Native Americans
Sanders appeals to indigenous, environmental activists at Grand Rapids rally
At his Grand Rapids rally on a sunny Sunday afternoon, U.S Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was able to draw an audience of more than 7,600 people with just a few days’ notice. A common concern among many attendees: climate change and environmental justice. Sanders’ policies on climate change and environmental protections are popular — not […]
Dingell slams Trump attempt to overhaul bedrock environmental law
WASHINGTON — Concerned citizens and environmental activists from around the country traveled to the nation’s capital on Tuesday to blast the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul one of the nation’s bedrock environmental policy laws at a rare public hearing with administration officials. President Donald Trump last month unveiled a massive rewrite of the regulations associated […]
Trump admin plan to relax NEPA enviro protections met with pushback
Updated, 2:47 p.m. 2/19/20 DENVER — Lyla June Johnston, an activist and member of the Diné, or Navajo, nation, drove six hours from Santa Fe, N.M., to Denver to speak out against the President Trump administration’s proposed rollbacks to the National Environmental Protection Act, better known as NEPA, the nation’s oldest environmental law. She told […]
Native American women have gone missing. Many have been murdered. Will Washington act?
WASHINGTON — Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind was 22, eight months pregnant, and looking forward to her baby shower the following day when she went missing on a sunny August afternoon in 2017. She had gone to a neighbor’s apartment in Fargo, N.D., where she had been asked to help with a sewing project. She never went home. […]
First Nation tribe rejects nuclear waste site on Lake Huron
An indigenous community has uprooted a Canadian energy company’s plan to build a permanent nuclear waste repository by the shore of Lake Huron, after years of vocal opposition to the proposal by Canadian and American lawmakers and residents. The company, Ontario Power Generation (OPG), began considering the spot in Ontario across from Michigan’s “Thumb” years […]
Julie Cassidy: We must build the will to end homelessness in Michigan
The most recent Ending Homelessness in Michigan annual report is out, and we cannot ignore the numbers as the state grapples with a housing affordability crisis. As we work to create an economy that ensures everyone has the safe home that we all need to thrive, we must learn from our successes in reducing homelessness […]
A tale of two oil pipelines and their place in the presidential race
The political debate over how to regulate the fossil fuel industry in the United States is more important — and ideologically divisive — than ever before, as the 2020 election is fully underway. One of the core arguments is over the need for and the ethics of energy pipelines. With 2.4 million miles of pipeline, […]
‘Oil destroys life’: Winona LaDuke on why she fights Midwest pipeline projects
Winona LaDuke is internationally known as a vocal indigenous activist in northern Minnesota, where Canadian oil giant Enbridge Energy has been attempting for years to construct a new Line 3 pipeline through tribal lands and sacred wild rice lakes. She is also an economist, writer, author of seven books and co-author of many more. LaDuke […]
Gov. signs measure requiring state employee training in tribal affairs
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed on Thursday an executive directive during a summit of Michigan’s tribal leaders in Mt. Pleasant. Executive Directive 2019-17 reaffirms and extends Michigan’s commitment to recognize the sovereignty and right of self-governance of Michigan’s federally recognized Indian tribes and orders state departments and agencies to adhere to this. Whitmer’s office said this […]
Whitmer proclaims Monday Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Michigan
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a proclamation declaring Monday Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Michigan. “… We should honor the historic, cultural, and contemporary significance of Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands that also became known as the Americas and celebrate their contributions to communities throughout Michigan, the United States, and all over the world,” Whitmer’s […]
Column: Why more places are abandoning Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Increasingly, Columbus Day is giving people pause. More and more towns and cities across the country are electing to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day as an alternative to – or in addition to – the day intended to honor Columbus’ voyages. Critics of the change see it as just another example of political correctness run amok […]
Michigan sees efforts to establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day
State Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) on Thursday introduced bills that would replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Michigan, echoing similar measures that have been already been adopted by multiple Michigan cities. If passed, Senate Bill 568 would make Michigan the ninth* state to opt for a holiday that pays tribute to indigenous […]