Indian Country reacts to U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and other news

In this post:

• Healing Minnesota Stories Open Sacred Sites Tours July 30, Oct. 2
• Indian Country reacts to U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe
• Indian Country reacts to U.S. Supreme Court ruling undermining EPA’s ability to address climate damage
• National Congress of American Indians Adopts Rights of Nature Resolution

Healing Minnesota Stories Open Sacred Site Tours set for July 30, Oct. 30

We are happy to announce two open-to-the-public Sacred Site Tours in the coming months. Learn more about how you can participate in Healing Minnesota Stories by absorbing the sacred narratives of Minnesota places.

Learn more and register here.

The open tour dates are Saturday, July 30, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 2, from 1 – 5 p.m. The group meets at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Mendota Heights and car caravans from there.

Indian Country reacts to U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing Roe

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade “is the continuation of America’s evolution as Fascist Theocracy rooted in white supremacy and Christian Doctrine through violence,” said Marisa Miakonda Cummings, president and CEO of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC), in the organization’s newsletter.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan tweeted that the decision “limits access to safe and legal abortions for those who already lack access to reproductive health care. This is about racial and economic justice, and we will not stop fighting until we all get access to that fundamental right.”

Indian Country Today published a roundup of comments from Indigenous leaders around the country.

Oklahoma Gov. J. Keven Stitt, a member of the Cherokee Nation, tweeted: “I am very excited that the Supreme Court made this courageous decision. Abortion is a state’s rights issue and it belongs to the people.”

Ms. Foundation for Women’s Indigenous Women’s Advisory Committee said in a statement: “Our inherent sovereignty as Indigenous women and people determines that we must decide our own fate, and not allow the state to define these outcomes on our behalf.”

Click here for the full story.

Given the direction the Supreme Court is taking, MIWRC’s Cummings raised concerns about how it would rule on a pending Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) case, “which will challenge our political status and have monumental repercussions on our sovereignty.”

Indian Country reacts to U.S. Supreme Court ruling undermining the EPA’s ability to address climate damage

The U.S. Supreme Court severely restricted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ability to regulate greenhouse gas pollution that contributes to climate damage, in a ruling released Thursday.

In a media statement from Honor the Earth, Executive Director Winona LaDuke said: “The extremist majority on the Supreme Court attacked every person and creature that lives, blocking many of the rules that keep poison out of our air and climate. I have said it before, if you pick a fight with Mother Nature you are going to lose. Everyone from the President and Congress to leaders in our state have agency to build a livable economy that works for everyone. It’s time to end the fossil fuel industry and the culture of violence against women, water and all life. “

The court majority said the EPA couldn’t take major steps to address climate damage, an issue of “‘vast economic or political significance’ without Congress’ specific direction, Indian Country Today explained.

The article cited reactions from a number of Indigenous leaders.

“Janene Yazzie, Southwest regional director for NDN Collective, said a lot of tribes have modeled their own regulations on EPA regulations,” the article said. “This will be confusing and it could lead to tribes attempting to increase coal production.”

Click here for the full article.

National Congress of American Indians Adopts Rights of Nature Resolution

At a June meeting in Anchorage, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) adopted a resolution supporting the “Rights of Nature.”

The resolution reflects growing Tribal efforts across the United States to protect the rights of nature and Indigenous rights. It states in part: 

WHEREAS, our authority and ability as Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples to protect the natural environment is essential to our inherent sovereignty and self-determination…

WHEREAS, to strengthen and expand our authority and ability to protect tribal and treaty rights and the natural environment on tribal and traditional lands, there is growing support within Indian Country for recognizing and protecting the rights of nature.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) supports the rights of nature legal framework and the efforts of Tribal Nations to recognize and enforce these rights within tribal law and governance…

“In 2020, the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin adopted a resolution recognizing rights of the Menominee River,” an NCAI media release said. “The White Earth Band of Ojibwe enacted its ‘Rights of Manoomin’ (wild rice) ordinance in 2018, the first to secure the rights of a plant species. The Yurok recognized the rights of the Klamath River, and the Nez Perce recognized rights of the Snake River. The Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma adopted a rights of nature law, the Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin has taken the first steps to secure the rights of nature within the tribe’s constitution, and the Oneida Nation adopted a rights of nature resolution.”

“The White Earth Band of Ojibwe brought the first rights of nature case to tribal court in August 2021,” it said. “In addition, the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe in Washington State brought a case to tribal court seeking to protect the rights of salmon.”