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Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
How teachers on the Blackfeet Reservation are using heavy metal to prevent suicide and process grief
Inside a Browning High School classroom on an afternoon in May, about two dozen students watched a music video by Carcass, a deathgrind band formed in 1985. Deathgrind, as instructor Charlie Speicher had explained to the class, blends elements of two heavy metal subgenres: death metal, known for its sonic and lyrical brutality, and grindcore, characterized by speed and aggression. Watching band members scream into the mic, the students nodded their heads and tapped pencils on their desks. Robert Hall, director of Native American studies at Browning Public Schools, shook his head in an exaggerated headbang. Speicher flashed the 'rock on' hand gesture before pausing the video. 'Aw! No!' students yelled, pounding their desks in feigned anger. 'I know, I want to keep going,' Speicher said. 'But that was freaking Carcass! … There's nothing like a musical style that just goes right for your throat, right at the core of that darkness.' Facing darkness head-on is the guiding principle of a new class offered at Browning High School and Buffalo Hide Academy, public schools on the Blackfeet Reservation. During the 18-week class, students learn about heavy music through a suicide prevention lens. The students watch and analyze music videos and write their own songs. They hear from professional musicians. They learn to differentiate subgenres like death metal, hardcore, grindcore, doom metal and sludge metal. They also talk about suicide and how to cope with trauma and grief. Speicher encourages students to contend with distress by engaging with art. 'There's just such power there,' he told Montana Free Press in May. 'It provides us with the tools to be able to deal, to face our anguish and not just be a prisoner to it.' The class's work will carry over into Fire in the Mountains, a first-of-its-kind heavy music festival on the Blackfeet Reservation July 25-27. The event will feature bands from all over the world alongside panels on topics including historical trauma, grief and healing. Students can earn a stipend and class credit for working with sound crews, bands, vendors and social media teams, and some students designed t-shirts for band members to wear on stage. Festival proceeds will support suicide prevention programs on the reservation. The word for 'doctor' in the Blackfoot language, āissōkinǎkii, translates to 'singer of heavy songs.' 'The heaviness in āissōkinǎkii I think is like the power of those songs to doctor people, to heal,' Hall said. Suicide In Montana Montana faces one of the highest suicide mortality rates in the nation, and the crisis is even more severe in tribal communities, where residents must often rely on overburdened and underfunded systems of care. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that suicide rates among American Indians ' consistently surpass those among all other racial and ethnic groups.' From 2015 to 2022, suicide rates nationally increased less than 1%, while rates among American Indians increased nearly 20%. In 2021, according to a different CDC report, the suicide death rate among American Indian girls age 15-19 was more than five times greater than that of their White peers. Indian Health Service, or IHS, is the federal agency responsible for providing health care to federally recognized tribes including the Blackfeet Nation. Despite calls for investment, the agency has long been underfunded. While President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal includes a $7.9 billion appropriation for IHS, a slight increase from the previous year, a workgroup composed of tribal leaders nationwide concluded that for fiscal year 2023 IHS would have needed $49.9 billion to be adequately funded. Funding shortfalls mean the agency struggles to recruit and retain medical professionals. And patients, who may see a revolving door of providers, often face long wait times for care. Blackfeet Reservation residents say incidents of suicide seem ubiquitous in the close-knit tribal community. A 2017 survey of 479 reservation residents found that one in three eighth-graders at Browning Middle School reported having attempted suicide, and one in three adults surveyed said they felt depressed or sad most days. Speicher said in May that the tribal community had recently seen several 'near misses' related to suicide. 'So many people experience it and have been through it,' he told MTFP. 'If you haven't had a suicidal thought at some point, you're lucky and rare.' Karrie Monroe runs Sukapi Lodge Mental Health Center, a new youth substance-use treatment facility on the reservation that aims to help children and families in crisis. The facility is funded, in part, with $1.4 million from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. When the lodge first opened in November, providers worked with several young men struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. 'They were having relationship problems, they were being verbally abused, and they were becoming depressed and they didn't know how to handle it,' Monroe said. 'Because men around here are always taught, 'You don't cry. You keep it in. You don't say nothing.'' Each suicide death in the community sparks new waves of trauma and grief. And with barriers limiting access to quality mental health care, Monroe said, some may 'use alcohol to run away from the sadness,' adding another significant risk factor to the suicide-prevention equation. The cycle of death and grief, she said, 'just keeps on repeating. … So where do we start with stopping this?' Prior to colonization, Native American cultures had different ways of expressing and processing grief. Browning Public Schools Native American Studies Director Robert Hall said the Blackfeet would change their physical appearance — sometimes cutting off a finger, cutting their hair or wearing dirty clothes — to signal they were grieving. 