Latest news with #ZuniTribe
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Contributor: Will Native tribes secure Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument?
On March 25, representatives of six Southwestern tribes announced the formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition. They are following the model of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, the moral force behind the 2016 establishment of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument. This elevation of Indigenous voices in land management signals a cultural shift in America — and it's a transformation worth celebrating in this dark time. These Native people — including the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Zuni Tribe — all have ancestral connections to this vast southern Utah monument designated by President Clinton in 1996. Indigenous groups have unique and authoritative standing to advocate for the conservation of these aboriginal lands and to work with federal agencies as co-stewards, preserving sensitive monument resources. Read more: Contributor: What happens when Washington runs amok? Ask a Native American The Grand Staircase Coalition is launching just in time to defend this particular landscape from any attempts by the Trump administration to modify the monument's boundaries or reduce its protections. On Feb. 3, Trump's secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, issued orders 'unleashing American energy' and mandating a 'review' of public lands where energy development is forbidden, such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase. 'Tribes carry an invaluable treasure of traditional knowledge about these lands, meticulously passed down through generations,' Anthony Sanchez Jr., head councilman of the Zuni Tribe, said in a statement announcing the coalition's formation. 'Indigenous perspectives illuminate the intricate interconnectedness of ecosystems…. The rich tapestry of oral histories, cultural narratives, and ceremonial traditions provides essential context, often uncovering insights that written records overlook.' When I worked on book projects in Native America in the 1980s and 1990s, I listened to dozens of such narratives. I interviewed and photographed several hundred Native people in the 50 reservations in the Southwest and encountered stunning generosity and enduring traditions everywhere. I did my best to honor these gifts, to channel the warmth and strength of 'the People' (as so many cultural groups call themselves in their own languages) in my work as messenger, bringing Native stories to general readers. Read more: Trump downsized national monuments. Biden restored them. Project 2025 calls for reductions again As a white man, I couldn't do those books today, and this shift is both appropriate and thrilling. Native people now speak for themselves, and they insist on the right to do so. Young members of tribal communities are fierce about claiming their voices — in writing, in art, in film, in public policy. FX's streaming series "Reservation Dogs," whose writers and directors, and most of its actors and crew, were Indigenous, broke ground for authenticity on television. Tribal members have served as secretary of the Interior (Deb Haaland, from New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo) and director of the National Park Service (Chuck Sams, Cayuse and Walla Walla). The Biden administration appointed more than 80 Native people to federal positions. President Biden also established national monuments in Arizona, Nevada and California that protect Indigenous sacred lands, responding to longstanding tribal initiatives. He issued a formal apology for the federal government's forced assimilation practices and established Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in Pennsylvania, acknowledging the painful legacy of the Indian boarding school era and the resilience of Indigenous communities and tribal nations. In those long-ago years of my fieldwork, Peterson Zah, then president of the Navajo Nation, told me, 'Indian life is a roller coaster. When we are at the very top of the roller coaster, we have to do things to allow the survival of the Indian people. That's the only time you can accomplish things, when people are willing to listen.' Lakota historian Vine Deloria Jr. noted that the United States gets interested in Native people in cycles. About every 20 years, there's a brief flurry of attention, and then Indigenous issues disappear again from the national agenda. Read more: Confusion clouds the fate of two new California monuments In 1990, what grabbed headlines was the film 'Dances With Wolves.' At the 1991 Academy Awards, Doris Leader Charge translated acceptance speeches into the Lakota language. In the weeks that followed, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), longtime chair of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, found prominent senators knocking on his door daily, requesting a seat on his usually neglected committee. For the first time ever, he had a designated committee room and a full slate of members. Inouye joked with Zah that the new converts were the "Dances With Wolves" senators. With increasing co-stewardship and co-management of their ancestral lands, today's Native people are breaking the on-again, off-again cycle of attention. 'Native American' and 'Indigenous people' may be on the list of words scrubbed from government documents and websites, but Trump's lack of respect for tribal sovereignty and disinterest in Indian Country will be a passing blip in the 'rediscovery of America,' as Native historian Ned Blackhawk calls our new regard for Indigenous history. Native peoples who continue to interact with the Grand Staircase-Escalante landscape traditionally and ceremonially can trace their deepest roots in the region back at least 13,000 years. 'We are the living descendants of the ancestors that left their footprints and writings across Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,' says Autumn Gillard, cultural resources manager with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Indigenous people have persisted, miraculously, despite America's efforts to erase them. No matter the volatility of changing political winds, we must continue to honor Native voices, listen to traditional ecological knowledge and insist on respect for our Native neighbors. Empowering and engaging with the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition is one way to live up to that responsibility. Stephen Trimble served on the board of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. His books include 'The People: Indians of the American Southwest' and 'Talking With the Clay: the Art of Pueblo Pottery in the 21st Century.' If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Will Native tribes secure Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument?
