Tuesday, April 29, 2025

A bill to formally reschedule Indigenous Peoples Day in Nevada has just been heard in the state’s Senate Committee on Government Affairs. Assembly Bill (AB) 144 would make the second Monday in October an official commemoration of Nevada’s Native and Indigenous residents. Currently it’s held on August 9. State Rep. Shea Backus (D-NV) is the bill’s sponsor and a self-described “urban Indian” who’s a member of the Cherokee Nation. Speaking to the Senate committee, she reiterated that her bill would not replace the state’s observance of Columbus Day on that same date. “AB144 will align the date to honor the resilience of our ancestors, and to uplift of the enduring legacies of Indigenous peoples, their voices, their cultures, and their connection to this land.” Backers of the bill included the Native Voters Alliance Nevada and the Sierra Club. Joshua Skaggs, legislative affairs director for the Nevada Republican Party, read President Trump’s recent statement in opposition. “You’ll be happy to know Christopher is going to make a major comeback. I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations as it has had for all the many decades before. End quote.” The bill previously passed the Nevada Assembly on a 27-15 vote. Housing And Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner. (Courtesy Oneida Nation / Facebook) More than $2 million in federal funding will go to expand rental assistance for Native American veterans at risk of becoming homeless. As Danielle Kaeding reports, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner announced the money on the Oneida Nation’s reservation last week. The money will be made available through HUD’s Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program. The Oneida Nation has helped Native American vets under the program for the last decade. The tribe’s chairman Tehassi Hill says it’s helped meet the community’s needs for affordable and available housing. “That includes emergency housing, transitional living and a path to home ownership.” Sec. Turner says more than 500 veterans in 29 tribal communities are currently being housed under the program. “HUD-VASH delivers critical rental assistance to Native American veterans and tribal communities all across our great nation, including right here in Oneida.” One Oneida vet says the program helped him and his two sons find housing after he was evicted and ended up living in his car for several weeks. U.S. Rep. Tony Wied (R-WI) says he looks forward to working with Turner to ensure communities like the Oneida Nation have access to housing. More than 1,100 veterans have received help under the federal program. (Courtesy Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation / Facebook) All across Indian Country, people have been observing sexual assault awareness month. While April is winding down, people like Desireé Coyote want the message to continue year-round: that the community needs to unite to help prevent sexual violence – and form support for survivors and their loved ones. Coyote is the family violence services program manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. When she talked to National Native News on Monday, she and her community had just finished a sexual assault awareness walk. “We had about 50 folks join us, students included. Community members and employees of the tribe. So Native and non-native alike.” Coyote says another walk is taking place this Wednesday in Roy Raley Park in Pendleton, Oreg. “We’re braiding ribbons together to honor a variety of issues like sexual assault, domestic violence, missing murdered and trafficked, and whatever else the folks want to attach to that.” The FBI says from 2021 to 2023, there were nearly 26,000 reports of violent crime and roughly 8,600 incidents of sexual crimes against victims who were Native American or Alaska Native women. More events will take place on May 5, which is the Red Dress Day, a North American day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. “Families want folks to remember that these are our community members. They’re our relations. And that they are not forgotten that we still hold ceremonies to be able to speak their name so that everybody can remember who our Indigenous missing and murdered are.”     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.