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Yakama Nation revives use of Native Americans as mascots by allowing non-Native school to continue to use Native image


YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakama Nation officials said this week they will allow a rural school district in central Washington to continue the use of the Wahluke Warrior image while a plan for respectful usage is developed.
The Yakima Herald-Republic reports the Wahluke School District in Mattawa has until January 2023 to develop a memorandum of understanding with the Yakama Nation to ensure the use of the image remains respectful, according to a Yakama Nation news release.
“The Yakama Nation Tribal Council is pleased to support Wahluke School District and our Wanapum relatives to continue the positive relationship developed honoring the Warrior image that honors the land, water, and people of the land,” Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Delano Saluskin said.
State legislation passed in April barred the use of Native American names, symbols or imagery as school mascots, logos or team names, unless a school located on or near Native lands consults and receives permission from the tribe.
The Wahluke Warrior represents the strong relationship between the district and the Wanapum Indians of Priest Rapids, Yakima Nation leaders said. The Wanapum are part of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.

(Editor’s note: Native American newspapers have fought hard for more than 40 years to rid this Nation of using Native Americans as mascots for their fun and games. The practice is on the wane and cannot be allowed to return)

Supreme Court upholds Oklahoma’s McGirt Decision: Governor Stitt & Big Oil Lose
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s futile attempts to undermine and destroy tribal sovereignty through legal avenues ended for good when the US Supreme Court refused his request to reexamine their 2020 McGirt ruling.

That decision declared that Oklahoma rightfully remains Indian Territory for criminal jurisdiction, and ever since, Governor Kevin Stitt and his pro-oil “Commission on Cooperative Sovereignty” have fought desperately to overturn it in every legal space available. Chaired by Devon Energy CEO’s Larry Nichols, the commission also includes Continental Resources’ Harold Hamm, pipeline giant Williams Companies’ Alan Armstrong, as well as a litany of fossil fuel industry lobbyists and executives dead set on destroying Oklahoma’s land, air, and water. Convened under the guise of exploring “cooperative sovereignty,” this commission is nothing but a farce, proven by the fact that it excludes actual tribal leadership.

Together, Stitt and Big Oil worked in tandem to turn Oklahoma into one giant regulatory rollback to exploit for profit, seeing McGirt – and Oklahoma’s sovereign tribal nations as a major setback. While we know Stitt and Oklahoma’s pro-Oil lobby will continue their anti-Indigenous tirades, we can rest assured knowing, for now at least, Oklahoma’s Tribes retain their sovereignty and are united against the state under Governor Kevin Stitt.

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