Latest news with #JamieAzure
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota tribes push for more autonomy amid federal cuts
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure delivers an address during the seventh annual Government-to-Government Conference for tribal and state leaders. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota tribal leaders highlighted uncertainty in federal funding, frustrations with the state Legislature and future economic development projects Wednesday during the state's seventh annual Government-to-Government Conference. The annual event brings leaders of the five tribal nations that share geography with North Dakota together with state officials to share updates, network and discuss common problems facing their communities. 'We're strong, strong people — and we're getting back to that mindset of pridefulness,' Jamie Azure, tribal chair for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, said during his address. Azure said development projects in the pipeline for Turtle Mountain involve a retail center, movie theater, bowling alley and more. The conference was started by former Gov. Doug Burgum during his first term in office. Burgum is credited with improving relations between the tribes and the state government, which were at a low point when he took office in 2016. Gov. Kelly Armstrong, who succeeded Burgum in December, called continuing the conference a 'no brainer.' 'We need the collaboration of our tribal partners if we want North Dakota as a state to truly succeed,' Armstrong said. Like Turtle Mountain, officials from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate celebrated several new business opportunities coming to the Lake Traverse Reservation. Economic development is not about money, said Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Secretary Curtis Bissonette. 'It's about freedom, dignity and the ability to care for one another across generations,' he said. 'We are not waiting on permission to act.' Tribal leaders on Wednesday each expressed a degree of anxiety about federal programs. Native tribes receive services from the U.S. government in areas as wide-ranging as law enforcement, healthcare and land management. Native officials are worried about the impact of President Donald Trump's sweeping cuts to federal spending. Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chairman Mark Fox said that if the federal government wants to stop funding tribes, it needs to help them maintain a 'financial infrastructure' that allows them to 'to survive and thrive economically.' 'If you take that away, then you're going to cause dependency to exist for the next 100 to 1,000 years,' he said. During her address, Standing Rock Chairwoman Janet Alkire shared some of her tribe's continuing efforts to collaborate with the federal government on land, energy and infrastructure issues. She said after several years of negotiating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Standing Rock last year entered into a co-stewardship agreement for Dakota Prairie National Grasslands within the boundaries of the reservation, for example. 'These milestones may seem small, but it gives our people the opportunity to participate and have a voice, when once our voice was taken,' Alkire said. She said she is also serving on a tribal advisory committee for the U.S. Department of the Interior under Burgum's leadership. Standing Rock leaders also provided updates on a wind farm project to improve energy infrastructure in southern North Dakota. They hope to finance it in part from a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, though they said federal staff cuts threaten the program. Alkire said she has asked Burgum if the program can be rehoused under the Department of the Interior. North Dakota tribal leaders see Burgum as an ally in Interior, energy role Tribal leaders also had much to say about the state government. Azure during his address played two video clips from this year's legislative session of state lawmakers questioning the integrity of Turtle Mountain's plans to build a casino and resort in Grand Forks. One was of Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, who during one floor session said the source of the tribe's financing was murky and might come from cartels. (Larson apologized for her remarks later that floor session.) Azure also played a clip of Rep. Lawrence Klemin, R-Bismarck, who dismissed the project and compared it to a Chinese company's failed plans to build a corn milling plant near the Air Force base in Grand Forks. Klemin said he no longer trusts economic development projects associated with Grand Forks. He later told The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead his comments weren't directed to the tribe. Azure said the comments were insulting to the tribe and called on the statehouse to do better. 'At the end of the day the mindset has to change, because we can't go back here every two years and show videos like this,' he said. Spirit Lake Nation Chairperson Lonna Jackson-Street urged the state to reinstate the motor vehicle excise tax exemption for tribal members living off reservation. Only tribal members who live on reservations receive the tax exemption under a law change adopted by the state Legislature in 2023. Jackson-Street said a large portion of Spirit Lake members live outside the Spirit Lake Reservation due in part to the federal government's illegal taking of tribal land under the Dawes Act of 1887, and now must pay thousands of dollars more in taxes on vehicle purchases. She also said the tribe has continued to take a hit because of North Dakota's burgeoning electronic pull tab industry, which has taken business away from the Spirit Lake Casino. 