The Wrap: More students to return home from Carlisle

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Eleven more students will go home from Carlisle

If not for a chance meeting between his father and Lt. Richard Pratt, Albert Mekko might not have died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Mekko’s father, Tulsey (Chief) Mekko, of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, was an itinerant Christian preacher who was on a “preaching tour” in what is now Anadarko, Oklahoma, in the late 1800s when he met Pratt, the founder and longtime superintendent of the government-run school.

Pratt convinced the elder Mekko to send his son Albert to the school. So in 1879, at age 17, Albert was sent 1,300 miles away to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He died in 1881 of a lung ailment.

“Cause of death was listed as pleurisy but that was likely associated with tuberculosis,” said Theodore Isham, former curator of the Creek Council House Museum and a descendent of Albert Mekko. Isham is a citizen of the Muscogee and Seminole nations. READ MORE — Mary Annette Pember and Stewart Huntington, ICT

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Native activists fighting nickel and cobalt refinery

TULSA, Okla. – Native environmental activists are challenging the construction of America’s first nickel and cobalt refinery, which is being built on the ancestral homelands of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache people.

Native citizens from Lawton, Oklahoma, say the Westwin Elements refinery could harm people, animals and plants, and they want tribes to have a say in the refinery’s future, as well as a say in any new projects. The refinery is a pilot plant meant to test processes, as well as environmental effects, in hopes for a larger plant to be built in the future.

The Native activists have formed the Westwin Resistance Coalition to stop the refinery’s construction, and the group’s members have attended meetings of the Lawton City Council since January.

“We have a lot of elders come to those meetings. One time an elder stood up and said to shut it down. The elder was then escorted out of the building, along with the rest of us, shouting ‘Shut it down!’ together,” said Kaysa Whitley, coalition coordinator, in a Tulsa World and ICT interview. READ MORE — Felix Clary, ICT + Tulsa World

GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: Tenants challenge evictions

Around the World : Western Australia Indigenous tenants fight no-grounds evictions in public housing, Indigenous youth shine in cabaret show, Sami leader condemns Finnish court ruling as “devastating,” and Brazilian Academy inducts first Indigenous member.

AUSTRALIA: No-grounds evictions challenged

Two legal challenges in Western Australia aim to bring an end to no-grounds evictions for public housing tenants, the National Indigenous Times reported on April 20.

Lawyers representing two Indigenous public housing tenants are set to challenge the Department of Communities' practice of utilizing no-grounds evictions and fixed-term public housing tenancies, arguing it violates procedural fairness and constitutes legal unreasonableness.

This legal battle could potentially impact over 1,000 public housing tenants on fixed-term agreements, leaving them vulnerable to eviction without cause. READ MORE — Deusdedit Ruhangariyo, Special to ICT

40 years of Gathering of Nations

One of the largest powwows in the United States, Gathering of Nations, will be coming together again this year on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico for its 40th year.

Powwow dancers and spectators will see the tremendous event that brings thousands of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together that uplifts tribal traditions and the powwow way. The powwow also has contest categories with money on the line that often attracts the top Indigenous dancers.

But the Gathering of Nations Powwow at the Tingley Coliseum/Expo New Mexico won’t be the only event going on. There will be the crowning of Miss Indian World, shopping at the Indian Trader’s Market, Horse & Rider Parade and the chance to see music performances on Powwow Alley’s Stage 49.

“(The Horse & Rider Parade) showcases the unique, distinguished heritage, and culture of the North American tribes which originate the horse culture way of life. Riders and the horse are dressed in traditional Native American regalia and ‘dressed’ in various tribal styles and adornments,” the Gathering of Nations said on its Facebook page. READ MORE — ICT

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Newscast: Land back is not a metaphor

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole is solidifying himself as one of the most powerful politicians in Congress. We turn now to regular contributor, Michael Stopp, for this conversation with ICT Political Correspondent Pauly Denetclaw.

The Sicangu Food Sovereignty Initiative started in 2014 after issues were identified in a community needs assessment. The program has since grown into a teaching and production farm. Our partners at South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Larry Rohrer and Jonathan Rouse, have this story.

ICT covers land back stories all over the country, but this one is special. The Cheyenne River Youth Project purchased land next to a site sacred to many tribes. ICT Senior Producer Shirley Sneve interviewed its executive director Julie Garreau, about the 40-acres near Bear Butte.

WATCH

$500 million for solar energy for tribal families

Look for solar panels to blossom atop low-income homes in Indian Country over the next five years. On Monday the Environmental Protection Agency announced $500 million for tribes as part of $7 billion in grants for residential solar energy. Some $5.5 billion will go to states, and $1 billion to multi-state awards.

The $7 billion will benefit 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities, said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a prepared statement. “The selectees will advance solar energy initiatives across the country, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, saving $8 billion in energy costs for families, delivering cleaner air, and combating climate change.”

“Solar is the cheapest form of electricity—and one of the best ways to lower energy costs for American families,” stated John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s announcement of EPA’s Solar for All awards will mean that low-income communities, and not just well-off communities, will feel the cost-saving benefits of solar thanks to this investment.”

“Residential solar electricity leads to reduced monthly utility bills, reduced levels of air pollution in neighborhoods, and ultimately healthier communities, but too often low-income and disadvantaged communities have been left out,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said in the statement. READ MORE — Joaqlin Estus, ICT

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