Latest news with #OglalaLakota
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Patty Pansing Brooks announces 2026 bid to return to Nebraska Legislature
Former State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska News Service) LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks announced her 2026 candidacy Friday to return to the Nebraska Legislature, a day after the current officeholder said she would not seek reelection. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln announced her decision not to run again Thursday, leaving the central Lincoln seat open, as first reported by the Nebraska Examiner. Just 24 hours later, Pansing Brooks 'enthusiastically' threw her hat in the ring with Raybould's support, one of more than 70 current and former officials to endorse Pansing Brooks. 'People keep calling me saying, 'What should I do?'' Pansing Brooks told the Examiner. 'And I keep thinking, 'Well, what should I do to help this country right now?' The main thing that I know that I can do is run for office.' Pansing Brooks, 66, said she hopes to be an example for others to run for office and get involved in these 'very strident times.' During her first two terms in office, 2015 to 2023, Pansing Brooks said she worked to be a voice to bring people together, elevate conversations and help people see other sides to issues. If elected back to Legislative District 28, Pansing Brooks said she would continue uplifting juvenile justice reform, combatting human trafficking, defending workers' rights, protecting public education, supporting small businesses, expanding correctional programming for successful reentry and ensuring access to and equity in health care, 'right where I left off in 2022.' Among Pansing Brooks' previous successes: protecting survivors of human trafficking from prostitution charges, mandating new juvenile room confinement standards and reports and shielding survivors of sexual assault and sex trafficking before criminal charges are filed. 'There's still work to do,' she said. Pansing Brooks has a history of working with conservative colleagues, such as with former State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan on dyslexia. The pair toured schools and passed laws to increase interventions for students with dyslexia and require teachers to be educated about the disability. Pansing Brooks also worked closely with former State Sen. Tom Brewer, a member of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and the Legislature's first Native member, notably to help pressure the closing of four beer stores in the village of Whiteclay in Brewer's north-central Nebraska district. For decades, the stores helped fuel alcoholism for the neighboring Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota. The duo also worked to add 'Indigenous Peoples' Day' to state law alongside Columbus Day. Brewer is one of many former conservative colleagues of Pansing Brooks to have already endorsed her 2026 campaign. Pansing Brooks, if elected, would join a handful of lawmakers to return after being term-limited. She said she knows there will be 'horrible days,' as there were before and that it might be tough. However, Pansing Brooks said, 'There's goodness and kindness to share, important laws to make and ways to support our fabulous Nebraskans.' Since 2023, the one-house Legislature has been increasingly divided on partisan lines. Pansing Brooks would return as lawmakers have a heightened focus on the LGBTQ community that she advocated for during her time in office. She had proposed legislation attempting to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, which other senators picked up after her absence. 'I care about the rights of people to live and to be who they are, to not have prejudice against them, no matter what group they're in,' Pansing Brooks said. 'But I'm also going to be there to learn and listen and try to figure out if there's new steps where I'm needed or new issues where I'm needed, then that's what I'll do.' Another lawmaker who returned after being term-limited, former State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, declined to seek reelection in 2022, in part because of how much the institution had changed in the four years he was gone. Lathrop endorsed Pansing Brooks, with whom he served. Just one lawmaker has been term-limited twice since the voter-approved restrictions took full effect after 2006: former State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha. Pansing Brooks said that, if elected, she would not return with any assumptions that she would be treated differently than other 'newbie' lawmakers. She said she knows she would need to make new friendships and gain trust, which she's ready to do, and that Nebraska could be a model for Congress on working together. In 2022, Pansing Brooks was the Democratic candidate for Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, falling short to U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. Flood, a former colleague, repeatedly sought to tie Pansing Brooks to national Democratic policies and party leaders. Pansing Brooks in that 2022 congressional race won her legislative district by a slightly greater percentage of votes than Raybould did that year. It is Lincoln's most progressive legislative district. A bipartisan group of former senators endorsed Pansing Brooks, including State Sens. Kathy Campbell, Bob Krist, John McCollister, DiAnna Schimek, John Stinner, Tony Vargas and Lynne Walz. She is endorsed by current State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, John Cavanaugh, Danielle Conrad, Wendy DeBoer, George Dungan, John Fredrickson, Dunixi Guereca, Megan Hunt, Margo Juarez, Terrell McKinney, Dan Quick, Raybould, Victor Rountree and Ashlei Spivey. All but Hunt, a nonpartisan progressive, are Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature. Other early endorsements include Bob Kerrey and Ben Nelson (former governors and former U.S. senators), former Nebraska Lt. Govs. Kim Robak and Maxine Moul and Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. Pansing Brooks, who had been a Republican for much of her life until the 2000s, including a stint as Lancaster County GOP chair, said she's honored by conservative friends she made in the Legislature who have now endorsed her. 'It makes me realize that this is possible. We don't all have to be divided and in circular firing squads, just firing away at each other,' Pansing Brooks said. Pansing Brooks added that the Legislature is special and that she hopes lawmakers can continue to find common ground. 'We've done that in the past,' Pansing Brooks said. 'We can continue to do it.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Coca-Cola first sold
