Latest news with #Natives
Straits Times
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘America has to come first': Trump wins favour with Native Americans
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Navajo Nation resident Gilberta Cortes, 42, who uses a generator for electricity, outside her home in Cameron, Arizona, as she waits for electricity from the power grid to reach her residence. TUBA CITY, Arizona - Fed up with rising gas prices, Ms Nita Mexican voted in November 2025 for Mr Donald Trump, who is increasingly popular among Native American communities which have long supported the political left. 'A lot of the younger ones are for him now, including friends of our grandkids,' the 77-year-old member of the Navajo Nation reservation told AFP. As a Republican voter, Ms Mexican was used to being in the minority in Tuba City, a small, remote hamlet in the Arizona desert, located on a plateau part of the vast Native American reservation. But in recent years, she has witnessed a change in attitudes towards the divisive US president. Like her, some neighbours have begun to blame immigration from Latin America for the unemployment and drug trade plaguing the impoverished reservation. 'Trump is cleaning up America, it's a good thing,' said Ms Mexican, a former power plant employee who praised Mr Trump's hardline deportation policy. 'America has to come first,' she said. 'Us Natives, we are Americans and we should have the jobs first.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 1 in 3 vapes here laced with etomidate; MOH working with MHA to list it as illegal drug: Ong Ye Kung Singapore HSA extends hotline hours, launches new platform to report vaping offences Singapore Tampines regional centre set to get more homes, offices and public amenities Multimedia How to make the most out of small homes in Singapore World Diplomats dismissed: Inside the overhaul reshaping Trump's foreign policy Life US tech CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay 'kiss cam' video Opinion I thought I was a 'chill' parent. Then came P1 registration Singapore 'God and government are the only things beyond our control,' says Group CEO Rising inflation is an enduring concern in this isolated region, where cars are essential for getting around. Ms Mexican and her husband Joe spend US$40 (S$51) a day on gasoline to tend to their sheep, which are kept in a pen some 40km away. The couple also provide financial support for some of their unemployed grandchildren. 'Sometimes we don't have enough to get groceries for the both of us,' Ms Mexican said, adding that she would like Mr Trump to 'slow down' on his tariffs targeting multiple imported products . Surprising inroads Spanning the southwestern states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the United States. Mr Trump made surprising inroads in the 2025 presidential election in the region that has been a Democratic stronghold since the 1980s. The Republican leader notably won by 17.1 points in Navajo County, double his margin of victory from four years earlier, and lost by just 19 points in Apache County, down from 33.6 in 2020. A similar trend was observed nationwide, from North Carolina to Montana, with Native American voters overall backing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, but with much less enthusiasm than in the past. Like with Latino voters, more men than women from the minority group voted for Mr Trump, according to polls. At her home, which does not get electricity, Ms Gilberta Cortes said she 'butts heads ... all the time' with her 21-year-old son, who voted for Trump. 'He talks about inflation, he says that cartels are ruining everything for Native Americans,' Cortes said. The 42-year-old mother is not as impressed by the billionaire president. She resents his mockery of the Native American origins of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, whom he regularly refers to as 'Pocahontas'. 'Favouritism' Laws enacted by Mr Trump during his first term to probe the disappearance of thousands of Native American women did not persuade her either. 'It was just favouritism so that he would get our votes,' said the left-wing voter. And the president's anti-immigration rhetoric and policies have unsettled her further. Several Navajos have been stopped in recent months by immigration agents because of their skin color, according to some reservation officials. 'You see a lot of racism ... When I go out, I feel like I'm just walking on eggshells,' said Ms Cortes. Mr Trump's climate change skepticism is also a concern, with many Native Americans claiming a spiritual connection to the environment. Ms Cortes has had to forbid her children from playing outside in the summer because of heat waves, which are growing more intense in the Arizona desert. 'If he drills oil like crazy and he makes cuts to environmental agencies, it's gonna make things worse in the long run,' Ms Cortes said. Mr Elbert Yazzie thinks some of his friends will soon regret their decision. Mr Trump's recently passed signature spending bill is expected to shrink the federal food assistance program, among other cuts that could hit out at low-income Americans. 'They voted for him because they thought there would be more jobs for us American citizens. But instead, he's cutting off food stamps,' Mr Yazzie told AFP from his caravan. 'That's going to affect a lot of people around here.' AFP
The Sun
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump gains Native American support amid economic concerns
TUBA CITY: Rising gas prices and economic frustrations have led some Native American voters to shift their political allegiance toward US president Donald Trump, marking a surprising trend in traditionally Democratic-leaning communities. Nita Mexican, a 77-year-old Navajo Nation resident, voted for Trump last November, citing his hardline stance on immigration and focus on American jobs. 'America has to come first,' she told AFP. 'Us Natives, we are Americans and we should have the jobs first.' Mexican, a former power plant worker, lives in Tuba City, a remote Arizona desert town within the vast Navajo reservation. She and her husband spend $40 (RM170) daily on gasoline to tend to their sheep, a financial strain worsened by inflation. 'Sometimes we don't have enough to get groceries for the both of us,' she admitted. Trump made notable gains in Navajo County during the last election, doubling his margin from 2020. Similar shifts were seen in other Native American communities, where economic concerns outweighed traditional Democratic loyalty. However, not all residents support Trump. Gilberta Cortes, a 42-year-old mother, criticises his policies and rhetoric, including his mockery of Senator Elizabeth Warren's Native heritage. 'You see a lot of racism,' she said. 'When I go out, I feel like I'm just walking on eggshells.' Others worry about Trump's environmental policies and potential cuts to federal assistance programs. Elbert Yazzie, a Navajo resident, fears reduced food aid will hurt low-income families. 'They voted for him because they thought there would be more jobs,' he said. 'But instead, he's cutting off food stamps.' - AFP
