Thursday, June 12, 2025

Native American tribes are advising members to carry paper documentation as they travel, to avoid getting caught up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Since President Donald Trump’s push to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants began with his second term, reports of Native people being confronted about their citizenship status by ICE agents have been happening all across Indian Country. This week, the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians of southern California issued notice to their members to carry a state-issued drivers license, a certificate of degree of Indian blood, and a tribal ID card as their primary documents. Passports, social security cards, military IDs, and birth certificates are also recommended. The tribe says all Native Americans are U.S. citizens, and therefore not subject to being deported, but having documentation can avoid wrongful detention and harassment. People have rights during any law enforcement encounter. This includes the right to remain silent, the right to request a lawyer, and the right to ask if you are free to leave. A controversial measure in the province of Ontario was recently passed into law. It gives the cabinet of the government of Premier Doug Ford the power to create special economic zones where certain resource projects could be exempt from provincial laws. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the bill passed, even though there was widespread opposition from lawmakers, environmentalists, and Indigenous groups. Premier Ford says Bill 5 was urgently needed in the face of the trade war started by President Trump. It’s also called the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act. It would speed up the process for allowing major infrastructure and resource projects such as critical mineral extraction and make Ontario one of the world’s fastest regimes to approve permits. Even though there was widespread opposition, Ford’s government has a majority in the Ontario legislature and the law was quickly passed. Among those to speak against the new law was Linda Debassigee, a grand chief of the Anishnabet First Nation. “We are disappointed and very concerned that Ontario has proceeded in the way it has without any meaningful consultation, engagement and accommodation to our first nations. Bill 5 can be viewed as circumventing protections that are seen as impediments or obstacles to development and furthering the colonial regimes of old and the continued disregard for the treaty relationships. I caution you not sell out our first nation rights, heritage and history in your frenzied attempts to appease the U.S. president, unleash our natural resources and establish a foothold in the global economy.” Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford says there will be consultations with Indigenous groups after Bill 5 is passed. That hasn’t happened yet. Other Native leaders say those talks should have taken place before the legislation was developed, not after. The question now is how soon the Ford government will act to designate any location in the province a special economy zone. The Tribe of Gad Warriors from Oklahoma celebrate after defeating AZ Heat for the Triple-A championship at the D-Backs Inter-Tribal Tournament on June 5, 2025. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Last week, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks annual baseball-softball competition for Native American youth. This summertime tradition, known as the D-Backs Inter-Tribal Tournament, is now in its 25th year. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has this report. Rising tribal baseball and softball players from near and far shined while competing in the inter-tribal tourney under the bright lights at Talking Stick Resort’s Salt River Fields near Scottsdale, Ariz. This year’s outing has grown to 75 teams, about 1,100 Indigenous youth representing more than 20 tribes from all over Arizona, California, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Four days. Three divisions. 103 games in all. Oklahoma’s Tribe of Gad Warriors won 4-2 over AZ Heat in the Thursday night Triple-A finals, scoring its second consecutive championship.     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.