'We're trying to establish new businesses within our community to supplement what our casino lost because of e-tabs,' she said. During the North Dakota legislative session, Native lawmakers supported a bill that would have required the Legislature to consult tribes on policies that would affect their communities. Proponents of the bill, which failed in the Senate, noted that the statehouse passed laws that allowed for the proliferation of gambling without speaking with North Dakota tribes that rely on casino revenue. 'For the future, as a tribal leader and whoever may step into these shoes, it's important you know that our government works with tribes on consultation,' Jackson-Street told the audience on Wednesday. Armstrong in his speech Wednesday applauded the state Legislature for passing House Bill 1199, which requires the state to create a task force dedicated to reducing the number of missing or murdered Indigenous people in the state. Armstrong said while he was in Congress he worked on Savanna's Act, which seeks to improve the federal response to the same issue. Armstrong said he thinks the Savanna's Act is 'good legislation' but that he thinks House Bill 1199 will be more impactful. 'That's a perfect example of how you don't solve those problems in Washington, D.C.,' he said. 'This is solved on Main Street across rural North Dakota. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
North Dakota tribes ask circuit judges for rehearing of voting rights case
Jamie Azure, chair of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, speaks during the Tribal Leaders Summit in Bismarck on Sept. 4, 2024. Turtle Mountain, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal citizens are challenging a ruling in a voting rights case. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal citizens this week asked the full 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to review a three-judge panel's finding that they lack standing to bring a voting discrimination case against the state of North Dakota. In a 2-1 decision earlier this month, the panel overruled a North Dakota federal district court's decision that a redistricting plan adopted by the state in 2021 diluted the voting power of Native voters. 'Turtle Mountain fought hard for a fair and legal map. When the state draws unlawful districts, Courts must step in to protect voters — not pave the way for injustice,' Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Chairman Jamie Azure said in a statement published by the Campaign Legal Center, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs in the suit. 'We will continue to fight for fair representation.' Appeals court rules against North Dakota tribes in voting rights case The panel's decision didn't speak to whether the map itself was discriminatory; instead, the judges found that private individuals cannot use a key federal civil rights law as a vehicle to file cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which outlaws race-based voting discrimination. The panel in its ruling sent the case back to North Dakota U.S. District Judge Peter Welte with instructions to dismiss the lawsuit. If its ruling stands, North Dakota would revert back to the 2021 map. But if the plaintiffs' request for an en banc rehearing is granted, the case would go before all 11 judges on the 8th Circuit for review. 'Section 2 is the foundational statute that Congress enacted to fight the scourge of racial discrimination in voting, but citizens in this circuit can no longer enforce the right it provides them,' the plaintiffs argue in a brief urging the full appellate court to consider the case. Private individuals and groups previously could file discrimination lawsuits against governments under just Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act without having to invoke Section 1983, a separate civil rights statute. Then, the 8th Circuit in a controversial 2023 ruling on an Arkansas voting rights case found that Section 2 alone doesn't give private parties the right to sue. Instead, the circuit declared that it is the responsibility of the U.S. Attorney General to file Section 2 discrimination cases. Tribes, state argue redistricting case to federal appeals court For more than a year, the question remained open as to whether Section 1983 offered a viable alternative for bringing such Voting Rights Act claims. In a May 14 ruling, the three-judge panel decided it does not. In a majority opinion, the panel wrote that the language of the Voting Rights Act indicates that Congress didn't intend for citizens to file race discrimination claims through Section 1983. The lone dissenting judge on the panel — Chief Judge Steven Colloton — noted in his opinion that private plaintiffs have brought more than 400 actions under Section 2 since 1982. The plaintiffs in their brief point out that the 8th Circuit is the only appellate circuit in the country to rule that Section 2 cannot be enforced through lawsuits brought by private citizens. The circuit includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. 'Outside of this circuit, every American citizen can rely on an unbroken line of Supreme Court and circuit precedent to enforce the individual rights given to them by Congress in the Voting Rights Act,' their filing states. 