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Presidential Candidate: Gov. Bullock

September 30, 2019 By Bob Petersen

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is a Democrat who is campaigning for his party’s nomination for President of the United States.

This is Trahant Reports.

Last week he visited with Indian Country Today — the first time a presidential candidate has ever visited a tribal newsroom, or in this case, a visit to our studios.

The interview was wide ranging, exploring many of the issues that impact Indian Country.

Start with symbols. Clearly that’s matter in government: A portrait of Andrew Jackson? Or flags from every tribal nation. Bullock said in Montana Capitol “the flags of all of our tribal nations are right next to the U.S. and the Montana flag.”

He said visitors from around the world ask about those flags and then learn from their visit something about tribes and the unique relationship.

Bullock said in Montana it’s important to have Native Americans in government representing offices across the board. This, he said, makes any agency better from the weights and measures’ agency to higher education.

“… And I’ve thought about this at the federal level too. Because everyone of my state agencies has something to do with Native Americans. It has something to do with the tribal nations.”

And speaking of education, if elected to the White House, Gov. Bullock says he would double the amount of funding that Indian education gets every year. And that process would include better consultation with the tribes so that resources are being dictated properly.

“Nation to Nation consultation must occur. And that’s from everything from environmental action to education. You know, I was asked initially, where’s your plan for Indian country? And I can talk about a whole lot of things that I’d like to do,” such as fixing broken promises or reforms called for by the Commission on Civil Rights. “But if you’re actually going to have a real plan for Indian Country, you can talk about what you want to do as a candidate. But if you’re not actually doing nation-to-nation consultation and saying we build this together, then you probably don’t fully understand or appreciate the importance of making sure a government to government consultation creates a path forward.”

Gov. Bullock is a Democrat in a Republican state. And so he makes the case for working across party lines. He was able to convince a Republican-controlled legislature to continue with the expansion of Medicaid — a policy prescription that could be helpful nationally if the courts strike down the Affordable Care Act (and that Medicaid expansion).

Presidential candidates have expressed a lot of interest in Indian Country voters this campaign season. There was a candidate forum in Iowa this summer that included eleven candidates, including the Montana governor, and organizers are talking about another forum in Nevada.

And Indian Country Today has extended an open invitation to all of the presidential candidates to visit Arizona for an in-depth interview.

I am Mark Trahant.

Trahant Reports: Harjo

September 23, 2019 By Bob Petersen

Suzan Harjo has been at the center of just about every major issue involving Indian Country for decades. Last week the National Museum of American Indians honored her with a symposium to explore those contributions.

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Harjo was a reporter for Pacifica’s WBAI covering the Trail of Broken Treaties and the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1972. She described crossing the police line, radio equipment in hand, as a war zone moment. At one point Russell Means picked up a megaphone and said “it was a good day to die.” He was ready to blow-up the building. Other leaders had a different take, shouting down Means. Oren Lyons spoke and said this was not a war and not even a battle.

The story ended on a peaceful note. The people left the BIA building and went home.

Since then Harjo has practiced journalism, crafting laws, policy work, including a stint as the executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, and she has been an uncompromising advocate for religious freedom and the protection of sacred spaces. She’s also one of the primary architects of litigation against the Washington football franchise that would have forced the team to change its name. She’s also one of the founders of the National Museum of the American Indian.

Suzan Harjo remains an active journalist. One piece she wrote for Indian Country Today is telling.

“There’s a widespread notion that ‘tribal sovereignty’ and ‘Indian treaties’ are legal, historical, practical and correct terms,” Harjo wrote in her lede. “Actually, sovereignty is sovereignty, and treaties are treaties, nation to nation is between and among sovereigns; the use of “tribal” or “Indian” or any modifier is both misleading and belittling.”

She framed the history of the country — not Indian Country, mind you, but the United States — in a compact narrative illuminating the historical authority of treaties.

And when I say compact, I am talking about 8,000 words. Imagine reading 8,000 words on a cell phone.

But here’s the thing. Because we are a digital news organization we get data about every story. We know what has been read and what has been ignored. And we know that readers spent 8 minutes and 12 seconds on: “If you don’t know history.”

