- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — The biggest welcome news in Indian Country came on Tuesday morning when President Joe Biden named Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba, who is chief of the Mohegan Tribe, as treasurer of the United States. Chief Malerba is the first ever Native American to hold this postion. Soon her signature will be on the country's currency.
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 during the past week.
Rescheduled Joint Hearing on the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to be held on Tuesday
The Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States will hold a joint oversight hearing with the Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. This hearing is titled Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).
Originally, this hearing was scheduled for May 24, 2022, but there were technical issues that led to it being postponed. It is now being live streamed June 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
The Government Accountability Office has issued reports on significant concerns at BIE schools since 2013. In 2017 BIE schools were placed on the High-Risk list. In 2016, major facility deficiencies and health and safety concerns–structural and electrical problems, asbestos, radon, mold–were cited in a 2016 U.S. Dept. of the Interior (DOI) report.
The purpose of this hearing is to examine how BIE has since responded to these findings and how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased these issues.
It can be accessed here.
Virtual Tribal Consultation Session to Take Place on Tuesday
The Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the White House, are inviting tribal leaders to participate in a Virtual Tribal Consultation Session. It will take place June 28, 2022 from 1:30 to 3:30 Eastern Time.
To register, visit this link. Written feedback is encouraged and can be submitted to [email protected].
These departments are seeking input on strategies to successfully develop and implement a national strategy on hunger, nutrition and health. Specifically, they are seeking input on how to best do the following:
- Improve food access and affordability: End hunger by making it easier for everyone — including urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities — to access and afford food. For example, expand eligibility for and increase participation in food assistance programs and improve transportation to places where food is available.
- Integrate nutrition and health: Prioritize the role of nutrition and food security in overall health, including disease prevention and management, and ensure our health care system addresses the nutrition-related needs of all people.
- Empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices: Foster environments that enable all people to easily make informed healthy choices ¾ increase access to healthy food, encourage healthy workplace and school policies, and invest in public messaging and education campaigns that are culturally appropriate and resonate with specific communities.
- Support physical activity for all: Make it easier for people to be more physically active ¾ in part by ensuring everyone has access to safe places to get active ¾ increase awareness of the benefits of physical activity, and conduct research on and measure physical activity.
- Enhance nutrition and food security research: Improve nutrition metrics, data collection, and research to inform nutrition and food security policy, particularly on issues of equity, access, and disparities.
Bill Introduced to Transfer Sacred Land from the Forest Service to the Karuk Tribe
Wednesday, Senators Padilla and Feinstein introduced the Katimiîn and Ameekyáaraam Sacred Lands Act.
If passed, this bill will transfer ownership of sacred lands from the U.S. Forest Service to the Interior Department. The Interior Department will then place those lands into trust for the Karuk Tribe.
Roughly 1,000 acres of federal land located in Humboldt and Siskiyou counties will be placed into trust. This allows the Karuk to have unrestricted access to these sites which have been used by them for ceremonial purposes for centuries.
Neely Bardwell (descendant of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), a Michigan State University student who is interning with Native News Online, contributed to these briefs.
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsUS Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Native News Weekly (August 4, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Tribal Nations Contribute $23.4 Billion to Oklahoma’s Economy
Church Play Depicting Navajo Medicine Man Causes an Uproar on Navajo Nation
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