'But as a result of the panel decision here, and the prior decision in Arkansas, American citizens in this circuit are denied that right.' The lawsuit was triggered by a redistricting plan adopted by the North Dakota Legislature in 2021 that placed the Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake reservations in new districts. U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte in 2023 ruled that the new map was discriminatory and ordered the Legislature to implement a new map that placed the reservations in the same voting district. Three Native American lawmakers from that district were elected in 2024: Sen. Richard Marcellais and Rep. Jayme Davis — both citizens of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa — and Rep. Collette Brown, a citizen of the Spirit Lake Nation and plaintiff in the lawsuit. 'The fair map we secured led to a historic first — a Spirit Lake Nation member elected to the North Dakota Legislature,' Spirit Lake Nation Chairperson Lonna Jackson-Street said in a Wednesday statement published by the Campaign Legal Center, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs in the case. 'This decision threatens that progress and weakens our voice in state government.' Marcellais had previously served 15 years in the statehouse until he lost his bid for reelection in 2022. He was reelected in 2024. Davis was first elected in 2022, then reelected last year. If the 2021 map is reinstated, three state lawmakers would move to different districts, according to the North Dakota Secretary of State's Office. Rep. Colette Brown, D-Warwick, would go from representing District 9 to District 15. Rep. Donna Henderson, R-Calvin, would switch from District 15 to District 9B, while Sen. Kent Weston, R-Sarles, would switch from District 15 to District 9. They would all have to seek reelection in 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Washington Post
07-05-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
Wildfires burn thousands of acres on tribal lands in North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. — Crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain Reservation near the Canadian border. Dry and breezy conditions before the spring green-up haven't helped the situation. Much of the state is in some level of drought, including a swath of western North Dakota in severe or extreme drought, according to a recent map by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Numerous agencies including the North Dakota Forest Service and fire departments have responded to the fires. National Guard Black Hawk helicopters have dropped water, saving homes. Officials requested fire engines from as far as Montana and South Dakota. Tribal members with buckets and hoses sprang into action to fight the flames. 'It's inspiring that our people can rise up and help each other out like that,' Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chair Jamie Azure said Tuesday. Three distinct fires that have been joining and separating have burned about 6.5 square miles (16.8 square kilometers) in the Turtle Mountain area, according to the state Department of Emergency Services. Most of the fires have been north of Belcourt, in the northern part of the Turtle Mountain Reservation, said Jenna Parisien, recruitment and retention coordinator and spokesperson for the Belcourt Rural Fire Department. 'We have several locations where areas have burned, so places were lit up all at once, and with the unfavorable weather conditions that we have had, areas keep relighting, embers are causing spread to surrounding areas as well,' Parisien said. The fires steadily kicked off on Friday, she said. It wasn't clear how much of the fires were contained. Three firefighters were treated for exhaustion, dehydration and smoke inhalation, but were doing well, Azure said. One vacant mobile home was believed to be lost, but there were no other injuries or homes lost despite fires in people's yards, he said. About 10 families evacuated from their homes, he said. Crews were battling high winds with the fires on Monday, but rain overnight, moderate winds and firefighters' great efforts have improved the situation, Azure said Tuesday. Seventy-five to 100 firefighters responded on Sunday, the busiest day, Parisien said. Local businesses and tribal members have helped, Azure said. Advertisement Causes of the fires are thought to be accidental, potentially sparks escaping from residents' trash-burning barrels, Parisien said. Advertisement But some people have been taken into custody in connection with intentionally starting a fire, she said. She declined to elaborate. The Associated Press emailed the Bureau of Indian Affairs for comment. Nearly all of the 16 fires around the state are 100% contained. A fire in Rolla on Sunday led to evacuations.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Associated Press
