Racism and ‘morbid curiosity’ prompt US museum to collect indigenous remains

Washington——

Here are some Native American-related stories in the news last week:

South Dakota governor: Some tribal leaders ‘benefited’ from drug cartels

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Winner this week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem described the U.S.-Mexico border as a “war zone” and suggested drug cartels could use Indian reservations as bases of operations.

“Mexican drug cartels are established in South Dakota … on our tribal reservations and are trafficking drugs, children and sex from South Dakota throughout the Midwest,” she said. “We have some tribal leaders who I think personally benefit from the cartels that are there and that’s why they attack me every day.”

Her remarks echoed those she made in a speech Speech on January 31 At a joint meeting of state lawmakers, she offered to send razor wire and National Guard troops to Texas to help secure its border with Mexico.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) later banned Nome from the Pine Ridge Reservation.

“Only entry plus hostility constitutes an invasion,” OST president Frank Star Comes Out said in a statement. Facebook issued a statementaccused Noem of trying to curry favor with former President Donald Trump.

Noem has been named as Trump’s potential running mate. At Wednesday’s town hall, she acknowledged she was on a short list of candidates.

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Lawsuit seeks to hold Arizona health agency accountable for deaths at fake sober homes

A Phoenix, Arizona, law firm has filed two wrongful death lawsuits against Arizona health care facilities on behalf of two Navajo men who died while in care at a fraudulent sober living home.

The lawsuits allege that the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System and the Arizona Department of Health Services are legally responsible for the deaths of two Navajo citizens who were victims of “bad actors” who Attempted to defraud Arizona’s health care system by billing for addiction treatment services. Never offered. The lawsuit alleges that state agencies knew of the massive fraud but continued to pay “exorbitant rates and amounts” to home operators.

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Aboriginal father to school board: Allow my son to wear his eagle feathers

A Native American high school student has won the right to wear eagle feathers at his graduation ceremony in June after his father, Stephen White Eagle, successfully defended his case before a Tennessee school board.

“My son and I were told that his religious beliefs were inconsistent with school policy. This was unfair and unconstitutional,” White Eagle said. He and his son are Southern Cheyennes and registered citizens of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

according to American Civil Liberties UnionMany schools across the country have banned the wearing of eagle feathers or other symbols at graduation, saying it violates their dress codes.

Eagle feathers are a symbol of strength and achievement and are often given to young people when they reach important milestones in their lives.

“You can’t pick and choose which religion you want to respect and honor in school,” White Eagle told VOA via Facebook this week. “If you allow one religion, specifically Christianity or Catholicism — two foreign religions to come into these lands —Then you have to allow the primitive religion of the Native Americans.”

White Eagle said he believes all Americans should work together to honor and respect all races, all colors and all creeds and “set an example for future generations.”

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Osage composer, drummer and dancers perform at 96th Academy Awards

Osage songwriter Scott George, singer, dancer and drummer performed “Wahzazhe” (“Song for My Osage People”) at the Oscars on Sunday.

George, a citizen of Oklahoma’s Osage Nation, co-wrote the song with Osage language expert Vann Bighorse for the Best Picture nominee “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

The lyrics are: “Wahzazhe no-zhin te-tha-bey, Wa-kon-da those-tho gah-ka-bey (Osage, stand up and be recognized. God made it for us).”

George E. “Tink” Tinker, an Osage citizen and professor emeritus at American University, said the composer wanted to evoke the traditional I’n-Lon-Schka (“I’n-Lon-Schka”) held each June weekend. Firstborn Playground”) dance style. Indian Culture at Iliff Seminary.

“He couldn’t just take a song from the ceremony and sing it, so he wrote it to imitate the style of the song that was sung during the ceremony without violating the ceremony itself,” he said.

The dance was brought to the Osage by the Kaw Nation after the Osage were forced to move from Kansas to Oklahoma in the late 19th century.

“These dances mark the unity of the community today and become one of the only community-wide rituals to survive the colonial invasion,” Tinker explains.

In addition, “Killer” actress Lily Gladstone, who won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards earlier this year, was nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best Actress, but ultimately failed to win.

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