NEW MEXICOTribe cements rights to national preserve
ALBUQUERQUE -- A settlement reached by the U.S. government and a Native American tribe in New Mexico signals the end to what has been a yearslong legal fight over claims to the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Government attorneys in a filing on Oct. 18 asked a federal appeals court to close out the litigation with Jemez Pueblo in light of a settlement being reached after more than a year of negotiation. The case began in 2012 when the pueblo asserted its claims to all of the preserve, which spans nearly 140 square miles.
The agreement signed by U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in part recognizes the pueblo's rights to occupy and use a nearly 5-square-mile area for traditional cultural and religious purposes. It follows a 2023 ruling by the court that acknowledged the pueblo's title to what is known as the Banco Bonito area.
Haaland, a member of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo and the country's first Native American Cabinet secretary, said in a statement that the nation's lands have been central to the cultural and spiritual practices of Indigenous people for generations.
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At Jemez Pueblo, nestled among the red canyons and mountains northwest of Albuquerque, there was excitement about the settlement and optimism about what it will mean for the tribe's relationship with federal land managers as they care for this special parcel of forested land.
Jemez Pueblo considers Valles Caldera a spiritual sanctuary and part of its traditional homeland. It's home to vast grasslands, the remnants of a massive volcanic eruption and one of New Mexico's most famous elk herds.
'Breaking Bad' star appears in anti-littering ads
SANTA FE -- The indelible lead character from the "Breaking Bad" TV series has a new starring role in a public service ad campaign against littering in New Mexico.
The 15- and 30-second ad spots were unveiled on Oct. 17 at an arthouse movie theater in Santa Fe's urban railyard district. Local officials hope actor Bryan Cranston's brief reprise of the character Walter White will draw new awareness to the impacts of everyday litter and illegal dumping of trash, tires and appliances.
The ad is titled "Breaking Bad habits," and it depicts White rolling a steel drum into the remote New Mexico desert before using it to collect and dispose of litter by hand. The maniacal chemist-turned-drug dealer tells viewers in a menacing voice to "keep litter out of my territory."
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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham believes the mythical methamphetamine kingpin from "Breaking Bad" will get people's attention and help draw attention to serious concerns surrounding litter and pollution in a state that relies economically on outdoor tourism and filmmaking.
The marketing campaign taps into $3 million in state funding and will involve billboard ads. It's accompanied by cleanup efforts involving state agencies, public schools, youth recreation centers and prison inmate crews.
OKLAHOMAFeds to review 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Justice Department announced on Sept. 30 it plans to launch a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, an attack by a white mob on a thriving Black district that is considered one of the worst single acts of violence against Black Americans.
The review was launched under a federal cold-case initiative that has led to prosecutions of some Civil Rights Era cases, although Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said they have "no expectation" there is anyone living who could be prosecuted as a result of the inquiry. Still, the announcement of a first-ever federal probe into the massacre was embraced by descendants of survivors who have long criticized city and state leaders for not doing more to compensate those affected by the attack.
Clarke said the agency plans to issue a public report detailing its findings by the end of the year.
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Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the last known survivors of the massacre, 110-year-old Viola Fletcher and 109-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, described Clarke's announcement as a "joyous occasion."
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As many as 300 Black people were killed; more than 1,200 homes, businesses, schools and churches were destroyed; and thousands were forced into internment camps overseen by the National Guard when a white mob, including some deputized by authorities, looted and burned the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court in June dismissed a lawsuit by survivors, dampening the hope of advocates for racial justice that the city would make financial amends for the attack.
ARIZONAOne of last Navajo Code Talkers dies
WINDOW ROCK -- John Kinsel Sr., one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers who transmitted messages during World War II based on the tribe's native language, has died. He was 107.
Navajo Nation officials in Window Rock announced Kinsel's death on Oct. 19.
Tribal President Buu Nygren ordered all flags on the reservation to be flown at half-staff until Oct. 27 at sunset to honor Kinsel.
With Kinsel's death, only two Navajo Code Talkers are still alive: Former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald and Thomas H. Begay.
Hundreds of Navajos were recruited by the Marines to serve as Code Talkers during the war, transmitting messages based on their then-unwritten native language.
They confounded Japanese military cryptologists during World War II and participated in all assaults the Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima.
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The Code Talkers sent thousands of messages without error on Japanese troop movements, battlefield tactics and other communications crucial to the war's ultimate outcome.
Kinsel was born in Cove, Arizona, and lived in the Navajo community of Lukachukai.
He enlisted in the Marines in 1942 and became an elite Code Talker, serving with the 9th Marine Regiment and the 3rd Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
President Ronald Reagan established Navajo Code Talkers Day in 1982 and the Aug. 14 holiday honors all the tribes associated with the war effort.
The day is an Arizona state holiday and Navajo Nation holiday on the vast reservation that occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico and southeastern Utah.
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