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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.
Members of Congress Call on President to Establish the Sáttítla National Monument in Northern California
Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler (both D-Calif.) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30) called on President Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate the Sáttítla National Monument in northern California. The Senators will also introduce legislation to establish the Sáttítla National Monument when Congress returns in September. The creation of the Sáttítla National Monument would protect over 206,000 acres of culturally significant, ecologically rich, and geologically unique public land within the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests in northeastern California.
The Pit River Nation regards Sáttítla as sacred land, and this area remains a spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Nations, as well as for surrounding Native Americans who continue to use the area for religious activities, ceremonies, and gatherings. For this reason, the lawmakers’ legislation would support the co-management of the monument between the federal government and federally recognized Tribes under relevant federal authority.
The Sáttítla highlands are geologically unique and contain one of the headwaters of the entire California watershed. The volcanically formed aquifers below the surface capture snow melt, store as much water as California’s 200 largest surface reservoirs, and discharge over 1.2 million acre-feet of snowmelt annually. The highlands also host a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitat, including the Fall River trout fishery.
The establishment of the Sáttítla National Monument would also contribute to the Administration’s goal of permanently conserving 30 percent of U.S. lands and coastal waters by 2030, as well as address the three interlocking crises of nature loss, climate change, and inequitable access to the outdoors, furthering the Administration’s America the Beautiful initiative.
HUD Awards More Than $10 Million to Combat Homelessness Among Native American Veterans
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Monday more than $10 million to provide rental assistance and supportive housing services to Native American veterans who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Three Tribal communities in the Great Lake Region recieved the critical funding including Leech Lake Housing Authority, Oneida Nation, and White Earth Reservation Housing Authority for a combined total of $807,683 in funding. Federal investment in Native American housing programs is critical to ensure the health and safety of Native Americans and Tribal communities. Yesterday’s announcement underscores HUD’s continued efforts to expand and improve affordable housing options for homeless Native American veterans.
Native Americans are seven times more likely to live in overcrowded conditions with between 42,000-85,000 Native Americans living with family and friends due to having no place to call their own. The Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to strengthening the Nation-to-Nation relationships between the United States and Tribal Nations, advancing Tribal sovereignty and addressing the housing needs of Indian Country. The American Rescue Plan made the largest direct federal investment in Indian Country in history, and through the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration has made additional record-setting investments in Tribal Nations and Native communities.
“Expanding services for homeless Native American veterans to secure and maintain housing is a top priority,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “This significant renewal of funding today emphasizes our commitment to sustaining quality, safe and affordable housing for those veterans across Indian Country who proudly served our nation.”
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