Borneo Post
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Borneo Post
Asserting the privileges of the natives of Sarawak
The columnist is looking forward to the day when the government, both federal and state, would each reveal the details of the quotas for each racial group in the country so that the various indigenous groups would know exactly what their allocations of quotas are, respectively. — Bernama photo THOSE Sarawakians who are commemorating July 22 of each year as Sarawak's Independence Day (now styled Sarawak Day) would render a great service to the indigenous community in the state, if the thrust of their agenda would also include the assertions of the native privileges, as enshrined in both the state and the federal constitutions. I would give the name: the '227 Movement'. They could be a force to reckon with in Sarawak or be treated with due respect, if they were organised as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and were registered with the Registrar of Societies (ROS). In the course of asserting the native privileges, they would be on the right side of the law; if their representation would be submitted in writing and in the proper format, and would go through the proper channel. A regular follow-up with persistency is necessary. Working closely with the people in the mass media would be a bonus. This is one legitimate channel to use if the movement is to be effective in terms of championing the cause of the natives and the non-natives alike in Sarawak. I'm quite sure that the leaders of the movement are familiar with the knowledge of the background of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, including thorough understanding of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), read together with the Cobbold Commission Report, the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) and other related literature on Malaysia. It is possible that amongst the readers of this column, there may be strong supporters of the movement. For their ease of reference, I have copied the relevant texts of the relevant provisions of the State's Constitution. Today's column is confined to the reference to the powers of the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak. Another column on the same subject is possible if there is sufficient interest in the discussion on the interests of the indigenous peoples of Malaysia. For the time being, read the Constitution of Sarawak (as of June 23, 1981): 'Article 39. (1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri to safeguard the special position of the Natives and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article. '(2) The Yang Di-Pertua Negeri shall exercise his functions under this Constitution and under State law in such manner as may be necessary to safeguard the special position of the Natives and to ensure the reservation for natives of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of offices in the public service and of scholarships, exhibitions and other similar educational or training privileges, or special facilities, given or accorded by or with the approval of the State government. '(3) The Yang Di-Pertua Negeri may, in order to ensure in accordance with Clause (2) the reservation to Natives of offices in the public service and of scholarships, exhibitions and other educational or training privileges or special facilities, give such general directions as may be required for that purpose to the Commission, or to any authority charged with responsibility for the grant of scholarships, exhibitions or other educational or training privileges or special facilities; and the commission or authority shall duly comply with the directions. '(4) In exercising his functions under this Constitution and under State law in accordance with Clauses (1), (2) and (3), the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri shall not deprive any person of any office in the public service held by him or of the continuance of any scholarship, exhibition or other educational or training privileges or special facilities enjoyed by him. '(5) This Article does not derogate from the provisions of Article 38.' That Article 38 states: 'All persons of whatever race in the same grade of the service of the State shall, subject to the terms and conditions of their employment, be treated impartially.' Today, in this column, I am merely referring to the Constitution of Sarawak. It would be good for those of my readers to read the provisions of the Federal Constitution as well. Read Article 153 (about 'Reservation of quotas in respect of services, permits, etc.' for the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak). Meanwhile, I am looking forward to the day when the federal government and the state government would each reveal the details of the quotas for each racial group in the country so that the various indigenous groups would know exactly what their allocations of quotas are, respectively. That would enable them to monitor the application of each provision of the law in real cases. Any comments from the 227 Movement leaders? * The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist's own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper. 227 Movement natives sarawak day
Boston Globe
09-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Coming to an understanding of Indigenous identity, rooted on Martha's Vineyard
