The Wrap: Leonard Peltier’s possible final parole hearing

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Leonard Peltier: 'I hope I make it to June 10'

RAPID CITY, S.D. – At 80 years old, Leonard Peltier is approaching what may be his last attempt at freedom.

On June 10, the Anishinaabe elder will participate in what may be his final parole hearing. Peltier is currently serving two consecutive life sentences after being convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975 at the Jumping Bull Ranch in South Dakota.

Peltier is asking for the public to spread the word about his parole hearing, said Dawn Lawson, secretary of the Leonard Peltier Ad Hoc Committee.

“For a long time, people have been dying in that prison and the (Federal Bureau of Prisons) is out of control,” Lawson said. “They’re (U.S. Penitentiary Coleman 1) currently on indefinite lockdown, not because anybody has done anything, just because they can. They (prisoners) are living in their own filth. Leonard is making an appeal to his people to please get anybody’s attention.” READ MORE — Amelia Schafer and Kevin Abourezk, ICT + Rapid City Journal

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1 dead, 2 injured in shooting on Navajo Nation in northern Arizona

CAMERON, Ariz. — A shooting Monday morning in northern Arizona on the vast Navajo Nation left one person dead and two others injured.

The shooting unfolded around 8:30 a.m. in the small community of Cameron, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Flagstaff, according to the FBI in Phoenix.

Authorities haven’t released further details about what led to the gunfire but asked for the public’s help to locate Derick Myron, 44, who they say “may have information” about the shooting.

According to the FBI and the Navajo Police Department, Myron is considered armed and dangerous, may be driving a 2017 black Ford pickup truck, and was possibly headed to Tuba City, some 27 miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Cameron.

The person killed in the shooting wasn't immediately identified.

Navajo police said the shooting was an isolated incident. A shelter-in-place order was lifted by mid-morning for residents near the Cameron Chapter House and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. — Associated Press

Alaska tribe seeks closure of popular fishing road that overlies buried ancestors

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Native Village of Chitina (NVC) is calling for the protection of ancestral burial sites discovered in and near the Copper River Road state right-of-way, which passes through Chitina Native Corporation privately-owned lands.

The Native village is in eastern interior Alaska about 176 miles by road from the Canadian border. The right-of-way in question provides one of the few ways to reach the Copper River for a popular dipnet fishery that usually opens in early June. The Chitina village corporation and the regional for-profit corporation, Ahtna, Inc., have long grappled with handling trespassing on their lands.

In a prepared statement, the tribe said, “recent cultural resource investigation surveys conducted by the State of Alaska have revealed multiple Ahtna ancestral burial sites in the O'Brien Creek area, part of the Deyighił’aaden (Wood Canyon) Cultural District.”

The tribe continued, “these gravesites, integral to the heritage and identity of the Ahtna people, are under threat due to frequent use of the area by fishers, recreationists, and others. Compounded by the proximity of some sites to the roadway, they have endured decades of vehicle and foot traffic.” READ MORE — Joaqlin Estus, ICT

Extension of tribal relations office stalled

The fate of the Governor’s Office of Tribal Relations is unclear after Senate Republicans refused to take up a bill allowing the office to continue operating after June that had received bipartisan backing in the House of Representatives.

Because Sen. Jake Hoffman, the Republican chairman of the Senate Government Committee, didn’t allow his committee to consider House Bill 2429 before a March deadline, the bill extending the agency for eight years is dead. Instead, the future existing of the tribal relations office hinges on a late amendment added to House Bill 2632.

That amendment proposes extending the work of eight executive agencies, boards, and commissions — but for just two years, and with restrictions on how they operate and what they can do.

For instance, the agencies would be prohibited from spending public money or using public resources on “critical race theory” training. READ MORE — AZ Mirror

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Newscast: Get ready for graduation

There's a new movie from Amerinda streaming now. It’s written, directed, produced and casted by Osage filmmaker Diane Fraher. ICT 's Shirley Sneve has this interview.

The spring season means students of all ages will soon walk across stages across America after completing long academic journeys. Here’s some tips for those Native American students wanting to show up on graduation day, with their cultural identity on display. ICT’ s Aliyah Chavez reports.

ICT ’s Mark Trahant sat down with Mark Podlasly to hear more about the First Nations major project coalition's conference in Toronto. He the coalition's chief sustainability officer.

WATCH

Indigenous creativity takes stage at Native Nations Fashion Night

As the fourth annual Native Nations Fashion Night neared, designer Delina White offered MPR News a tip.

“It’s got a Victorian gothic influence,” said White.

White is from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and is the creator of the Native Nations Fashion Night. She said in planning for this year’s event that designers wanted to do “something mysterious” to honor shared Native values and beliefs.

The theme for the evening was “Messengers, Protectors & Great Mysteries.” READ MORE — MPR News

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