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- By Native News Online Staff
WASHINGTON — 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.
$71 Million to Electrify Homes Across Indian Country with Clean Energy
The Department of the Interior on Thursday announced a $71 million investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to electrify homes in 13 Tribal communities across Indian Country, helping to close the Tribal access-to-electricity gap. This investment from the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest ever investment in climate – is a critical step toward the goal of electrifying all homes in the United States with clean energy sources and advances the Biden-Harris administration’s work to reach a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.
This second and final round of funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Tribal Electrification Program, is part of an overall $150 million commitment to provide financial and technical assistance to connect homes in Tribal communities to transmission and distribution that is powered by clean energy; provide electricity to unelectrified homes through zero-emissions energy systems; transition electrified homes to zero-emissions energy systems; and support associated home repairs and retrofitting necessary to install the zero-emissions energy systems. In addition, the program supports clean energy workforce development opportunities in Indian Country.
“Every family deserves to have access to reliable, affordable electricity. Now, with historic investments from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we’re honoring our commitment to deliver clean energy to Indian Country to electrify more homes,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “This new program is building reliable, resilient energy that Tribes and communities can rely on, and advancing our work to tackle the climate crisis and build a clean energy future.”
Interior and Justice Departments Convene Roundtable on Media Coverage of MMIP
The Department of the Interior and the Justice Department on Thursday convened a roundtable discussion with Tribal representatives, advocates, members of the media, and survivors to discuss how media coverage can be improved when reporting on the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous peoples (MMIP) and human trafficking (HT).
The virtual roundtable was organized as part of the federal response to the recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission– a federal advisory committee established in November 2023 per the Not Invisible Act of 2019 to recommend strategies for combatting violent crime on Indian lands and against American Indian and Alaska Native people. During seven public hearings across the country as well as a two-day virtual national hearing that informed the Commission’s recommendations, survivors and families impacted by the crisis of MMIP and HT shared concerns about lack of media coverage and whether that may contribute to cases being ignored or going unsolved. The Commission in turn recommended the Interior and Justice Departments hold a roundtable discussion as a step toward developing a set of best practices.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland delivered video remarks.
“Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has been committed to fulfilling our promises to Indian Country,” said Secretary Haaland, who authored the Not Invisible Act while in Congress. “This roundtable is part of that promise as we act on one of the Not Invisible Act Commission’s recommendations because a crisis that exists in silence will never be solved. Today is one step of many to ensure our missing relatives’ stories are told.”
“Public communication, news stories, and social media can be crucial in finding and investigating cases of missing or murdered Indigenous persons,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why, on the Not Invisible Act Commission’s recommendation, we convened this roundtable to develop best practices and guidelines to aid law enforcement, families, advocates, and journalists when a member of a Native community is reported missing. It is our hope that this convening will strengthen those partnerships, which are essential to advancing our shared goal of ending this crisis.”
Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland opened the roundtable and said, “The overarching principle that guides our work is to make life better for people in Tribal communities and making sure that Indian people have the opportunity to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives in their tribal communities. Public safety is a big part of this, and addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis and human trafficking are at the forefront of our public safety work.”
Indigenous Data Sovereignty Meeting and NIH TAC Meeting
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tribal Health Research Office (THRO) convened Tribal leaders, Indigenous scientists, and data sovereignty subject matter experts for their Indigenous Data Sovereignty meeting held on September 16-17, 2024. THRO’s leadership is guiding the development of an NIH Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDS) Policy that will advance Indigenous data governance. We anticipate the release of a Dear Tribal Leader Letter (DTLL) soon to outline structural changes for 2025.
While there is much to be discussed in a soon to be announced Tribal Consultation, it is promising that Tribal and Indigenous leaders will have stronger autonomy and decision-making power on proposed studies by universities and agencies. Discussions during the IDS meeting included Indigenous consent in data collection and dissemination; defining and implementing best practices; data stewardship and data sharing; managing end-of-project data; ethical dissemination strategies; enhancing cultural preservation; and expanding Indigenous ownership and authority over data. Day one of the meeting can be watched here.
Following the IDS meeting, Tribal leaders met for the NIH Tribal Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting which can be watched here. The TAC meeting included a presentation from Dr. Jorgenson, NIH Associate Director for Science Policy, on the Disposition of Biospecimen Collected. NIH is in the process of identifying and returning biospecimens collected from Tribal and Indigenous communities and additional information will be forthcoming to Tribal leaders throughout this process. Tribal leaders then met with Dr. Schwetz, Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives on emerging Tribal priorities. Concluding the meeting, THRO will be supporting updates and revisions to the TAC strategic plan.
NIHB will keep Tribal leaders posted on the release of a DTLL and drafted IDS policy. We send our gratitude to Tribal leaders, scientists, and community members who have advocated for these structural changes and strongly encourage your continuing participation to provide high-quality and culturally appropriate feedback on the soon to be released IDS policy.
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