Today is Thursday, May 8, the 128th day of 2025. There are 237 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 8, 1886, the first serving of Coca-Cola, which contained cocaine, was sold at a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. (The drink became fully cocaine-free in 1929.) Also on this date: In 1541, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River, the first recorded European to do so. In 1846, U.S. forces led by Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican forces near modern-day Brownsville, Texas, in the first major battle of the Mexican-American War. In 1945, President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that Nazi Germany's forces had surrendered, stating that 'the flags of freedom fly all over Europe' on V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement and the Oglala Lakota tribe, who had occupied the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks, surrendered to federal authorities. In 1978, David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with the 'Son of Sam' shootings that claimed six lives and terrified New Yorkers. (Berkowitz was sentenced to six consecutive life prison terms.) In 1984, the Soviet Union announced it would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 2020, U.S. unemployment surged to 14.7%, a level last seen when the country was in the throes of the Great Depression; the government reported that more than 20 million Americans had lost their jobs in April amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Today's Birthdays: Biologist/TV presenter David Attenborough is 99. Poet Gary Snyder is 95. Singer Toni Tennille is 85. Pianist Keith Jarrett is 80. Singer Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 74. Rock musician Chris Frantz (Talking Heads) is 74. Rock musician Alex Van Halen is 72. Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher is 68. Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott is 66. Filmmaker Michel Gondry is 62. Actor Melissa Gilbert is 61. Singer Enrique Iglesias is 50. Musician Joe Bonamassa is 48. Actor Domhnall Gleeson is 42.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Exploratory drilling projects threaten important Black Hills cultural sites, activists say
Pe' Sla, or Reynolds Prairie, is a high-elevation Black Hills meadow of sacred importance to Lakota people. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight) An environmental organization and a Native American advocacy group say two important Black Hills cultural and historical sites face threats from exploratory drilling projects. One of the projects is proposed by Rapid City-based Pete Lien and Sons. It wants to conduct exploratory drilling for graphite on national forest land near Pe' Sla, also known as Reynolds Prairie, which is a high-elevation meadow in the central Black Hills. Graphite is used in electric vehicle batteries, lubricants, pencils and other products. Pe' Sla is a ceremonial site for Lakota people, and it figures prominently in traditional Lakota creation stories. 'Drilling at Pe' Sla would be like drilling under the Vatican or at a sacred site in Jerusalem,' said Taylor Gunhammer, an Oglala Lakota, in a news release. 'Under any circumstances, it is not a place to be considering mining.' Dakota Gold will conduct pre-permit study for potential mine in Homestake area In response to questions from South Dakota Searchlight, a representative of Pete Lien and Sons said the U.S. Forest Service is reviewing the plan's potential impact on sites of cultural and historical significance in the proposed project area, and questions and concerns should be directed to that agency. Gunhammer is a local organizer with NDN Collective, a Native American advocacy group in Rapid City. NDN and the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance are encouraging people to submit comments on the Pete Lien and Sons project and another project that could affect Craven Canyon in the southern Black Hills. That's where a Canadian company, Clean Nuclear Energy Corp., plans to conduct exploratory drilling for uranium on state-owned land located seven miles north of Edgemont. Uranium is the primary ingredient in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. The Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and NDN said Craven Canyon contains 7,000-year-old cultural and historical sites of importance to Indigenous tribes, historians and archeologists. A representative of Clean Nuclear Energy Corp., Mike Blady, said in email correspondence with South Dakota Searchlight that the proposed exploration area has been explored and mined previously. A letter to the company from state regulators last year said the area is within a quarter-mile of the edge of Craven Canyon, but Blady said the area is over a mile away. 'We are aware of the cultural significance and are doing everything in our power to ensure that there is no collateral damage,' Blady wrote. 'We have consulted with the state and federal government as well as hosting an open house for Indigenous groups and are confident that there will not be adverse effects. Meanwhile, another company, enCore Energy, hopes to mine uranium in the Edgemont area. Its various state and federal mining permit applications have been bogged down in administrative and court appeals for years. The Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. drilling proposal will be considered by the state Board of Minerals and Environment. The Pete Lien and Sons proposal is under consideration by the supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest. Both proposals are open for public comment. Written comments regarding the Clean Nuclear Energy Corp. proposal must be received by May 14. Comments may be submitted online at by clicking the date under the 'Comment deadline' heading for the project, or in writing to the Minerals, Mining, and Superfund Program, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD, 57501-3182. Comments regarding the Pete Lien and Sons proposal must be received by May 9. Those may be submitted online at by mail to the Mystic Ranger District Office, Attn: Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project, 8221 S. Mount Rushmore Rd., Rapid City, SD, 57702; or by fax at (605) 343-7134. The locations of Pe' Sla and Craven Canyon within the Black Hills of western South Dakota.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
