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If confirmed, Sara Hill would be the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma. Former federal prosecutor John D. Russell also was nominated.
The bicameral Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act to replace Columbus Day as a federal holiday and designate the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been reintroduced in Congress. The legislation was reintroduced by Representatives Sharice Davids (KS-03), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Suzan DelBene (WA-01), along with Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act has garnered 56 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) named Geoffrey Blackwell (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Omaha, and Muscogee Creek) as the organization’s new general counsel and chief of staff. In this dual role, Blackwell will lead NCAI’s legal strategies and oversee the efficient operation of NCAI.
Over the past few weeks, legislation that is important to Indian Country passed the U.S. Senate, which is controlled by Democrats who have a slight majority. Two of the bills deal with housing for Native Americans, who often are homeless or live in overcrowded conditions both on and off reservations. In 2019, Native Americans represented about 1.5% of the general population of the United States, yet they make up more than 10% of the homeless population nationally according to a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report released in January 2020.
New York state education officials voted unanimously this week to prohibit public schools from using or displaying Indigenous team names, logos, or mascots to represent the school.