'If I was gone for three weeks on a hunting trip or fasting, and I come back and see my cousin chopped her hair off, I know instantly what's going on,' Hall explained, imagining himself in a historical context. 'I know I'm going to show her some tenderness.' As those traditions fade and a stigma surrounding suicide spreads, Speicher said, people more often hide their pain. 'We perceive ourselves as a burden and we try to conceal it,' he said. 'That's gotten us here, and it's such a tragic experience.' The stigma surrounding suicide is one reason Speicher believes it's critical to raise awareness and talk openly about the issue. Learning to process grief and trauma in healthy ways, by connecting with others or expressing emotion for example, is an effective form of suicide prevention, studies show. It's one reason Speicher founded Firekeeper Alliance, a nonprofit funded by grants and donations that aims to reduce suicide rates in Indian Country by encouraging at-risk groups to embrace new coping mechanisms. It's also why he encourages students to study music that 'goes towards darkness' rather than avoiding it. He and Hall believe that engaging with music, or art of any kind, can help people identify, process and make meaning of their pain. 'If (students) love themselves, and they have some way to have a group of friends and get together and do some healthy expression, this community is going to be all the better,' Hall said. So far, the class has been a hit. Dylan Williams, a student at Browning High School, said heavy metal is 'honestly my favorite class.' 'This class, it's more of a free space,' he said. 'We can come in here and experience our likes and everything we love in an open environment where there's no judging.' Sophomore Urielle Pollock said she loves the class, but noted one criticism. 'I just hate how it's only one period,' she said. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
John JD David Gates With deep sadness we announce the
Jun. 10—John JD David Gates With deep sadness we announce the passing of John David Gates (J.D.), 68, a dedicated advocate for Indigenous rights and representation, SAG actor, and respected educator. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, John died on February 27, 2025, leaving a legacy of contributions to federal Indian law and policy. Born in Gallup, New Mexico, John earned degrees from the University of New Mexico and the University of Iowa College of Law. He served as tribal prosecutor and judge pro tem for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Pueblo of Laguna. John taught Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico, Cultural Studies at Central New Mexico Community College, and contributed to Indigenous education globally as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Bonn, Germany. He was a faculty member at the Evergreen State College in Tribal Governance and recently served with Albuquerque Public Schools supporting Native American students. John lived with a fierce joy recognizing that each moment in life is unique. He did not suffer fools gladly and was forever prepared to argue for equity and justice. He loved his friends dearly, and showed them a gentle kindness he did not often share with the world at large. John Gates, who was such a powerful presence in life, remains so in the hearts of those who loved him. He is survived by stepmother Alice Gates and half brother Edward Gates, both of Ohio, and by his friends and all whose lives he touched. A memorial service will be held at Los Duranes Community Center, 2920 Leopoldo Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM, on June 21, 2025 from 11 am to 1 pm. (Potluck donations appreciated.) In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to organizations supporting Indigenous education and legal advocacy.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
John JD David Gates With deep sadness we announce the
Jun. 10—John JD David Gates With deep sadness we announce the passing of John David Gates (J.D.), 68, a dedicated advocate for Indigenous rights and representation, SAG actor, and respected educator. An enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, John died on February 27, 2025, leaving a legacy of contributions to federal Indian law and policy. Born in Gallup, New Mexico, John earned degrees from the University of New Mexico and the University of Iowa College of Law. He served as tribal prosecutor and judge pro tem for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Pueblo of Laguna. John taught Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico, Cultural Studies at Central New Mexico Community College, and contributed to Indigenous education globally as a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Bonn, Germany. He was a faculty member at the Evergreen State College in Tribal Governance and recently served with Albuquerque Public Schools supporting Native American students. John lived with a fierce joy recognizing that each moment in life is unique. He did not suffer fools gladly and was forever prepared to argue for equity and justice. He loved his friends dearly, and showed them a gentle kindness he did not often share with the world at large. John Gates, who was such a powerful presence in life, remains so in the hearts of those who loved him. He is survived by stepmother Alice Gates and half brother Edward Gates, both of Ohio, and by his friends and all whose lives he touched. A memorial service will be held at Los Duranes Community Center, 2920 Leopoldo Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM, on June 21, 2025 from 11 am to 1 pm. (Potluck donations appreciated.) In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to organizations supporting Indigenous education and legal advocacy.