INDIGENOUS A&E: Peltier pictured, liquid smudge, retro whimsy
Sandra Hale SchulmanSpecial to ICT The latest: Immortalized in silver plate, smokeless smudge, humor at the Heard After 50 years of incarceration, a recent photo shoot has yielded results that will last 1,000 years, with help from the former Secretary of the Interior. Shane Balkowitsch has been photographing hundreds of Natives for years using the complicated 1851 silver plate collodian method. He was contacted by Deb Haaland after Leonard Peltier was released from prison about doing a photo shoot with him. This was no easy task.'I had been sending him my photo books when he was in prison, but they wouldn't let him have them,' Balkowitsch told ICT. 'Then when Haaland called that led to setting up the shoot with help from Holly Cook Macarro from NDN Collective. I had to get permission from federal prison officials and traveled to Peltier's remote Belcourt [North Dakota] home with this Civil War era equipment and darkroom loaded in my truck. I took double of everything in case of a problem.'The promise was Leonard would sit for two hours but ended up doing four. Balkowitsch made seven plates, six for museums, one plate for Peltier and his family.'I had his trust from the beginning,' Balkowitsch said. 'He said I would take the best pictures of him. I explained the process – that he had to sit still for 10 seconds and the image in the glass plate would last 1,000 years. I outlined a few shots – one with an open window, one with an open door behind him, then one I was nervous to present – I had a plastic ball and chain I wanted to put on the ground next to him. He was fine with all of it.' Balkowitsch shot him in the same chair that Deb Haaland, Billy Mills, and the great grandson of Sitting Bull all sat in. He got shots of Peltier with arms crossed defiantly; headshots; and one Peltier requested with his fist against his reaction has been strong, with the Smithsonian Institute, The Heard Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery, all accepting plates, and multiple newspaper and TV news said, 'I put every Native American into the best light that I possibly can. These are my brothers and sisters now coming into my studio, so this is a huge honor. When the former Secretary of the Interior asks you to do this for a man who has endured so much, I had to find a way.' Wozani, meaning "the pursuit of good health", was founded in 2019 in the Badlands of South Dakota by Oglala Lakota tribal members Shilo and Shawna company has launched a new line of smudge balms and liquid smudge for those who want to smudge on the go or cannot have smoke around.'Wozani reflects our commitment to well-being for all,' said founder Shilo Clifford. 'Our products are not just remedies for specific ailments; they carry the spirit of our ancestors and wisdom of our culture. Wozani allows us to honor our Lakota identity and ensure our traditions are recognized in all we do.'The high-quality, handcrafted products are created with intention, using natural and organic ingredients. From smudge sprays and pain salves to wellness tinctures and balms – Wozani has remedies that honor Indigenous wisdom while supporting a wide range of health and wellness Smudge Balms – stress relieving, skin-nourishing balms, with sage, cedar and yucca root, medicinal properties and mood-enhancing aromas, smell great. In the Lakota tradition, medicines are applied topically, rubbed on the wrist or neck to feel better. The Smudge Balms come in three versions for better well-being: Positivity, Tranquility and has created transformative Liquid Smudge – a spray made from essential oils and plant essences. Liquid Smudge can be sprayed into environments, waved around when burning is not an option. Other popular products include Wozani's Pain Relief Herbal Salve and their Anxiety + Sleep Support Tincture. The Morning Star featured on the packaging carries meaning – symbolic of renewal and a prayer for well-being.A portion of the company's profits goes toward replanting herbs and medicinal plants and teaching about their uses. Wozani's offerings are grounded in sustainable practices and careful stewardship of Indigenous plant medicines, ensuring availability for future generations. The Heard's newest exhibition, Bob Haozous: A Retrospective View, now through November 30, is the first major retrospective for Bob Haozous, Warm Springs Chiricahua Apache, born 1943. There are six decades of his work including sculptures, paintings, prints, and jewelry.'Bob Haozous has created unique sculptures in stone, wood, and steel throughout his career, as well as drawings, paintings and jewelry,' said Diana Pardue, Heard Museum chief curator. 'In each of these artforms, he invites the viewer to look closely. At times, the works seem whimsical or humorous, but each contains a message.'Social commentary is embedded in Haozous's humorous work. Throughout his career, he has questioned the complicated reality of Native American creative expression as art, commodity and cultural practice. He uses satire and irony in figurative traditions while contemplating the philosophical meaning of being Indigenous in the postmodern world. Our stories are worth telling. Our stories are worth sharing. Our stories are worth your support. Contribute $5 or $10 today to help ICT carry out its critical mission. Sign up for ICT's free newsletter!