On March 25, representatives of six Southwestern tribes announced the formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition. They are following the model of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, the moral force behind the 2016 establishment of Utah's Bears Ears National Monument. This elevation of Indigenous voices in land management signals a cultural shift in America — and it's a transformation worth celebrating in this dark time. These Native people — including the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Zuni Tribe — all have ancestral connections to this vast southern Utah monument designated by President Clinton in 1996. Indigenous groups have unique and authoritative standing to advocate for the conservation of these aboriginal lands and to work with federal agencies as co-stewards, preserving sensitive monument resources. The Grand Staircase Coalition is launching just in time to defend this particular landscape from any attempts by the Trump administration to modify the monument's boundaries or reduce its protections. On Feb. 3, Trump's secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, issued orders 'unleashing American energy' and mandating a 'review' of public lands where energy development is forbidden, such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase. 'Tribes carry an invaluable treasure of traditional knowledge about these lands, meticulously passed down through generations,' Anthony Sanchez Jr., head councilman of the Zuni Tribe, said in a statement announcing the coalition's formation. 'Indigenous perspectives illuminate the intricate interconnectedness of ecosystems…. The rich tapestry of oral histories, cultural narratives, and ceremonial traditions provides essential context, often uncovering insights that written records overlook.' When I worked on book projects in Native America in the 1980s and 1990s, I listened to dozens of such narratives. I interviewed and photographed several hundred Native people in the 50 reservations in the Southwest and encountered stunning generosity and enduring traditions everywhere. I did my best to honor these gifts, to channel the warmth and strength of 'the People' (as so many cultural groups call themselves in their own languages) in my work as messenger, bringing Native stories to general readers. As a white man, I couldn't do those books today, and this shift is both appropriate and thrilling. Native people now speak for themselves, and they insist on the right to do so. Young members of tribal communities are fierce about claiming their voices — in writing, in art, in film, in public policy. FX's streaming series 'Reservation Dogs,' whose writers and directors, and most of its actors and crew, were Indigenous, broke ground for authenticity on television. Tribal members have served as secretary of the Interior (Deb Haaland, from New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo) and director of the National Park Service (Chuck Sams, Cayuse and Walla Walla). The Biden administration appointed more than 80 Native people to federal positions. President Biden also established national monuments in Arizona, Nevada and California that protect Indigenous sacred lands, responding to longstanding tribal initiatives. He issued a formal apology for the federal government's forced assimilation practices and established Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in Pennsylvania, acknowledging the painful legacy of the Indian boarding school era and the resilience of Indigenous communities and tribal nations. In those long-ago years of my fieldwork, Peterson Zah, then president of the Navajo Nation, told me, 'Indian life is a roller coaster. When we are at the very top of the roller coaster, we have to do things to allow the survival of the Indian people. That's the only time you can accomplish things, when people are willing to listen.' Lakota historian Vine Deloria Jr. noted that the United States gets interested in Native people in cycles. About every 20 years, there's a brief flurry of attention, and then Indigenous issues disappear again from the national agenda. In 1990, what grabbed headlines was the film 'Dances With Wolves.' At the 1991 Academy Awards, Doris Leader Charge translated acceptance speeches into the Lakota language. In the weeks that followed, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), longtime chair of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, found prominent senators knocking on his door daily, requesting a seat on his usually neglected committee. For the first time ever, he had a designated committee room and a full slate of members. Inouye joked with Zah that the new converts were the 'Dances With Wolves' senators. With increasing co-stewardship and co-management of their ancestral lands, today's Native people are breaking the on-again, off-again cycle of attention. 'Native American' and 'Indigenous people' may be on the list of words scrubbed from government documents and websites, but Trump's lack of respect for tribal sovereignty and disinterest in Indian Country will be a passing blip in the 'rediscovery of America,' as Native historian Ned Blackhawk calls our new regard for Indigenous history. Native peoples who continue to interact with the Grand Staircase-Escalante landscape traditionally and ceremonially can trace their deepest roots in the region back at least 13,000 years. 'We are the living descendants of the ancestors that left their footprints and writings across Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,' says Autumn Gillard, cultural resources manager with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Indigenous people have persisted, miraculously, despite America's efforts to erase them. No matter the volatility of changing political winds, we must continue to honor Native voices, listen to traditional ecological knowledge and insist on respect for our Native neighbors. Empowering and engaging with the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition is one way to live up to that responsibility. Stephen Trimble served on the board of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. His books include 'The People: Indians of the American Southwest' and 'Talking With the Clay: the Art of Pueblo Pottery in the 21st Century.'