Euronews
05-06-2025
- General
- Euronews
Yurok tribe reclaims land in California's largest land-back project
The Yurok Tribe has regained nearly 189 square kilometres of ancestral forestland along the Klamath River in northern California, more than doubling their land holdings and marking the largest land-back conservation deal in state history. The tribe plans to restore the landscape through traditional stewardship methods such as controlled burns, prairie restoration, invasive species removal and tree planting, efforts that will also create jobs for the tribe's 5,000 members. "We're thrilled to announce that we've transferred the final phase of land to the Yurok tribe and completed creation of the Blue Creek Salmon Sanctuary and the Yurok tribal community forest," said Josh Kling, conservation director at Western Rivers Conservancy. He added, "This is the single largest land-back project of lands going back to a tribe in the entire state of California. 47,000 acres is now under the ownership and stewardship of the Yurok tribe." The return of these lands is part of the broader Land Back movement, which seeks to restore Indigenous ownership and stewardship of traditional territories. Over the past decade, around 12,000 square kilometres of land has been returned to tribes across 15 states through federal programmes aided by conservation organisations. For the Yurok, 90% of whose territory was seized during the Gold Rush era, reclaiming this land holds deep significance. "Re-acquiring landscapes like this allows us to heal, to work towards healing a wound that was inflicted not only on the lands but our hearts when these lands were taken away from us," said Tiana Williams-Clausen, director of the Yurok Tribe's wildlife department. She emphasised Blue Creek's importance, calling it "one of the best and clearest and healthiest of tributaries that go into the Klamath River, which is the heart of Yurok Country," but noted it has faced destructive management for years. Studies increasingly show that forests stewarded by Indigenous peoples are healthier, more biodiverse and more resilient, highlighting the critical role of traditional ecological knowledge in combating climate change. Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a Native American Studies professor at UC Davis, said "Indigenous people's perspective - living in relation with the lands, waterways and wildlife - is becoming widely recognised and is a stark contrast to Western views." Despite this landmark land-back project, however, Yurok Tribe members know it's going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. New Zealand's parliament suspended three lawmakers on Thursday who performed a Māori haka in protest against a controversial proposed law that critics said would reverse indigenous rights. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. Their political party, Te Pāti Māori, also known as the Māori Party, is a left-wing political group in New Zealand advocating for minority Māori rights. A parliamentary privilege committee recommended that the trio be suspended for acting in "a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House." Three days had been the longest ban for a lawmaker from New Zealand's Parliament prior to this, meaning the three-week suspension of Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi sets a new record. The three politicians performed a haka in Parliament in opposition of the widely unpopular Treaty Principles Bill which they said would be damaging to the rights of indigenous peoples. The bill has since been defeated. It sought to legally define the principles of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which is the pact signed between Māori leaders and the British Crown during New Zealand's colonisation. More than 40,000 people protested outside parliament during the bill's first reading last year. The protest provoked months of debate among lawmakers about what the consequences of the Te Pāti Māori politicians' actions should be and whether New Zealand's Parliament welcomed or valued Māori culture, or felt threatened by it.
05-06-2025
- General
California's Yurok Tribe gets back ancestral lands that were taken over 120 years ago
ON THE KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. -- As a youngster, Barry McCovey Jr. would sneak through metal gates and hide from security guards just to catch a steelhead trout in Blue Creek amid northwestern California redwoods. Since time immemorial, his ancestors from the Yurok Tribe had fished, hunted and gathered in this watershed flanked by coastal forests. But for more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed by timber companies, severing the tribe's access to its homelands. When McCovey started working as a fisheries technician, the company would let him go there to do his job. 'Snorkeling Blue Creek ... I felt the significance of that place to myself and to our people, and I knew then that we had to do whatever we could to try and get that back,' McCovey said. After a 23-year effort and $56 million, that became reality. Roughly 73 square miles (189 square kilometers) of homelands have been returned to the Yurok, more than doubling the tribe's land holdings, according to a deal announced Thursday. Completion of the land-back conservation deal along the lower Klamath River — a partnership with Western Rivers Conservancy and other environmental groups — is being called the largest in California history. The Yurok Tribe had 90% of its territory taken during the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, suffering massacres and disease from settlers. 