It was the best read story of the week. And the month. And one of the top stories of the year. All told more than 100,000 people read Harjo’s historical essay.

So much of the world has changed since Suzan Harjo began writing, especially the technology, but what has not … is her passion for informing Native people about our world, our history, and how we fit into a larger global narrative.

I am Mark Trahant.

Deloria: Custer Died For Your Sins

September 16, 2019 By Bob Petersen

Fifty years ago an unknown writer published an “Indian manifesto.” The book was “Custer Died For Your Sins” by Vine Deloria Jr.

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Custer Died For Your Sins was a manifesto, a best-seller, and a banned book (a trifecta).

So much literature back then went something like this: Once there was a great chief — say, Chief Joseph — who led his people past danger and outmaneuvered a powerful U.S. Army. But instead of a climactic victory, Chief Joseph almost reached Canada. Almost.

The Nez Perce people almost won. And the American Indian leader was almost great.

Boil it down, story after story, and the condensed version of Native history was reduced to an “almost” narrative.

American Indians were included in America’s master narrative only in the context of failure.

But Custer Died for Your Sins took that old, flat American Indian history and crumpled it until the dimensions were recognizable and honest.

“Most books about Indians cover some abstract and esoteric topic of the last century,” Deloria wrote. “Contemporary books are predominately by whites trying to solve the ‘Indian problem.’ Between the two extremes lives a dynamic people in a social structure of their own to be freed from cultural expression.”

And he freed a lot of cultural expression.

That included the radical idea that “one of the best ways to understand a people is to know what makes them laugh. Laughter encompasses the limits of the soul. In humor, life is redefined and accepted.”

Here was a book about American thought, policy, and history that devoted an entire chapter to humor, words that should have destroyed the stereotype of the wooden Indian.

Custer Died For Your Sins was a manifesto — it demanded the right of American Indians to control their image in rich detail. And “manifesto” was precisely the right word — a declaration of principles, policies, and intentions in a political context.

But the book had a dual manifesto: To American Indian readers it was a call to arms, a plea to recognize the essence of tribal philosophy, political systems, and religion.

As Deloria wrote, “There is more to the story than that. Indian people today have a chance to re-create a type of society for themselves, which can defy, mystify, and educate the rest of American society. Yet they mill around like so many cattle, not bringing to the surface the greatness that is in them.”

Looking back over 50 years it’s clear that the most significant contribution of the book was that idea American Indians controlling our narrative, owning our story.

Then it’s not just our story. At a conference last week Haskell Indian Nations University professor Daniel Wildcat said the day will come when Vine Deloria Jr is remembered as one of the 20th century’s greatest thinkers.

I am Mark Trahant.

Manitoba Elections – A barometer

September 9, 2019 By Bob Petersen

Manitoba voters will decide this week on a new government — and a Native leader is running for the top post.

This is Trahant Reports.

Wab Kinew, Anishinaabe, a former journalist, a hip hop artist, and the leader of the New Democratic Party is one of four candidates seeking to form the next provincial government. In Canada voters pick a party, after that, the party with a majority (or a combination of parties) then becomes the government. The Progressive Conservative Party is now the ruling party and the current premiere is Brian Pallister.

Kinew was elected leader of the official opposition in 2016 after winning a seat in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly. (To put that into U.S. terms: It’s the same as serving in a state legislature and the premier is a parliamentary version of a governor.)

This election raises all sorts of questions about Canadian politics — including Indigenous representation. There are more Indigenous candidates running for legislative seats than ever before, led by some 17 candidates for the New Democratic Party.

Yet there remains a deep division in Manitoba.

Pallister recently said that Kinew grew up with all those government benefits. He told the Thompson Citizen newspaper, Kinew “was handed more benefits than any premier in the last 60 years in this province.”

Pallister also says he’s the candidate who grew up in a home without indoor plumbing. (That’s why he hates taxes and is so pro-development.) And now? Critics say that Pallister lives in a mansion has a vacation home in Costa Rica.

