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.
In a historic decision, a federal court has ordered the removal of a segment of Washington’s Electron Dam from the Puyallup River, marking a win for environmental preservation and the protection of endangered species. The legal battle was initiated by the Puyallup Tribe against Electron Hydro LLC following the company’s discharge of toxic tire crumb rubber into the river and subsequent construction of a “temporary” rock dam and sheet pile wall in 2020. The court’s verdict deemed these structures pose an imminent threat to the survival of steelhead trout, Chinook salmon, and bull trout, species all listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Sensing Sasquatch, a new exhibition that will explore Sasquatch’s past, present, and future within the High Desert Region through an Indigenous lens, opens March 2 at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon. Popular depictions of Sasquatch can be found all over America, from t-shirts and road signs to beer cans and traveling mugs. Before you enter the exhibition, visitors will be asked to leave behind these ideas and perceptions and consider another side of Sasquatch’s story.