USA Today
18-03-2025
- USA Today
New Mexico man pleads guilty to bite attack resulting in amputation
New Mexico man pleads guilty to bite attack resulting in amputation Darold ZunieFeathers, 28, plead guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon of unusual choice — his mouth. The victim had to have a finger amputated because of the vicious attack. Show Caption Hide Caption Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa mourned in Santa Fe Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were living a quiet life in Santa Fe before their deaths. A New Mexico man faces potentially a decade in federal prison after pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon that resulted in an amputation, officials announced Monday. His choice of weapon was unusual— not a knife or even an axe or a bat but his mouth. Darold ZunieFeathers, a member of the Zuni tribal area in New Mexico, viciously bit another man resulting in the victim needing to have one finger and part of another amputated, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The ferocious attack happened on the Pueblo of Zuni reservation when the pair were out on a late-night drive to buy cigarettes, according to court filings out of the District of New Mexico. Human bite attacks - though rare - can be exceptionally dangerous due to high risk of infection. 'The United States Attorney's Office is committed to prosecuting assaults committed with dangerous weapons in Indian Country, including assaults perpetrated through biting. While not traditionally thought of in this way, teeth can legally be considered dangerous weapons,' Holland S. Kastrin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, told USA TODAY. 'In this case, where the biting assault resulted in an amputation and partial amputation, there can be no doubt about the harm that teeth can inflict.' ZunieFeathers, 28, and the victim - called John Doe in court filings - were hanging out with friends when they decided to go buy more cigarettes before the gas station closed, according to the guilty plea agreement. 'I drove, and then decided to turn down a side dirt road,' ZunieFeathers says of what happened leading up to the attack. 'I struck him repeatedly, and then I bit John Doe multiple times on the torso, arm and hand. The bites severely damaged John Doe's hand.' The attack happened on the Pueblo of Zuni reservation in McKinley County, New Mexico. It took place between Dec. 16 and 17, 2021, according to court filings. ZunieFeathers pleaded guilty Friday. Pueblo of Zuni sits 150 miles west of Albuquerque in the Zuni River valley bordering Arizona. It is home to the Zuni Tribe, an indigenous Pueblo people. The case landed in federal court under the Major Crimes Act, a law that specifies federal authorities have jurisdiction over certain crimes - including assault - committed by Native Americans in Native territory Court filings don't make clear what exactly sparked the assault. An attorney for Zuniefeather did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ZunieFeathers was previously sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after running a man over with his blue pickup truck, according to federal court filings. How common are human bite attacks? Human bite attacks are fairly unusual. Healthcare providers treat about 250,000 bites annually, which accounts for just 3% of all bites seen in emergency rooms, according to the Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center. Most bites happen between children. Bites among adults often happen indirectly during fist fights when someone gets hit in the mouth. Human teeth aren't very sharp so usually these only cause bruising, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The actual force of a human bite is quite weak. A human bite amounts to 162 psi, says the Cleveland Clinic. Some dogs on the other hand can reach up to 250 psi. A bear bite can be 1,000 psi. 'Even more dangerous than animal bites' Human bites remain dangerous for another reason— infection. The Mayo Clinic says human bites are 'as dangerous or even more dangerous than animal bites.' The sheer amount of bacteria and viruses lingering in the human mouth is what makes them so dangerous, according to the healthcare institution. Risk of infection from a human bite is so great that among children, one in ten who are bitten will develop an infection, the Cleveland Clinic says. Toddler bite results in amputation The potential dangers from a human bite are so great that even a toddler can leave someone with a life-changing injury. A 3-year-old child bit a 68-year-old man on the forearm leading to a gangrene infection, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of International Medical Research. The man had to have his limb amputated within 24 hours. Photos of the infected arm included in the study show a chunk of skin missing from the 4-centimeter bite. The arm below the bite is black and swollen. Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@ @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.