Then this is the polite campaign.

A conservative campaign also directly attacks Kinew for his troubled past and tells voters that he is “a risk that we cannot afford.” One video asks: Did Kinew ‘try to intimidate his ex-common-law wife about the domestic assault allegations she made against him?” Another complaints challenge the circumstances around an assault of a taxi driver — a criminal act for which Kinew has been pardoned. Yet Kinew’s critics point out there has not been a full accounting of a domestic violence incident involving the former partner.

But the conservative ads also demonstrate a double standard in the era of Donald Trump (or in Canada, Doug Ford) who as candidates remained unapologetic about their past.

Kinew talks about his journey and how that led him to where he is today as a person and a candidate. Kinew told the Ottawa Citizen: “When I was being self-destructive, when I was partying too much, when I was getting in trouble with the law, there was family, community and spirituality.” It’s that idea that he says is essential before reconciliation.

Kinew also says the attack ads make it easier to talk about his journey and who he is today. He says this election is about the healthcare crisis in the province.

I am Mark Trahant.

Indigenous knowledge is essential

September 4, 2019 By Bob Petersen

There are two things you need to know from the recent report on climate change from the United Nations.

First: Governments around the world need to move quicker to limit the damage.

And second: Indigenous knowledge is essential.

This is Trahant Reports.

A report from the United Nations, Climate Change and Land, says food security has already been impacted by changing precipitation patterns and a greater frequency of extreme weather.

This report, for the first time, was led by authors from developing countries.

Think of that. It’s the first time an international report writes about the destruction of habitat from the point of view of the people who will be impacted first.

The UN report found that agriculture, food production, and deforestation are major drivers of climate change.

Climate change has already affected food security due to warming, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events, the report said. “Based on Indigenous and local knowledge, climate change is affecting food security in drylands, particularly those in Africa, and high mountain regions of Asia and South America.”

The report said better land management is essential and it could contribute to tackling climate change, but that alone is not a solution.

The report says: “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors is essential if global warming is to be kept to well below 2 degrees Celsius, if not 1.5 degrees.”

Indigenous communities will be in the path from these dramatic forces. The report cites significant permafrost degradation and food system instability, even at the lower levels of 1.5 degrees warming.

Sooner rather than later people will need to rethink diets and the use of land in order to slow the growth of warming.

The report also links the relationship between poverty and land use, something that’s found in the Green New Deal.

“Reducing inequalities, improving incomes, and ensuring equitable access to food so that some regions (where land cannot provide adequate food) are not disadvantaged. The report said. “An overall focus on sustainability coupled with early action offers the best chances to tackle climate change.”

What kind of changes: lower population growth, improved nutrition, and less food waste.

One of the authors, Eduardo Calvo, co-chair of the task force on national greenhouse gas inventories, said “policies that support sustainable land management, ensure the supply of food for vulnerable populations, and keep carbon in the ground while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

The take-away: Acting early is the most cost-effective way to avoid calamity. The UN panel says that means scaling up efforts by governments to better manage land and water for sustainability.

I am Mark Trahant.

The Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum

August 26, 2019 By Bob Petersen

The Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, is now history and nearly a dozen candidates, 10 Democrats and one Independent, made their way on stage to talk about their policy positions on issues impacting American Indians and Alaska Natives.

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There was history made in Iowa. The sheer attention to these issues was unprecedented.

Some history.

In 1976 the editor of Wasaja, Rubert Costo, wrote President Gerald Ford, and asked him about his Indian policy. He asked three questions that remain relevant: Should there be a cabinet-level Indian affairs department? How will healthcare reform impact the Indian health system? And since termination is over why not repeal some of the termination era legislation?

Costo wrote that “we operate quietly, but have a great influence upon grassroots Indian opinion.” He said that the next administration, indeed, every next administration, makes important decisions about Indian Country and that’s why candidates’ positions should be noted in advance.

That’s how it was in Iowa.

Every candidate talked about issues that don’t often get explored in a presidential campaign, treaty rights, Indian health, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Indian child welfare, even identity.

