Photo: Entering Black Hills National Forest on Route 87 at Black Hills National Forest. (daveynin / Flickr)

In South Dakota, the Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to promote the long-term health and viability of the Black Hills National Forest.

SDPB’s C.J. Keene reports.

Brought by State Sen. Randy Deibert (R-SD) from Spearfish, the bill was widely supported, though that does not mean it went without questions.

State Sen. Red Dawn Foster (Oglala Lakota/D-SD) questioned issues like tribal involvement in the long-term forest plan and the treatment of old growth trees.

Sen. Deibert was quick to quell concerns.

“The tribes have a cooperative agency status that is above and beyond the local governments, so they will have a seat at the table on any action taken in the Hills. Now, the old growth – that’s part of the management plan too. They have guidelines in the management plan too when they do a harvest to acknowledge that growth and other unique situations.”

The Black Hills are considered sacred in Lakota culture, and Indigenous people have historically been underrepresented in decision-making for forest management.

(Courtesy Navajo Nation Council / Facebook)

On Wednesday, members of the Navajo Nation Council joined Utah state officials and lawmakers at the state capitol in Salt Lake City to celebrate a water rights settlement.

The Utah-Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement grants the Navajo Nation a water allocation of 81,500 acre-feet per year with rights to both surface and groundwater from the Colorado River within Utah.

The settlement also includes significant funding for water infrastructure development.

Navajo council members say this comes after years of advocacy and will provide Navajo communities with essential needs like brining running water to homes.

According to the tribe, there are about 6,000 residents on the Utah side of the Navajo Nation and about half of them live without running water.

Dancers from a dozen North Slope villages recently gathered for the biannual festival Kivġiq in Utqiagvik, Alaska.

Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more.

Susan Patkotak was not allowed to participate in Iñupiaq dancing growing up. But last week, the 19-year-old performed in front of hundreds of people and received a standing ovation.

It was a new dance she created that told a story of reconnecting to the tradition.

“It’s about how I wasn’t allowed to dance when I was younger.”

Patkotak is a member of Barrow Dancers, one of 11 dance groups that took part in Kivġiq.

The event, also known as the “messenger feast,” brought together at least 700 participants.

It included a running race, gift-giving, sharing Indigenous food and, most importantly, Iñupiaq dancing.

For performers like David Elavgaq, it was a chance to reconnect with relatives and friends and uplift each other through the traditional art form.

“It’s healing for us coming out of the long, dark winter days.”

Kivġiq is a longtime tradition held during the years of successful harvests, when coastal Iñupiaq tribes would trade their catch and products with their inland neighbors.

The tradition was discontinued in the early 20th century because the church viewed Iñupiaq dancing as pagan.

The festival finally restarted in the late 1980s.

This year’s acts included traditional ceremonial dances like the box drum dance.

The legend behind it describes the Mother Eagle teaching Iñupiaq people to drum and celebrate.

The event also featured some brand-new dances – including the one from Patkotak with the Barrow Dancers.

Patkotak only started dancing two years ago, and for a while it was hard for her to be left out of the practice.

The lyrics of the song she performed at the recent festival describe the joyful feeling of being a part of the dancing tradition.

“We create songs and dances to express ourselves and to express our stories.”

Patkotak dedicated her dance to elders and everyone who yearns to reconnect to their culture.

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