'To go from when I was a kid and 20 years ago even, from being afraid to go out there to having it be back in tribal hands … is incredible,' said McCovey, director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a series of on how tribes and Indigenous communities are coping with and combating climate change. ___ Land Back is a global movement seeking the return of homelands to Indigenous people through ownership or co-stewardship. In the last decade, nearly 4,700 square miles (12,173 square kilometers) were returned to tribes in 15 states through a federal program. Organizations are aiding similar efforts. There's mounting recognition that Indigenous people's traditional knowledge is critical to addressing climate change. Studies found the healthiest, most biodiverse and resilient forests are on protected native lands where Indigenous people remained stewards. Beth Rose Middleton Manning, a University of California, Davis professor of Native American Studies, said Indigenous people's perspective — living in relation with the lands, waterways and wildlife — is becoming widely recognized, and is a stark contrast to Western views. 'Management of a forest to grow conifers for sale is very different from thinking about the ecosystem and the different plants and animals and people as part of it and how we all play a role," she said. The Yurok people will now manage these lands and waterways. The tribe's plans include reintroducing fire as a forest management tool, clearing lands for prairie restoration, removing invasive species and planting trees while providing work for some of the tribe's more than 5,000 members and helping restore salmon and wildlife. One fall morning in heavy fog, a motorboat roared down the turbid Klamath toward Blue Creek — the crown jewel of these lands — past towering redwoods, and cottonwoods, willows, alders. Suddenly, gray gave way to blue sky, where an osprey and bald eagle soared. Along a bank, a black bear scrambled over rocks. The place is home to imperiled marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls and Humboldt martens, as well as elk, deer and mountain lions. The Klamath River basin supports fish — steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon — that live in both fresh and saltwater. The Klamath was once the West Coast's third largest salmon-producing river and the life force of Indigenous people. But the state's salmon stock has plummeted so dramatically — in part from dams and diversions — that fishing was banned for the third consecutive year. 'We can't have commercial fishing because populations are so low,' said Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. 'Our people would use the revenue to feed their families; now there's less than one salmon per Yurok Tribe member." Experts say restoring Blue Creek complements the successful, decades-long fight by tribes to remove the Klamath dams — the largest dam removal in U.S. history. This watershed is a cold-water lifeline in the lower Klamath for spawning salmon and steelhead that stop to cool down before swimming upstream. That's key amid climate-infused droughts and warming waters. 'For the major river to have its most critical and cold-water tributary … just doing its job is critical to the entire ecosystem,' said Sue Doroff, co-founder and former president of Western Rivers Conservancy. For more than 100 years, these lands were owned and managed for industrial timber. Patchworks of 15 to 20 acres (6 to 8 hectares) at a time of redwoods and Douglas firs have been clear cut to produce and sell logs domestically, according to Galen Schuler, a vice president at Green Diamond Resource Company, the previous landowner. Schuler said the forests have been sustainably managed, with no more than 2% cut annually, and that old growth is spared. He said they are 'maybe on the third round' of clear cutting since the 1850s. But clear cutting creates sediment that winds up in streams, making them shallower, more prone to warming and worsening water quality, according to Josh Kling, conservation director for the conservancy. Sediment, including from roads, can also smother salmon eggs and kill small fish. Culverts, common on Western logging roads, have also been an issue here. Most "were undersized relative to what a fish needs for passage,' Kling said. Land management decisions for commercial timber have also created some dense forests of small trees, making them wildfire prone and water thirsty, according to Williams-Claussen. 'I know a lot of people would look at the forested hillsides around here and be like, 'It's beautiful, it's forested.' But see that old growth on the hill, like way up there?' asked Sarah Beesley, fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe, sitting on a rock in Blue Creek. 'There's like one or two of those." Fire bans, invasive plants and encroachment of unmanaged native species have contributed to loss of prairies, historically home to abundant elk and deer herds and where the Yurok gathered plants for cultural and medicinal uses. Western Rivers Conservancy bought and conveyed land to the tribe in phases. The $56 million for the conservation deal came from private capital, low interest loans, tax credits, public grants and carbon credit sales that will continue to support restoration. The tribe aims to restore historic prairies by removing invasive species and encroaching native vegetation. The prairies are important food sources for elk and the mardon skipper butterfly, said Kling from the conservancy. Trees removed from prairies will be used as logjams for creeks to create habitat for frogs, fish and turtles. The tribe will reintroduce fire to aid in prairie restoration and reestablish forest diversity and mature forests to help imperiled species bounce back. Members know its going to take decades of work for these lands and waterways to heal. 'And maybe all that's not going to be done in my lifetime,' said McCovey, the fisheries director. 'But that's fine, because I'm not doing doing this for myself.'
