On May 10, 2020, the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota were told by Governor Kristi Noem they had to remove coronavirus checkpoints within 48 hours. However, given that the Cheyenne River Sioux only have an eight-bed facility for the 12,000 people living on the reservation, the checkpoints are an essential tool for regulating and limiting the spread of COVID-19 on the reservation.
By Alexandra Carraher-Kang
The Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective sustains “the spiritual foundation of traditional livelihoods through sustainable food and agroecological systems” in the New England area. The Collective’s projects are rooted in the reclamation of traditional food, wild medicines, and ecological knowledge through exchange, mutual aid, and apprenticeship within Tribal territories of the northeast. These projects focus on local infrastructure needs of their various food cultivation spaces with the goal of building capacity through trust and care to others.
On March 27, 2020, in the midst of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell was informed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the Tribe’s reservation will be “disestablished” as ordered by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt.
By Octaviana Trujillo, Laurie Smith Monti, and Gary Paul Nabhan
Jason Pramas, executive editor
Chris Faraone, editor
March 9, 2019
Dear Editors of Dig Boston,
On Presidents Day 2020, we reflect on where Native Americans stand after three years of a Trump presidency. Since taking office, the current administration has rolled back policies that protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and has failed to respect and honor Tribal Nations and their sovereignty.
A United Coalition of Native American Leaders, Activists, Scientists and Organizations Release the Following Joint Statement.[1]
By Augusta Davis
By Alexandra Carraher-Kang
On January 14, 2020, over 100 individuals, including members from other Indigenous Tribal Nations, stood with the Shinnecock Indian Nation in part of an ongoing protest against development on sacred burial grounds in New York. Located in Sugar Loaf, a designated critical environmental area, the development of a single-family, two-story residence with a three-car garage was approved by the town Southampton. However, the applicant did not inform the Shinnecock Nation of its plans.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.
