WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday ordered several Cabinet departments to work together to combat human trafficking and crime on Native lands, where violent crime rates are more than double the national average.

Speaking at a White House summit on tribal nations, Biden signed an executive order tasking the Justice, Homeland Security and Interior departments with pursuing strategies to reduce crime. Biden also asked the departments to work to strengthen participation in Amber Alert programs and national training programs for federal agents, and appoint a liaison who can speak with family members and to advocates.

The administration also announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in Chaco Canyon, an ancient Native American heritage site in northwestern New Mexico.

“We have to continue to stand up for the dignity and sovereignty of tribal nations,” Biden said at the first tribal nations summit since 2016. The two-day summit was being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected Indigenous peoples at disproportionate rates.

American Indians and Alaska Natives are more than twice as likely to be victims of a violent crime and Native American women are at least two times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted compared to other races, according to the Association on American Indian Affairs.

The administration also announced a long-sought action to protect Chaco Canyon, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the Bureau of Land Management will study the possible withdrawal for a period of 20 years from federal lands within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Such a move would bar new federal oil and gas leasing and development on those lands. Those lands will not be eligible for leasing while the study is underway, though past administrations had already opted to impose the buffer administratively.

Environmentalists and some tribes have complained that such a move is temporary and that permanent protections are needed. But it isn’t so simple; while some tribes have fought for protections, the Navajo Nation, which has more to lose by curbing oil and gas, has asked for a smaller radius around the site, an ancient center of Pueblo culture.

“Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked, and thrived in that high desert community,” said Haaland, the first Native American to lead the Interior Department, the powerful federal agency that has wielded influence over U.S. tribes for generations. Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo.

“Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations,” she said. The secretary represented New Mexico, where Chaco Canyon is located, in the U.S. House of Representatives before she was narrowly confirmed by the Senate to take over at Interior.

First lady Jill Biden, an English teacher, addressed the summit on the importance of preserving Native languages. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to speak Tuesday, the final day.

The tribal nations summit coincides with National Native American Heritage Month and is being hosted by the White House for the first time, with leaders from more than 570 tribes in the United States expected to participate. The summit was not held during the Trump administration; past conferences took place at the Interior Department.

Since taking office in January, Biden has taken several steps that the White House says demonstrate his commitment to tribal nations.

Among them are naming Haaland to lead the Interior Department. His coronavirus relief plan included $31 billion for tribal communities, and the administration has worked closely with tribal leaders to help make COVID-19 vaccination rates among Native Americans among the highest in the country, the White House said.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty said she hoped the summit would help eliminate red tape when building critical infrastructure on tribal lands.

Biden also spoke about infrastructure, specifically to note that the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill he was signing into law Monday afternoon would direct $13 billion toward Native American communities to help provide such things as high-speed internet and clean drinking water.

Biden recently became the first president to issue a proclamation designating Oct. 11 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, giving a boost to longstanding efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Christopher Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples.

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October is San Jacinto Heritage Month, as declared by SJUSD’s Board of Trustees at their regular September meeting and by proclamation by the City of San Jacinto at their Council’s meeting on October 6, 2020.

“It’s been a few years since we first started a collaborative effort with the City of San Jacinto and Soboba to share with our student families the rich history of their local community,” said John I. Norman, SJUSD’s Board of Trustees President. “So many of our schools are named after historic persons from the valley, and we want to ensure our students know why,” he noted.

It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented many regular events and traditional gatherings in our San Jacinto community, however, the light pole banners to commemorate October Heritage Month were once again put on display on city streets.

“These banners depict the establishment dates for us, the City of San Jacinto and the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians – the big three entities that have remained steadfast in this community since the 1800s,” said SJUSD Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sherry Smith. “Seeing those banners at ‘Five Corners’ and along San Jacinto Avenue remind us that even during trying times, there can still be reflection and celebration,” she noted.

Records show that during the 1918 influenza pandemic, when the district had been in existence for just 50 years and a few months before the illness landed in Riverside County, the communities of Hemet and San Jacinto suffered a disastrous earthquake that April, with a magnitude of 6.7.

During the pandemic times and the 1918 earthquake, the namesake of SJUSD’s Edward Hyatt World Language Academy and the first Principal of San Jacinto School in 1884, Edward Hyatt was the Superintendent of California schools. Although he had suffered a stroke in the spring of 1917, he continued in this State position until he retired in 1918.

“Our valley has seen it all — from earthquakes and pandemics, to floods and wildfires,” explained Board President Norman. “It’s the resiliency of this community that makes it special, and we owe it to our youth to share the history of San Jacinto,” he acknowledged.

For more information about the natural and human history of San Jacinto and surrounding areas, visit the San Jacinto Museum and Association at 695 Ash Street, San Jacinto, CA 92583, temporarily closed due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Dawn Lawrence • Contributor

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