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Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
May 4, 2022
Around Indian Country
Supreme Court considering law enforcement in Indian Country
The U.S. Supreme Court heard
oral arguments in Oklahoma v.
Castro-Huerta. At issue is whether
the state of Oklahoma can pros-
ecute non-Indians who commit
crimes against Indians in Indian
Country.
The Oklahoma Court of
Criminal Appeals ruled that juris-
diction lies with the federal gov-
ernment. The hearing lasted about
two hours and 12 minutes, far
longer than the 70 minutes allot-
ted by the Supreme Court.
The hearing concluded with a
tribute to Justice Stephen G.
Breyer, who is stepping down at
the end of the court’s current ses-
sion. In other national Native
news:
In late April, the U.S. House
Subcommittee on Indian Affairs
hosted a hearing on several pend-
ing Native American-related laws:
Senate Bill 789 would repeal
the Existing Substandard Provi-
sions Encouraging Conciliation
with Tribes Act. The bipartisan bill
would repeal outdated racist and
discriminatory laws that were im-
posed on tribes and their citizens.
The Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs approved the bill at a busi-
ness meeting on March 24.
Senate Bill 314 is a proposed
law to repeal the Klamath Tribe
Judgment Fund Act.
The Klamath Tribes, headquar-
tered in Southern Oregon, are
seeking to repeal a termination-era
law that affects their trust funds
and trust assets. The Senate Com-
mittee on Indian Affairs approved
the bill at a business meeting on
March 10.
WSU selects ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’
as next common read for students
Washington State University has
selected as its 2022-23 common
read for first-year and other stu-
dents the book Braiding Sweetgrass:
Indigenous W isdom, Scientific
Knowledge, and the Teachings of
Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Published in 2013 by Milkweed
Press, it features essays that con-
vey scientific knowledge as well as
indigenous lore and reflections on
subjects such as the relationship
between humans and the land, sa-
cred traditions, agriculture and land
use, environmental threat and re-
generation, climate change, and
more. The book is divided into five
sections: planting, tending, picking,
braiding, and burning sweetgrass.
“I am very excited about the
possibilities this selection offers in
terms of topics, its utility across
multiple disciplines, access, and con-
nection with university initiatives
and with our local region,” said
Karen Weathermon, director of
First-Year Programs, which in-
cludes the 16-year-old Common
Reading Program.
Each year, first-year and other
students use topics from a shared
book in classes across several dis-
ciplines, sparking discussions with
professors and among students
and building a community of
learners.
In this current year, 2021-22,
the book Tales from Two Ameri-
cas has allowed the program to
host and partner with 19 other
units across the university to host
92 events or exhibits that have
carried common-reading credit.
Students can typically select from
three-to-five events per week to
enhance their knowledge relating
to book topics.
Senate Bill 559 is a proposed
law to amend the Grand Ronde
Reservation Act to address lands
held in trust in Oregon for the
Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde.
The Senate Committee on In-
dian Affairs approved the bill at a
business meeting on March 10.
Bill 6181 is the Samish Indian
Nation Land Reaffirmation Act.
The bill confirms the acquisi-
tion of 6.7 acres in Washington
State in trust for the Samish Na-
tion. A draft discussion of an an
amendment in the nature of a sub-
stitute has been offered.
Senate Bill 437 would amend
the Alaska Native Claims Settle-
ment Act to exclude payments to
Alaska Native elders for determin-
ing eligibility for need-based fed-
eral programs and services.
House Bill 6063 is a proposed
law to authorize the U.S. Court of
Federal Claims to hear a land claim
from the Miami Nation, headquar-
tered in Oklahoma. The tribe has a
treaty-based claim to 2.6 million
acres in the state of Illinois.
Native American
hires reflect changing
Interior leadership
Interior Secretary Deb
Haaland is recruiting a notable
number of Native American
political appointees, a trend
advocates hope will lead to
greater consideration of In-
digenous perspectives within a
department that touches tribal
lives in myriad ways.
In the most recent moves,
Interior announced a citizen of
the Cherokee Nation, Joel
West Williams, as deputy so-
licitor for Indian Affairs; and
a member of the Oneida Na-
tion of Wisconsin, Tracy Ca-
nard Goodluck, as a senior
adviser to the assistant secre-
tary for Indian affairs.
