In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat now serving her third in Congress from Kansas' third congressional district and a tribal citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, says she knows people are frustrated by the gridlock in Congress. Davids said in a statement.
For more than a decade, nine sisters battled the South Dakota legislature for the right to sue the Catholic Church for sexual abuses they endured during the 1950s and '60s at an Indian boarding school the church operated. State lawmakers have denied these women and hundreds of other Native survivors of sexual abuses the right to sue, and some have died without receiving justice.
Tribal partners working with the US Forest Service have a chance to bolster their capacity for wildfire fighting and prevention projects thanks to a $500 million investment announced by the USDA during a Tuesday press call. The investment includes $400 million to support ongoing efforts across 21 priority landscapes, including many regions that include tribal forests, projects and communities, as well as $100 million to launch the Collaborative Wildfire Risk Reduction Program (CWRRP). Tribes in 24 qualifying states are among eligible partners for the CWRRP, which will focus funding on “non-traditional partners” representing minority and underserved communities.
In a significant move to bolster healthcare infrastructure for Native American tribes, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), via the Indian Health Service (IHS), has allocated $55 million in funding to 15 tribes and tribal organizations. This funding is part of the competitive Small Ambulatory Program, aimed at supporting the construction, expansion, or modernization of small ambulatory healthcare facilities. "HHS recognizes the critical need for tribal partners to have access to culturally appropriate, quality healthcare, particularly in terms of preventative services for chronic diseases," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in a press release.
For Yurok tribal member Billee Willson, the loss of her mother shaped her life. In 1972, when Willson was 15 years old, her mother was shot and killed by her ex-husband. The death of her mother left Willson and her siblings without an identity.