Chinook win court battle, path for federal recognition open
By ASHLEY NERBOVIG Chinook Observer
18 hrs ago

TACOMA — A federal judge ruled Jan. 10 that a ban preventing the Chinook Indian Nation from reapplying for federal tribal recognition is unjustified.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton ordered the U.S. Department of the Interior to reexamine its justification for the repetition ban, or change the regulation to allow for the Chinook Indian Nation to apply again.
According to a news release from Chinook Indian Nation, Tribal Chairman Tony Johnson celebrated the decision.
“This is an important step for the Chinook Nation in finally reclaiming full tribal rights,” Johnson said.
Federally recognized tribes are American Indian or Alaskan Native tribal entities that have sovereignty within the U.S. Recognized tribes can do direct business with the federal government and are entitled to certain benefits, services and protections.
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Judge: County violated federal Indian law In zoning dispute with Lake Superior Tribe
By Danielle Kaeding/Wisconsin Public Radio

A federal judge has ruled a northern Wisconsin county violated federal Indian law when it enforced its zoning rules on land owned by tribal members within a Lake Superior tribe’s reservation. 
The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa filed a lawsuit against Bayfield County in 2018. The tribe asked the court to rule the county has no zoning authority over tribal members' lands within the reservation. Red Cliff has its own land use ordinance that’s been in effect since 1993. Around 83 percent of the 1,353 people who reside on the reservation are American Indians, according to tribal figures.
According to the judge's ruling, the dispute came to a head in recent years when Red Cliff tribal members Curtis and Linda Basina met tribal zoning requirements to build the Copper Crow Distillery on the reservation. The Basinas had to comply with Bayfield County zoning regulations after the county said they were in violation of its rules. Another tribal member was sued by the county for building a driveway without a county permit. 
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Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories.
By Ravinder
January 12, 2020

We analyzed some of the most popular social studies textbooks used in California and Texas. Here’s how political divides shape what students learn about the nation’s history.
The textbooks cover the same sweeping story, from the brutality of slavery to the struggle for civil rights. The self-evident truths of the founding documents to the waves of immigration that reshaped the nation.
The books have the same publisher. They credit the same authors. But they are customized for students in different states, and their contents sometimes diverge in ways that reflect the nation’s deepest partisan divides.
Hundreds of differences — some subtle, others extensive — emerged in a New York Times analysis of eight commonly used American history textbooks in California and Texas, two of the nation’s largest markets.
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The great dismantling of America's national parks is under way
Jonathan B Jarvis and Destry Jarvis,
The Guardian•January 10, 2020

Under this administration, nothing is sacred as we watch the nation’s crown jewels being recut for the rings of robber barons.
For more than 100 years, professional management of our national parks has been respected under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Yes, they have different priorities, the Democrats often expanding the system and the Republicans historically focused on building facilities in the parks for expanding visitation. But the career public servants of the National Park Service (NPS), charged with stewarding America’s most important places, such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and the Statue of Liberty, were left to do their jobs.
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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.
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