Wildfires burn thousands of acres on tribal lands in North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain Reservation near the Canadian border. Dry and breezy conditions before the spring green-up haven't helped the situation. Much of the state is in some level of drought, including a swath of western North Dakota in severe or extreme drought, according to a recent map by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Numerous agencies including the North Dakota Forest Service and fire departments have responded to the fires. National Guard Black Hawk helicopters have dropped water, saving homes. Officials requested fire engines from as far as Montana and South Dakota. Tribal members with buckets and hoses sprang into action to fight the flames. 'It's inspiring that our people can rise up and help each other out like that,' Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chair Jamie Azure said Tuesday. Three distinct fires that have been joining and separating have burned about 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) in the Turtle Mountain area, according to the state Department of Emergency Services. Most of the fires have been north of Belcourt, in the northern part of the Turtle Mountain Reservation, said Jenna Parisien, recruitment and retention coordinator and spokesperson for the Belcourt Rural Fire Department. 'We have several locations where areas have burned, so places were lit up all at once, and with the unfavorable weather conditions that we have had, areas keep relighting, embers are causing spread to surrounding areas as well,' Parisien said. The fires steadily kicked off on Friday, she said. It wasn't clear how much of the fires were contained. Three firefighters were treated for exhaustion, dehydration and smoke inhalation, but were doing well, Azure said. One vacant mobile home was believed to be lost, but there were no other injuries or homes lost despite fires in people's yards, he said. About 10 families evacuated from their homes, he said. Crews were battling high winds with the fires on Monday, but rain overnight, moderate winds and firefighters' great efforts have improved the situation, Azure said Tuesday. Seventy-five to 100 firefighters responded on Sunday, the busiest day, Parisien said. Local businesses and tribal members have helped, Azure said. Causes of the fires are thought to be accidental, potentially sparks escaping from residents' trash-burning barrels, Parisien said. But some people have been taken into custody in connection with intentionally starting a fire, she said. She declined to elaborate. The Associated Press emailed the Bureau of Indian Affairs for comment. Nearly all of the 16 fires around the state are 100% contained. A fire in Rolla on Sunday led to evacuations. Fires on the Fort Berthold Reservation burned at least 2,000 acres (810 hectares). An 1,800-acre (728 hectares) fire on the reservation is 40% contained. No structures are believed lost to it, state Department of Emergency Services spokesperson Alison Vetter said.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Wildfires burn thousands of acres on tribal lands in North Dakota
Crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain Reservation near the Canadian border. Dry and breezy conditions before the spring green-up haven't helped the situation. Much of the state is in some level of drought, including a swath of western North Dakota in severe or extreme drought, according to a recent map by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Numerous agencies including the North Dakota Forest Service and fire departments have responded to the fires. National Guard Black Hawk helicopters have dropped water, saving homes. Officials requested fire engines from as far as Montana and South Dakota. Tribal members with buckets and hoses sprang into action to fight the flames. 'It's inspiring that our people can rise up and help each other out like that,' Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chair Jamie Azure said Tuesday. Three distinct fires that have been joining and separating have burned about 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) in the Turtle Mountain area, according to the state Department of Emergency Services. Most of the fires have been north of Belcourt, in the northern part of the Turtle Mountain Reservation, said Jenna Parisien, recruitment and retention coordinator and spokesperson for the Belcourt Rural Fire Department. 'We have several locations where areas have burned, so places were lit up all at once, and with the unfavorable weather conditions that we have had, areas keep relighting, embers are causing spread to surrounding areas as well,' Parisien said. The fires steadily kicked off on Friday, she said. It wasn't clear how much of the fires were contained. Three firefighters were treated for exhaustion, dehydration and smoke inhalation, but were doing well, Azure said. One vacant mobile home was believed to be lost, but there were no other injuries or homes lost despite fires in people's yards, he said. About 10 families evacuated from their homes, he said. Crews were battling high winds with the fires on Monday, but rain overnight, moderate winds and firefighters' great efforts have improved the situation, Azure said Tuesday. Seventy-five to 100 firefighters responded on Sunday, the busiest day, Parisien said. Local businesses and tribal members have helped, Azure said. Causes of the fires are thought to be accidental, potentially sparks escaping from residents' trash-burning barrels, Parisien said. But some people have been taken into custody in connection with intentionally starting a fire, she said. She declined to elaborate. The Associated Press emailed the Bureau of Indian Affairs for comment. Nearly all of the 16 fires around the state are 100% contained. A fire in Rolla on Sunday led to evacuations. Fires on the Fort Berthold Reservation burned at least 2,000 acres (810 hectares). An 1,800-acre (728 hectares) fire on the reservation is 40% contained. No structures are believed lost to it, state Department of Emergency Services spokesperson Alison Vetter said.
