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Photo: Chuckwalla National Monument. (benmacaskill / Flickr)
Tribal leaders and elected officials are celebrating the establishment of two national monuments in California by President Joe Biden – the Chuckwalla National Monument and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument.
Together, they will protect 848,000 acres of lands, which include tribal cultural and sacred sites.
The Tribal Council of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe in a statement said the protection of the Chuckwalla National Monument brings their people an overwhelming sense of peace and joy.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) in a statement said it’s another victory for safeguarding California’s public lands for generations to come.
Tribal leaders are also calling on President Biden to designate one more national monument in California before the end of his term – the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument.
Tribal leaders and California state lawmakers held a press conference in Sacramento last fall, urging Biden to designate all three national monuments in the state.
Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA), during the press conference, talked about the significance of the areas to tribes.
“By designating these areas it’s not just designating a monument. To us as Indian people it’s a way of life and protecting the lives of our ancestors, and who we are, and for future generations to move forward.”
Altrena Santillanes, secretary of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, was among tribal leaders to speak at the press conference.
“We want it to be where our ancestors they were able to enjoy it and live in it and we also want that for the present and for the future generations where we can also share this with our communities that are in our surrounding areas. We can educate and we can teach about our culture.”
Biden is expected to sign proclamations Tuesday, creating the Chuckwalla and Sáttítla national monuments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOoFdjyE1ok
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
In South Dakota, the push to secure justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People remains a priority, but some advocates are seeking more resources.
Mike Moen has more.
The issue has garnered more attention at the national level in recent years, including the 2023 launch of an outreach program led by federal authorities.
South Dakota is a host district for one of the handful of U.S. attorneys assigned to the effort.
While that extra leadership might be helpful, Tanya Grassel-Kreitlow with the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault says there still is not enough funding to accelerate meaningful progress.
“We are desperate for funding, and then without funding, we are not able to provide advocacy to work with the families of the missing and to work with the potential victims who we’ve identified through a lot of factors who have the potential to become missing.”
She spoke during a recent forum hosted by the South Dakota Humanities Council.
Panel members also said agencies still do not share enough intelligence to prevent crimes.
Funding came up during a Congressional hearing last fall, and a key lawmaker pledged a bigger level of support moving forward. But it’s unclear what that will look like when budget negotiations resume in the spring.
Lily Mendoza leads the Red Ribbon Skirt Society, based in Rapid City. She says federal officials have improved their listening efforts when grassroots groups speak out on the issue.
And she says the Society sees good relationships with local law enforcement, but her team still has to fill in gaps to ensure accountability.
“You know, ‘I got a call from a parent. They’re concerned about their child. Can you check into this?’ So, those systems that the Not Invisible Act is supposed to be putting in place, the grassroots organizations are taking that on.”
Mendoza does applaud a specialized federal unit, that launched in 2021, that can more freely navigate the country to help look into these cases.
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