Four of the eleven candidates had the attendees on their feet: Senators Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, as well as former Secretary Julián Castro, and Independent candidate Mark Charles, the first Navajo to run for president.

Several of the candidates answered questions that Costo once posed. Sen. Warren said it’s time to repeal Oliphant, a Supreme Court decision that stripped tribes of their law enforcement authority over non-Indian residents (a logic that comes directly out of the termination era).

All of the candidates pledged to fully fund the Indian health system and do more to protect Native women and to invest in data to get a more accurate accounting of the nature of the problem.

Several candidates, starting with Secretary Castro, revealed detailed plans about what they will do in Indian Country after taking office. Marianne Wiliamson said she’d start her administration by taking down the portrait of Andrew Jackson in the oval office.

Nearly every candidate was asked the first question by Marcella LaBeau from Cheyenne River, and a 99-year-old veteran of World War II. She was honored for her nursing work on the battlefield by the French government with a medal of honor. So her question is why does the United States still honor those soldiers who killed women and children and Wounded Knee?

The answers were unanimous. Every candidate said we should and it’s time to rescind the medals of honor.

What will happen next? A lot actually. The candidates left Iowa with a deeper understanding of Indian Country and that will serve them well no matter what they do next, be it President of the United States, or serve in the cabinet, on in Congress.

I am certain of this because all you have to do is look at how far we’ve come since Rupert Costo wrote to Gerald Ford. Ford did not bother to answer. That era is over. Presidential candidates are now answering our questions.

I am Mark Trahant.

Greenland: Not for Sale

August 19, 2019 By Bob Petersen

Greenland’s ice is melting faster because of warming oceans. The ice sheets on the island hold enough water to raise sea levels by 25 feet. (NASA photo)

Sometimes a headline makes you go, “huh.” Then you think about it, and it’s even worse. The story: President Donald J. Trump is interested in purchasing Greenland.

This is Trahant Reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the president listened intently when advisers discussed the island’s resources and geopolitical importance and that he asked his White House counsel to look into the prospect of a purchase.

The Greenland Ministry of Foreign Affairs fired back saying it is “not for sale.”

Denmark, the colonial power in Greenland, instituted home rule after a 1979 vote. The people of Greenland, Indigenous people, the Kalaallit, voted overwhelmingly for the provision including the eventual outcome of an independent state.

So living under another colonial regime is probably not in the cards.

But the president could learn a lot by finding out more about Greenland and the challenges in the Arctic.

Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are finding that Greenland is experiencing climate change faster than the rest of the planet. This is a big deal because Greenland’s melting ice affects the whole world. The ice sheets on the island hold enough water to raise sea levels by 25 feet. NASA found that warmer air is melting Greenland’s ice. But so are warmer oceans.

As NASA puts it: “Humans are changing the climate by burning fossil fuels for energy. These add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, which trap extra heat from the sun and warm the air and oceans. But the oceans get most of the extra heat. In fact, more than 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases warms the oceans, not the air.”

One scientist, Josh Willis, is trying to find out which is causing the most warming, air or water. And he thinks it might be water. In the long run, he said, the oceans are warming.” And seeing the oceans have such a huge impact on the glaciers is bad news for Greenland’s ice sheet.” That could mean that Greenland’s ice sheets are melting more quickly than previously thought and sea levels will rise faster with more coastal communities in a flood zone.

Perhaps a few trips to Greenland would change the president’s mind about global warming and what should be done next.

In the meantime the government of Greenland tweeted:

#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale.”

I suppose at least the island is getting global attention. But it would be better if the president’s interest included learning about what global warming is doing to that island — and to our future.

I am Mark Trahant.

Food Insecurity and Global Warming

August 12, 2019 By Bob Petersen

There are two things you need to know from last week’s report on climate change from the United Nations.

First: Governments around the world need to move quicker to limit the damage.

And second: Indigenous knowledge is essential.

This is Trahant Reports.

A report from the United Nations, Climate Change and Land, says food security has already been impacted by changing precipitation patterns and a greater frequency of extreme weather.

This report, for the first time, was led by authors from developing countries.