A member of the island's Indigenous Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Arguably the most picturesque landscape on Martha's Vineyard, this is the land that the author's family still calls home. But aside from the opening pages, Lee's writing resists the tendency toward mythmaking that's common to destinations laden with outsize reputations. Related : Advertisement 'Most people, I think, expect to encounter Natives on rural land out west, not in Massachusetts, and certainly not in one of the most exclusive beach communities in the country,' he writes. 'And to be honest, that threw me off a little too. My tribe's land and community did not look like what I imagined other Native lands did and so those assumptions clashed with the Martha's Vineyard that I knew.' Advertisement These are the sorts of complexities that course through Lee's engaging text, which is as much a personal memoir as it is the story of his family and his tribe's history. Despite the author's deep breadth of knowledge — in addition to his lived experience as an Aquinnah Wampanoag, he's also a journalist who covers Indigenous affairs — he is refreshingly frank about his own misconceptions while coming of age and how he learned to correct them while researching and writing this book. Tourism, in particular, emerges as an essential, if thorny topic that Lee explores with great nuance. While clamming off the coast in one scene, he notes of the Atlantic, 'Every summer, those waters drew the tourists that supported my family and continued to threaten the tribe.' Related : His grandmother was one of the first in their remote town to rent out their family home to summer vacationers starting in the 1960s, a practice that has become a critical source of income for many island families, Indigenous or not. And for generations, his family has operated a profitable gift shop near the Gay Head lighthouse. 'Tourism,' he writes, 'had suddenly given some Gay Headers a realistic path to making a living and building a life there. … And yet the same thing that offered these opportunities — the allure of the island's pristine beaches and raw landscape — also made it increasingly difficult for tribal families to stay on the island.' Anyone who's witnessed the wild, natural beauty of Martha's Vineyard, especially in Aquinnah, can understand why property values and, in turn, property taxes have skyrocketed on the island, and it's a concern that Lee worries about openly in the text. Advertisement By offering these glimpses into his mind and his own internal conflicts, Lee proves to be an adroit, honest narrator, resisting any desire to wax poetic by instead reminding readers that real people live here. In one lightly humorous aside, he relays the origins of his family's gift shop, called Hatmarcha. It's a portmanteau of the names of his grandmother, mother, grandfather, and uncle: Hatsuko, Martha, and Charles (both men shared the name). Yet, 'decades later, people still ask if the name has some sort of mystical Native meaning,' he notes with a wink. Related : Since Lee spent the school year in Newton, with his parents switching off to commute back and forth to Martha's Vineyard, he describes coming to terms with his Indigenous heritage in real time while working summers at Hatmarcha Gifts: 'I was behind the showcase in the store, trying to figure out what it means to rely on an economy that is slowly but surely destroying our homeland, who tourism actually benefits, and what it all says about how we think about Native identity.' There are no easy answers, he learns, as he expands the scope of the book beyond the personal in its latter half to explore concepts like 'land back,' blood quantum, and federal recognition of tribes through his work as a journalist covering other Indigenous communities around the world. Through a diverse array of sources, Lee offers readers a valuable understanding of the many forms that 21st-century Indigenous life can take and how they might evolve in the future. It's clear how much Lee cherishes his connection to Martha's Vineyard, a place that's easy to love. And in these pages, he's crafted a must-read for anyone who seeks to know the island with depth that extends well beyond its superficial myths. Advertisement NOTHING MORE OF THIS LAND: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity By Joseph Lee Atria/One Signal Publishers, 256 pages, $28.99 Hannah Bae is a Korean American writer, journalist, and illustrator and winner of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award.
DW
26-06-2025
- Politics
- DW
Florida builds 'Alligator Alcatraz' despite protest – DW – 06/27/2025
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a plan to build an immigrant detention center in the heart of the Everglades. Native Americans are furious at the desecration of their ancestral lands. The state of Florida is not responding to requests for comment as activists report construction activity at an abandoned Everglades airstrip at Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Miami. The construction is part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' plan to build a detention facility to house immigrants in tents as part of a larger Trump administration push to rid the country of "criminal aliens." De Santis and his state attorney general, James Uthmeier, have billed the site, which will house up to 1,000 people in tents, as "Alligator Alcatraz" — a play on the local fauna and a reference to the infamous San Francisco Bay facility that US President Donald Trump seeks to revert from national park to prison. Uthmeier and his team produced a video pitching the Florida project on X, referencing the fact that there's "not much" nearby other than "alligators and pythons." On Thursday, Uthmeier said the facility, which is being built with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds, would be completed in 30 to 60 days. Annual operating costs are currently projected to be about $450 million (€387 million). De Santis' plan to use hurricane relief funds to build the site has infuriated some. Former Homeland Security Secretary Alex Howard, for instance, blasted the plan, calling it "a grotesque mix of cruelty and political theater." Howard said, "You don't solve immigration by disappearing people into tents guarded by gators." "You solve it with lawful processing, humane infrastructure and actual policy — not by staging a $450 million stunt in the middle of hurricane season," he added. Beyond the questionable redirection of emergency funding and grave concerns over the potential environmental impact of the project on its fragile surroundings, Natives in Florida are also up in arms over the governor's scheme. The area where the facility is to be built was the home of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. "Rather than Miccosukee homelands being an uninhabited wasteland for alligators and pythons, as some have suggested, the Big Cypress is the Tribe's traditional homelands. The landscape has protected the Miccosukee and Seminole people for generations," Miccosukee Chairman Talbert Cypress wrote on social media. "The Big Cypress is part of us," he said, "and we are a part of it." Another Miccosukee leader, Betty Osceola, wrote in a social media post announcing a demonstration against the site on Saturday: "This place became our refuge in time of war. It provides us a place to continue our culture and traditions. And we need to protect it for our future generations." Some 15 traditional Miccosukee and Seminole villages remain in Big Cypress, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds and other gathering sites. Locals say the area is "sacred" and that it should be "protected, not destroyed." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
