Happy December. Here are some of the stories you may have missed during the long Thanksgiving weekend:
Indigenous Actor Elaine Miles Reports Detention by Alleged ICE Agents
Indigenous actor Elaine Miles says she was walking to a bus stop in Redmond, Wash. when four men wearing masks and vests labeled “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” stepped out of two unmarked black SUVs and demanded her identification, according to an account she shared on social media and in reporting by The Seattle Times.
Miles — best known for her roles in Northern Exposure, Smoke Signals, Wyvern and The Last of Us — said she handed the men her tribal ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Ore. Tribal IDs are recognized by federal agencies, and Miles has used hers to travel across the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders without issue, The Seattle Times reported.
But Miles said one of the men dismissed the card as “fake,” while another told her, “Anyone can make that.”
Encounters between immigration agents and Indigenous people remain uncommon. Still, as immigration enforcement has intensified in the Seattle area, Miles’ experience has heightened concerns among Native communities, according to The Seattle Times. She said both her son and her uncle were previously detained by ICE agents who initially refused to accept their tribal IDs before releasing them.
Tribal IDs Are Federally Recognized. ICE Agents Are Ignoring Them.
Native Americans — whose ancestors were the first inhabitants of this land — are being stopped by masked ICE agents across the country. Why? Because some agents see darker-skinned individuals as potential undocumented immigrants based solely on appearance.
It’s an assault on identity, on tribal sovereignty, and on basic human dignity.
Our most-read article on Native News Online this week involved Native American actress Elaine Miles, who was detained by four ICE agents while walking to a bus stop in Redmond, Wash., near Seattle.
San Manuel Tribe Reclaims Ancestral Name, Faces Vandalism on Holiday
This past April, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians formally reclaimed its ancestral name, now identifying as the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation.
The tribe highlighted its reclaimed name on a billboard along Interstate 10, a heavily traveled corridor, to raise awareness of the change.
Early on Thanksgiving Day, the billboard was vandalized with an anti-Indigenous message and an American flag draped over the left portion. The message read: “America is not on stolen land. Your ancestors were conquered. Happy Thanksgiving.”