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Leonard Peltier welcomed back to tribal homeland by Native American community: ‘I am not broken'
After 49 years in prison, Native American activist Leonard Peltier was released on Feb. 18. And now his Indigenous community is celebrating with a 'welcome home' event. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians citizen and former American Indian Movement (AIM) activist had been serving two life sentences for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents during a shootout involving more than 30 people on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The shootout also left one Native activist dead. Peltier's trial, however, had been criticized for alleged misconduct, drawing rebuke from not only Native activists but also world leaders. For decades, supporters campaigned for his release, but the remainder of Peltier's sentence was commuted on Jan. 20 by former President Joe Biden. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. 'Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit!' Peltier said in a statement on Tuesday. 'Thank you to all my supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom. I am finally going home. I look forward to seeing my friends, my family and my community. It's a good day today.' Peltier was released from a Coleman federal prison in Florida and will spend the rest of his life in home confinement in his tribal homeland in North Dakota. NDN Collective, a Native American-led organization led by its Oglala Lakota founder and CEO, Nick Tilsen, facilitated his move back to his family home. For Tilsen, seeing Peltier released was 'powerful.' 'He came walking out through those doors, and he was confident. He shook the hands of all of the corrections officers and the transition staff, and they were all supportive of him leaving,' Tilsen said. 'He was dignified, and he was respected by all of them. And they were all happy to see him go home.' In a strange coincidence that Tilsen saw as symbolic, 'The front doors of Coleman PS1, they wouldn't shut. They were broken,' he said. 'They had a maintenance guy and then a corrections officer come up, come over. And it was so crazy that literally the front door of Coleman PS1 was broken open,' he continued. 'It was broken open literally until Leonard came walking through those doors.' After arriving in North Dakota, Peltier said, "I am not broken." Since his imprisonment, the 80-year-old activist has served as a symbol for many of the continued oppression of Native American people in the U.S., because his trial was reportedly marked by instances of witness coercion, withheld evidence and juror bias, Indigenous activists as well as notable figures including Pope Francis, Nelson Mandela, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders had called for clemency for Peltier. While the activist admitted to being present at the shootout, he has maintained his innocence in the killings of the officers, who were shot at close range, according to the FBI. Even a former U.S. attorney whose predecessor prosecuted the case noted that Peltier's presence at the shootout with a weapon was what ultimately led to his conviction rather than any evidence that he fired the fatal shots. Notably, the other two activists who were also tried were acquitted. The death of the Native activist involved in the shootout was never investigated. 'How Leonard Peltier was treated was emblematic of how Indigenous people have been treated by the United States government since the founding of this country,' Tilsen said, arguing that this explained was why world leaders had come to Peltier's defense. 'The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States government was waging a war, and they were violating Indigenous people's human rights in the process, and they violated his human rights.' The FBI has consistently opposed Peltier's release, which had come up during several presidential administrations. Former FBI Director Christopher Wray even sent a private letter to Biden, saying, 'Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law,' according to the Associated Press. The reaction from the Native community itself has been mixed, due to Peltier's rumored connection to the murder of fellow AIM member Annie Mae Aquash, whose life was detailed in the 2024 Hulu documentary series Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae. Peltier has denied any involvement in her death. Only a week after Biden commuted Peltier's sentence, the Indigenous-produced documentary Free Leonard Peltier, directed by Jesse Short Bull and David France, about his time in prison and the decades-long effort to free him, debuted on Jan. 27 at the Sundance Film Festival. Filmmakers had to scramble to adjust the ending, although as the Comanche-Blackfeet producer Jhane Myers previously told Yahoo, 'This is something that we always prepared for, because we had hoped that this would happen.' Wednesday's ceremony in Belcourt, N.D., is expected to attract between 400-500 people, according to Tilsen. There will be elders and spiritual leaders offering prayers, along with singers and dancers. '[Peltier is] going to address the community and the people and Indian country,' Tilsen explained. 'The ceremony and the celebration is really the most important thing for that day and to welcome him back here, back into his homelands and back to the community and to the people.' As for what comes next, Tilsen said he hopes Peltier's release and return home helps illuminate 'what has happened to Indian people, so that it doesn't continue to happen.' 'Justice for Indigenous people is justice for people everywhere,' he added. 'We have to be able to enter into an era of building a culture of repair and acknowledgment in this country, rather than one of erasure and ignorance.'