Haaland, a member of
New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo,
is the first Native American to
head the Cabinet-level depart-
ment.
“We’ve never seen so much
Native leadership,” said Kevin
Washburn, a former Interior
assistant secretary for Indian
Affairs. “We have seen less pi-
geonholing of Natives into the
obvious positions, such as in
Indian Affairs.”
Shannon Holsey, president
of the Stockbridge-Munsee
Band of Mohican Indians and
treasurer of the National Con-
gress of American Indians,
commented:
“Appointing American Indi-
ans and Alaska Natives to the
Department of the Interior
and across all federal agencies
is incredibly significant and
important for Indian Country.
They bring a unique perspec-
tive and understanding of In-
dian Country to their positions
and have a direct impact on
crafting policies and internal
decision points that can make
a substantial difference for
Tribal Nations and tribal citi-
zens across the United States.”
COCC has free summer credits for high school grads
Just in time for pending high
school graduates who are consid-
ering summer plans, Central Or-
egon Community College offers
a new ‘four free credits’ special.
This will allow in-district, Class
of 2022 grads to try a college class
completely free.
With a value of up to $529,
the free credits are intended to
help put college careers in motion.
To learn more visit the website:
cocc.edu/departments/admis-
sions/future-students/class-of-
2022.aspx
Deadline in June
“Students can choose from an
extensive summer catalog that in-
cludes graphic design, automotive,
entrepreneurship, public speaking,
software applications, math in so-
ciety and many, many others,” said
Tyler Hayes, director of admis-
sions and records.
“For some, this could mean
gaining the necessary skills to en-
ter the workforce or perhaps to
further their education at COCC
or another college or university.”
Some summer classes at
COCC are offered remotely, with
loaner laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots
available, while others are held in-
person.
The offer includes both tuition
Personnel change at Columbia Fish Commission
Dear partners and stakeholders of
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission:
I am writing to announce that I
have resigned my position as man-
ager of the Columbia River Inter-
Tribal Fish Commission Human
Resources Department.
The following are a list of con-
tacts. Please feel free to reach out
if you have any questions. Contact
information: General Human Re-
sources questions can be sent
to HR@critfc.org
Payroll and benefits questions
can go to Sue Wallace at:
SWallace@critfc.org.
Accounts payable questions
should be sent to AP@critfc.org
The Partners Group questions
should be sent to Rey Perez, Em-
ployee Benefits Consultant,
rperez@tpgrp.com;
Janet
Rodriguez, Benefits Account Man-
ager, by email:
jrodriguez@tpgrp.com
Sincerely, Lorilee Morsette.
Chickasaw citizen new Native advisor at the White House
The White House has a new
Native advisor in the second year
of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Daron Carreiro, a citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation, began serving
as the Senior Policy Advisor for
Native Affairs on the White
House Domestic Policy Council in
April. He recently updated one of
his social media profiles to reflect
his new role in the Biden adminis-
tration.
Carreiro comes to the White
House after nearly a decade at the
Department of Justice. He served
as a trial attorney in DOJ’s Indian
Resources Section, where he
worked on a number of high-pro-
file cases, including several that
resulted in significant victories for
tribes across the nation.
One of the most recent cases
led to victory for the Yakama Na-
tion in a long-running dispute in
Washington state. With the United
States acting as trustee for the tribe,
the federal courts confirmed that
the Yakama Reservation includes
sacred areas that were promised to
the Yakama people by the Treaty
of 1855.
“T he Yakama Nation will
never compromise when our
Treaty is at stake,” Chair man
Delano Saluskin said last week,
after the U.S. Supreme Court fi-
nally put an end to litigation that
Carreiro supported as a federal
government attorney.
and standard course fees.
Registration for new COCC stu-
dents is now open and will go
through June 12.
Classes start Tuesday, June 21.
Students who wish to take advan-
tage of the free credits at COCC,
who are not already enrolled at the
college will need to submit an appli-
cation and pay a one-time (lifetime)
$25 application fee for summer
term and complete the necessary
enrollment steps.
Eligible students include public,
private, home-schooled and GED-
earning in-district high school stu-
dents from the graduating class of
2022.
Students must provide a copy
of their high school diploma, tran-
script or GED, submitted electroni-
cally no later than 5 p.m. on Fri-
day, June 24, to receive the free
summer term credits.