Region Briefs: Mayor apologizes for neglect of Albuquerque Indian School cemetery

ALBUQUERQUE

On Saturday, Albuquerque Mayor Tom Keller on behalf of the city apologized to tribes and pueblos for “grievous actions over the past decades” at a public event held to honor children who are buried at the Albuquerque Indian School cemetery.

The event was held at the site in 4-H Park to honor the children and was based on recommendations from Natives and the city’s Commission on American Indian and Alaska Native Affairs.
Next to 4-H Park, the plot of land was known as a burial site of the Albuquerque Indian School from 1882 to 1933.

The Presbyterian Church opened the school in 1881 to educate and assimilate Native Children into white Anglo-Saxon society. The school was then transferred to federal control in 1886 and operated until 1981.

Research has revealed that children from many different tribes and Pueblos may be buried at the site. Tribes and Pueblos have been contacted by the city for guidance.

Keller said, “Today is an acknowledgement, an apology and a reflection. In the years that followed this tragic era, the city should have done better in honoring the significance of this site in step with the Native American community.

“We apologize for that neglect,” he said, “and are now striving to do better for current and future generations.”

Rebecca Riley, a commission board member, said, “We deserve to understand the truth, determine our steps forward, and owe the Native children and staff who never returned home to do better.”

AZ police memorial includes 2 Navajo Police officers

PHOENIX – On Wednesday, the Arizona Peace Officers Memorial held its annual service in Phoenix at Wesley Bolin Plaza and honored two Navajo Nation Police officers.

Every year, the names of officers who died while serving in the line of duty are engraved into granite panels and a ceremony is held where family, friends and colleagues honor fallen officers.
The ceremony was not held last year because of COVID-19.

This year 17 fallen officers will be honored from 2019 and 2020, including two Navajo Nation Police officers.

They are Officer Michael Lee, whose end of watch was June 18, 2020, and Investigator Esther Charley, end of watch June 22, 2020.

Both officers perished because of COVID-19 and these are considered deaths in the line of duty.

C. James, also a Navajo Nation Police officer, who was killed by a drunk driver on Aug. 30, 1960, was also recently engraved into the memorial.

Meteor Crater rest area reopens to commercial trucks

FLAGSTAFF – The Meteor Crater rest Area on Interstate 40 east of Flagstaff has reopened to commercial truck parking only after the Arizona Department of Transportation completed resurfacing the parking lot.

The rest area facilities remain closed as crews continue with upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improvements to the water/wastewater system, as well asarchitectural, electrical, mechanical rehabilitation and site work.

During the closure, the nearest traveler facilities will be in Flagstaff and Winslow. Commercial trucks are allowed to park at the Meteor Crater rest area. Message signs placed on I-40 in each direction approaching the rest area will advise drivers of this.

The upgrades are expected to be complete by the end of the year.

This work was part of a project that included the renovation of the Painted Cliffs rest area on I-40 near the New Mexico state line. That work was completed in September 2020.

BIA awards $13.8M to tribes for climate planning

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Indian Affairs on Sept. 23 announced fiscal year 2021 Tribal Climate Resilience Program awards, which are providing more than $13.84 million to dozens of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and organizations to support climate adaptation planning.

The funds will also support ocean and coastal management planning, capacity building, and relocation, managed retreat and protect-in-place planning for climate risks.

The 135 awards provide funds to 79 tribes and 13 tribal organizations while supporting other tribes.

Among the awards are $62,000 to the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council; $133,700 to the Intertribal Council of Arizona; and $149,800 to Navajo Technical University.

The grants were awarded Sept. 9.

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