Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of ‘untold suffering’
Statement sets out ‘vital signs’ as indicators of magnitude of the climate emergency
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 5 Nov 2019 10.00 EST

The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists.
“We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” it states. “To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.”
There is no time to lose, the scientists say: “The climate crisis has arrived and is accelerating faster than most scientists expected. It is more severe than anticipated, threatening natural ecosystems and the fate of humanity.”
The statement is published in the journal BioScience on the 40th anniversary of the first world climate conference, which was held in Geneva in 1979. The statement was a collaboration of dozens of scientists and endorsed by further 11,000 from 153 nations. The scientists say the urgent changes needed include ending population growth, leaving fossil fuels in the ground, halting forest destruction and slashing meat eating.
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Tribes cheer passage of bills to protect ancestral lands from development
Thursday, October 31, 2019  
By Acee Agoyo

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Democrats on Capitol Hill are vowing to secure permanent protections for ancestral tribal territory after winning initial passage of legislation to stop energy development on sacred lands in two states.
But lawmakers from Arizona and New Mexico are facing an uphill battle in a deeply divided Congress. Only 9 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill to halt uranium mining around Grand Canyon National Park while a measure to block oil and gas drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park did a little better, with 17 members of the GOP supporting it.
Going forward, the lopsided numbers mean it will be more difficult to make the case for the H.R.1373, the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, and for H.R.2181, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act. The Republicans who control the U.S. Senate have been reluctant to bring up bills that they believe lack significant support from their party.
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Reaction strong after racist taunts aimed at Salt River Native American high school athletes
Friday, November 1, 2019  
By Christopher Lyndsay / Cronkite News / cronkitenews.azpbs.org

SCOTTSDALE – Racial taunts directed at a girls volleyball team located in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community reflect the larger societal issue of Native American oppression, a spokesperson for the high school said.
“The whole Valley is traditional homelands of the Oʼotham and Piipaash people,” said Taté Walker, a Lakota storyteller who promotes cultural competency. “I will say that ignorance happens all the time, but I think it’s 2019 and schools can do better at teaching their students how to be better human beings.”
A recent Canyon Athletic Association state tournament girls volleyball match was halted after racial gestures and slurs from Caurus Academy fans were directed at players from Salt River, a school located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
There are conflicting reports about what occurred and to what degree, but Randall Baum, executive director of the CAA, an association that oversees non-traditional educational institutions, acknowledged that “something did happen.”
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Hopi to set new budget; loss of revenue from NGS closure a concern
By Stan Bindell, for the Navajo-Hopi Observer
Originally Published: November 5, 2019 10:48 a.m.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Hopi Tribe has yet to find active revenue to replace the millions of dollars that will no longer be coming in due to the closure of Navajo Generating Station and the Peabody Coal Mine.
Hopi Tribal Councilman LeRoy Shingoitewa said the tribal government needs to look at what they have and utilize that to cover the tribe’s ongoing operational expenses.
The Hopi tribal government’s budget runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, which is unlike the federal and state governments whose budgets have different fiscal deadlines.
Shingoitewa said there is enough funding for the tribal government to operate at its current level through Dec. 31.
The Hopi tribal government has not set its budget for next year and Shingoitewa said if a budget is not passed the tribe will fund everything at the same level, but it may not have the funds to keep going at that level.
The fear is that without new funding, cuts will need to be made to all tribal departments.
“We need to get more conservative in our spending,” he said.
The Hopi Tribal Council’s Budget Oversight team is responsible for submitting the budget to the tribal council. Vice Chairman Clark Tenakhongva chairs the Budget Oversight team.
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Alum Proud to Give Back to Native American Community
10/9/2019 9:10:15 AM

As a member of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, Devon L. Lomayesva ’99, Chief Judge of the Intertribal Court of Southern California, and a practicing Indian law attorney is passionate about giving back to her community.
“The Native American community still suffers from the effects of historical mistreatment,” says Lomayesva. “That is proven out in the high rates of substance abuse, suicide, drop-out rates, single parents, and high rates of juvenile delinquency and foster care placements.”
Lomayesva’s passion for giving back to her tribal community started when she became involved with Native American student groups as an undergraduate at Grossmont Jr. College and San Diego State University (SDSU), where she graduated with a BA in History. This passion was further enhanced at California Western, as Lomayesva explains, “I’ve always appreciated the fact that California Western encouraged clerkships and volunteering. Dean Linda Dews and former Director of Minority Affairs Carol Rogers were great advocates and always there to offer resources for the development of our student life and careers.”
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