The Wrap: What do fishing rights, Indian Health Service, Navajo Times and condors have in common?

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Happy Billy Mills Day! On this day in 1966, May 6th was declared "Billy Mills Day" by the California state legislature. Mills, Oglala Lakota, won gold in the 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. He remains the only American to ever win this event.

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Inadequate sewer and power systems, unsuitable housing or shelter, increasing crime, lack of internet or cell phone service, drinking water wells that are easily contaminated, and abandoned vehicles and boats — those are just some of the problems that have stacked up for managers of the 31 so-called “in-lieu” and “treaty fishing access sites” along the Columbia River.

The federal government created the sites in Washington and Oregon after the construction of dams on the river flooded tribal villages and fishing sites and displaced citizens of the four Columbia River treaty tribes whose ancestors had lived along the river and relied on its salmon for thousands of years. READ MORE — Chris Aadland, Underscore.news & Indian Country Today

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Benjamin Smith, Navajo Nation, will lead the federal health agency that provides services to 2.7 million American Indian and Alaskan Native people from 574 federally recognized tribes.

As deputy director, Smith leads IHS operations to ensure the delivery of quality comprehensive health services and that IHS services are integrated across all levels of the agency. The IHS deputy director facilitates collaboration between IHS and tribes to increase access to quality health programs, and ensure quality standards are being achieved throughout the Indian health system. Smith also ensures IHS services are integrated across all levels of the agency and engaged with other federal and state agencies.

Since November 2016, Smith has served as the deputy director for intergovernmental affairs at IHS headquarters where he provided leadership on tribal and urban Indian health activities, specifically the implementation of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and Indian Health Care Improvement Act. He has also served as the director of the IHS Office of Tribal Self Governance, where he oversaw all aspects of the administration of the Tribal Self-Governance Program. — Indian Country Today

First Diné woman to head Navajo Times

Olivia Benally will become the CEO of the Navajo Times Publishing Co. and the publisher of the Navajo Times on May 9. Her ascension comes after the Navajo Times board voted in favor of the move during a meeting on Feb. 17.

Current CEO/Publisher Tom Arviso Jr. officially announced Jan. 27 that he would be retiring, catapulting Benally to a historic position as the paper’s first female CEO/publisher, a milestone in its 62-year history.

She is from Kinłichí’í, Arizona. She is Tábąąhá and was born for Tódích’íi’nii. Her maternal grandfather is Bitáá’chii’nii (Táchii’nii), and her paternal grandfather is Tséńjíkiní. READ MORE — Krista Allen, Navajo Times

​​The endangered California condor returned to soar the skies over the state's far northern coast redwood forests on Tuesday for the first time in more than a century.

Two captive-bred birds were released from a pen in Redwood National Park, about an hour's drive south of the Oregon border, under a project aimed at restoring the giant vultures to their historic habitat in the Pacific Northwest.

The two male condors were moved into staging area at late morning and a remotely controlled gate was opened. After a few minutes of warily eyeing the opening, the birds stepped one by one through the opening, spread their giant wings and took off. READ MORE — Associated Press

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Coming up on the weekend edition of the ICT Newscast: A photographer documents the elders of her tribe, 'Star Wars' in the Navajo language and there’s a new Miss Indian World.

Nearly 40 law enforcement officials, tribal leaders, social workers and survivors of violence have been named to a federal commission tasked with helping improve how the government addresses a decades-long crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans and Alaska Natives, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, announced Thursday.

The committee's creation means that for the first time, the voices guiding the Interior and Justice departments in the effort will include people most affected by the epidemic, said Haaland, the first Native to lead a cabinet department.

She said the panel includes members with diverse experiences and backgrounds, representing communities from Alaska and Washington to Arizona, Oklahoma and Michigan. READ MORE — Associated Press

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