This Week in Native American News (11/1/19): Native Heritage Month, fighting crime, and Cherokee trails
November 1, 2019 - November is Native Heritage Month!
Celebrate Native Heritage Month!
November is National American Indian Heritage Month The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.
Read More on the Government Webpage
Ways to Celebrate Native Heritage:
Watch for Local Events recognizing Native peoples (This search is for Wisconsin, change “Wisconsin” to your state and find something fun!)
Read a book about Native history or current events
Watch a movie starring Native actors
Learn More about your local Native tribes - Native Americans Share the Meaning Behind Their Most Important Traditions and Beliefs
Celebrate a Native Sunday in your church
U.S. Attorney General announces additional $42 million for rural Alaska public safety
Delegates applaud a public safety session Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019 during the Alaska Federation of Natives convention at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
The U.S. Department of Justice will give $42 million to Alaska Native tribes and to support tribal victim services and village law enforcement, Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday.
Barr announced the funding in a video broadcast at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks, the largest annual gathering of Alaska Natives in the state. A Daily News and ProPublica investigation, published in May, found that one in three Alaska communities have no local law enforcement. Barr visited Alaska villages in May and declared a federal emergency and “public safety crisis in rural Alaska” the following month in a visit to Alaska that included a trip on the Kuskokwim River.
Village leaders in some communities with no law enforcement say the lack of available officer housing, holding cells and other infrastructure has prevented hires.
According to the Department of Justice, the $42 million will be made available through the existing Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation program, and through a “tribal victim services set-aside program.”
The money comes in addition to $10.5 million previously announced in support of Alaska law enforcement and public safety infrastructure.
Read the Full Story Here
Why is this important?
Alaska’s Uneven Rural Law Enforcement System Often Leaves Remote Villages With No Cops
More Reading:
The fix for Alaska's public safety crisis? Recognize tribal powers
Watch This: Mapping Cherokee Nation Trails in the Appalachians
It’s hard to fit all the news in a little space.
To read all of this week's news, visit the LIM Magazine.
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