Wenona Singel
Leah Jurss, Bill Brooks, and Paul Spruhan (all so serious)
MSU/TICA Keynote Speaker Venus McGhee Prince
MSU/TICA Conference Introduction
Doreen McPaul, TICA Chair
Conference attendees
Stephen Greetham and Kate Fort
Tribal Challenge to Willits Bypass Project
Here is the complaint in Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California v. United States Dept. of Transportation (N.D. Cal.):
An excerpt:
Defendants in this case must not be allowed to destroy historic properties, cultural resources, and sacred sites to build the Willits Bypass Project. This case challenges Defendants’ ongoing failure to properly identify and protect Plaintiffs’ ancestral, sacred, cultural, and archaeological sites and resources in the construction of the Willits Bypass Project. As a result of Defendants’ ground-disturbing activity both along the route and in the mitigation lands of the Willits Bypass Project, Defendants have destroyed the ancestral Native American sacred and cultural sites of Plaintiffs the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the Round Valley Indian Tribes of California and failed to protect such places in the area of the Project, including the mitigation lands.
Maniilaq Association Now Hiring Chief Financial Officer
Job announcement here.
Trudeau’s New Cabinet Includes First Indigenous Person as Attorney General of Canada and Justice Minister
Here.
Central to Trudeau’s cabinet is Jody Wilson-Raybould who was sworn-in as Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada. The former Assembly of First Nations regional chief of British Columbia and Crown prosecutor becomes the first Indigenous person to hold the senior portfolio which plays a role in almost every federal matter.
Also:
Led by Theland Kicknosway, a 13 year-old Pottawatami-Cree youth from Wahpole Island, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his new cabinet walked into history Wednesday as they were sworn into office in the ballroom of Rideau Hall.
DOJ Sues S. Dakota DSS for Discrimination Against Tribal Job Applicants
DOJ Press release here.
U.S. v. S.D. DSS Complaint here.
According to the complaint, in October 2010, Cedric Goodman, a Native American with supervisory experience as a social worker, as well as several other well-qualified Native Americans, applied for an Employment Specialist position at DSS’s Pine Ridge Office. The complaint alleges that after interviewing Goodman and the other Native American candidates who met the employer’s objective job qualifications, DSS removed the vacancy and hired no one. The next day, however, DSS reopened the position and ultimately selected a white applicant with inferior qualifications and no similar work experience. The complaint alleges that DSS discriminated against Goodman and other similarly-situated Native American applicants based on their race.
In addition, the complaint alleges that denying Goodman’s application was part of a pattern or practice of race discrimination by DSS, where the agency repeatedly removed job postings and used subjective, arbitrary hiring practices to reject qualified Native American applicants for Specialist positions.
Over a two year period beginning in 2010, DSS posted 18 Specialist vacancies for its Pine Ridge Reservation Office. Even though the agency received nearly 40 percent of its applications from Native Americans, DSS hired 11 Whites and only one Native American, while removing six other openings entirely.
President Obama Appoints Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver to key White House Post
Karen will succeed Jodi Gillette and Kim Teehee as the President’s Special Assistant for Native American Affairs.
On a personal note, Karen is a terrific choice to serve in this position to close out the President’s term in office. She has been a forceful and effective advocate on a wide range of issues for the Fond du Lac Band, and many other tribes. She is also more than capable of living up to Kim’s and Jodi’s strong legacies at the White House. Congratulations to Karen, and many thanks to Kim Teehee and Jodi Gillette for their great work!
Media coverage here.
The White House Tribal Nations Conference begins tomorrow in D.C.
Grand Ronde Enacts Marriage Equality Statute
Here.
Looking Forward to John Low’s Book “Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago”
Here is John’s new blog. And the MSU Press site.
The description:
The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has been a part of Chicago since its founding. In very public expressions of indigeneity, they have refused to hide in plain sight or assimilate. Instead, throughout the city’s history, the Pokagon Potawatomi Indians have openly and aggressively expressed their refusal to be marginalized or forgotten—and in doing so, they have contributed to the fabric and history of the city.
Imprints: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the City of Chicago examines the ways some Pokagon Potawatomi tribal members have maintained a distinct Native identity, their rejection of assimilation into the mainstream, and their desire for inclusion in the larger contemporary society without forfeiting their “Indianness.” Mindful that contact is never a one-way street, Low also examines the ways in which experiences in Chicago have influenced the Pokagon Potawatomi. Imprints continues the recent scholarship on the urban Indian experience before as well as after World War II.
Turtle Talk 
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