UPDATE: A youth curfew spanning two months across the Gila River Indian Community in an effort to reduce rising violence will continue through the summer.
Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis decided to extend the February curfew a second time after first doing so in March. It was supposed to end on May 1, but now the curfew will remain until June 30.
This sudden spike in violence came to a head last month when hundreds marched through the streets of the tribal capital, Sacaton, after Gila River elder Karen Peter was sexually assaulted and fatally beaten. Two juveniles and an adult were arrested — all of whom are fellow tribal members.
Almost a year ago, Gila River Deputy Joshua Briese and 23-year-old Alicen Apkaw were also killed in another high-profile incident during a disturbance call on the reservation in Santan last June.
“What’s happened since then? They canceled the dances, OK. Then nothing for a while until it got bad again,” said Letha Lamb during the April protest. “We’ve all been going through a lot of turmoil, been dealing with a lot of the violence. I’m very blessed to have not had it hit home yet. And I say yet because I know it can happen to any of us.”
“We have no choice. ... 24/7, we’re here, and some of the people that work for us are only here 8 to 5 and that’s all their commitment is,” added Lynelle Blackwater with the Akimel O’odham Crime Victims and Family Support Group. “So when they leave, they’re not concerned about who's running around after the curfew hours. We are, we have to hear the gunshots. We have to hear the sirens late at night.”
-
Highschoolers across six BIE-run schools in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico are already participating, including Northwest High School in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation. -
For 16 years, visitors could sleep in a suite inside a giant cave near the Grand Canyon. Now, it's being dismantled. -
This time around, the festival is tied to funding from a Smithsonian initiative where each state is responsible for hosting a single folklife event this year, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. -
The Bureau of Land Management oversees more than 12 million acres within Arizona alone. And much like the rest of the West, it’s filled with public lands making up federally protected national monuments that hold unique value for tribes. -
It’s known by the name Velvet-Wood, and the project’s Canadian owner got the go-ahead back in May as the first to undergo an “accelerated,” two-week environmental review, during which tribes had only seven days to reply.
