fishing Rights Deal
Four Native American tribes have reached a deal with state and federal officials on a revised fishing policy for areas of Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior that were ceded by tribes in an 1836 treaty in exchange for hunting and fishing rights.
The proposal sets zones where tribal fishing crews would be allowed to operate and areas where commercial fishing would be banned.
Tensions between tribal commercial fishing operations and sports fishermen led to a fishery management pact in 1985. It was updated in 2000 but was set to expire.
The Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians have all signed on to the deal, which would extend the pact for another 24 years. It has now been sent to a federal judge for approval.
“We've reached an agreement that's consistent with what's been in place for 37 years but reacts to a changed fishery,” Grand Traverse Band attorney Bill Rastetter said. “It won't create any burden on state-licensed fishers. The harvest limits will remain in place.”
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Native American protesters form a roadblock on the road leading to Mount Rushmore ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the memorial on Friday, July 3, 2020, in Keystone, S.D. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)
South Dakota Prosecutors Drop all Charges Against Lakota Activist
The state of South Dakota has dropped all charges against the head of an Indigenous-led advocacy organization who was arrested during protests against then-President Donald Trump’s visit to Mount Rushmore in 2020, the group announced Tuesday.
NDN Collective president Nick Tilsen was charged with robbery and the assault of a police officer after allegedly taking a shield from a National Guard soldier.
Tilsen said in a statement that the dismissal of charges shows they were “bogus from the start,” and “fueled by white fragility and fear of Indigenous power.”
Court documents show that the charges were dismissed nearly a month ago. So why did Tilsen wait so long to announce it?
“Last time we had a deal, the state prosecutor’s office pulled it after we talked to the media,” he told VOA via email. “We waited a few weeks before going public this time.”
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Native Student Wins Right to Appeal First Amendment Rights Lawsuit
A federal appeals court has revived a First Amendment lawsuit brought by a Native American student who says she was banned from attending her 2019 high school graduation ceremony because she had decorated her cap with beading and an eagle feather, a symbol sacred to Native Americans.
Larissa Waln, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota, said the Dysart, Arizona, school district violated her right to free speech and free exercise of religion, while it allowed another student to wear a “breast cancer awareness” sticker on his graduation cap.
In reviving Waln’s suit, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco acknowledged Native Americans have a long history of wearing eagle feathers “in times of great honor.”
“Plaintiff adequately has alleged that the District violated her First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion and to the freedom of speech,” ruled the judge. “Whether Plaintiff can prove her claims is not before us. But the district court erred by dismissing her complaint.”
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Native Activists on Mascots: Retire Offensive School Mascots
Twenty-one states are considering or have banned altogether Native American-themed mascots from public schools. New York is the latest. But school districts across the country still use Native mascots, and activists say that banning them is long overdue. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has our story:
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There’s Progress Eliminating Some American Indian Mascots, But Not All