Notices by Toastie (toastie@journa.host), page 3

And lest anyone think the era of racist hostility towards Indigenous people is over, the editors remind us of how current this all still is:

The Boldt decision isn't perfect --- it says Natives only have a right to 50% of salmon in the water.

And that half is dwindling, because industrialization, habitat loss and degradation, climate change and other factors are pushing salmon towards extinction.

So as Boldt turns fifty, it's a good time to think about what other changes need to be made to ensure the future of Indigenous cultures, foodways, treaty rights, salmon, and ecosystems.

In the 1960s and '70s, cops were brutalizing #Indigenous people in the #PNW ...for fishing.

But fishing is a treaty-protected right. People stood up for it. Elders call this era the Fish Wars.

In 1974 the issue went to the Supreme Court. After 3 years of discovery and pretrial, Judge George Boldt heard the case and ruled that the state of #Washington must respect the Indigenous right to fish.

The Boldt decision changed the landscape. It turns 50 next month.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/how-the-boldt-decision-50-years-ago-remade-pacific-northwest-fishing/

Chahta culture in Echo 🥰

#Indigenous

In #Montana, #Indigenous people are 6.7% of the population but 26% of missing persons cases.

Grieving families are often left to search on their own, let down by law enforcement and the legal system.

When Haley Omeasoo's relative disappeared on the Blackfeet rez in 2017, she decided to pursue forensics to help stop the #MMIP crisis.

Now as she earns her Ph.D, she's also founding her own forensics lab to help Indigenous families. A first, as far as she knows.

https://missoulian.com/news/state-regional/ohkomi-forensics-mmip-haley-omeasoo/article_6442cdfa-a5aa-11ee-bfde-e3e4ea09d206.html

I'm proud to announce that today the staff of High Country News magazine have launched a union!

We are calling on HCN leadership for voluntary recognition. You can help support us by sharing on socials, following @hcnunion, and signing our letter of support here: https://hcnunion.org/support/

#journalism

Since 1970, High Country News has produced independent journalism for and by as well as about communities in the Western US, first as a newspaper covering public lands and now as a magazine with an expanded focus on Indigenous affairs, climate change and environmental and justice issues. In recent years, HCN has made noticeable strides toward better supporting its own employees, many of whom are longtime residents of the region.

We join our colleagues at prestigious publications, including Grist and ProPublica in unionizing as part of an industry-wide reckoning with the toll that journalism takes on employees, the high workloads employees are expected to shoulder, and the distance the industry still needs to go to support and serve communities of color.

However, much remains to be done to make HCN a more just, anti-racist, diverse and sustainable workplace, and staff deserves a stronger voice in its continued evolution. We believe a union is the best way to achieve that, and so it is with pride that we — local and dispersed members of the editorial, development, marketing and communications, art and customer service departments — have all united to organize with the Denver Newspaper Guild/CWA Local 37074 and form the High Country News Union.

We recognize and are proud of the work that HCN is doing to serve Indigenous communities and diversify its staff. We also believe the organization needs to improve its support for employees, especially for BIPOC employees, who experience high rates of turnover.

We are calling on High Country News to provide salary and hourly wages commensurate with the national industry; affordable health coverage for dependents; just cause employment; sustainable work loads; stronger family leave policies; and mental health support, as well as pathways for internal career development; and production expectations that reflect our budgets.

HCN has always prioritized community-based journalism, and as members of that community, we — the High Country News Union — deserve and expect a voice in our workplace. We want to see our dedication reflected in the organization’s power structure. We look forward to a growing and sustainable High Country News, united by the support and strength that voluntary recognition, a strong first contract, and a thriving union will bring. ✊

UPDATE: Even though a majority of eligible employees expressed support for the union, High Country News leadership has decided not to voluntarily recognize us and instead has chosen to force an election. This is disappointing, and a waste of HCN's limited resources.

We are confident that we will prevail. If you haven't yet signed our letter of support, please do so.
https://hcnunion.org/support/

In just 2 days, over 200 people have signed our union's letter of support --- WOW! 🤩 Plus all the lovely supportive social media comments --- our CWA organizer says this is the biggest outpouring of support she's ever seen for a campaign. I am feeling the love, y'all. 🥰

We're a small newsroom (mighty, but small) so we need all the support we can get! We have until tomorrow to pressure HCN leadership to voluntarily recognize our union. Please sign if you haven't! 💖 ✊

https://hcnunion.org/support/

Ireland could become the first EU country to recognize the rights of nature in its constitution.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1d959wkq0o.amp

"American museums and universities repatriated more ancestral remains and sacred objects to tribal nations this year than at any point in the past three decades," thanks in large part to the work of Mary Hudetz (Apsaalooke/Crow), whose reporting has made waves in the US senate and the Interior Department. 💥

#Indigenous #Journalism

https://www.propublica.org/article/repatriation-progress-in-2023

When a city like #Denver executes expensive feats of infrastructure to provide a greenspace no one asked for in a fragmented community that needs support in other ways, is it restitution or gentrification?

Great long read for your weekend:

https://www.hcn.org/issues/55.12/communities-north-denvers-green-space-paradoxx

America built its first "concentration camp school," or Indian boarding school, on the Yakama reservation in 1860.

Now, the state of #Washington has appointed five #Indigenous leaders to a Truth and Reconciliation Tribal Advisory Committee, which will investigate the state’s history of Native boarding schools.

#PNW

https://www.hcn.org/articles/indigenous-affairs-washington-works-to-reconcile-its-history-of-indigenous-boarding-schools

“Climate change is a manifestation of the colonial project," said Graeme Reed (Anishinaabe).

"And that colonial project is built on the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands, waters and territories, and the blatant disrespect of their rights, their knowledge systems and their governance.”

#Indigenous people go to COP28 “because we have solutions,” he said. “But we also recognize that these spaces are also dominated by people who want to uphold the status quo.”

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02122023/cop28-indigenous-leaders-agenda/

Indigenous people in the United States experience one of the highest maternal mortality rates of any ethnic group.

Now there's a guaranteed basic income program in #Seattle for pregnant #Indigenous people.

#Washington #PNW

https://www.hcn.org/articles/social-justice-first-direct-cash-assistance-program-exclusively-for-indigenous-parents-launched