Navajo Nation Washington Office

Current Drought Worst in 1200 Years

Navajo Nation officials and the Resources and Development Committee meet regarding the drought. Photo courtesy of Navajo Times

Fixing the January 6th Law

The January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol had congressional members seeking shelter as Capitol police tried to protect them from rioters outside the chambers. A bipartisan commission is trying to unpack exactly what happened. Photo courtesy of NBC News

Over a year after the events of January 6, 2021, when thousands of protestors stormed the Capitol building in Washington, DC, Congress is still figuring things out. The January 6th Committee continues to gather evidence and call witnesses to get a better understanding of what led up to the event. The halls of Congress are still closed to the public, although the fences surrounding the building have been reduced to block only the immediate entrances. Congressional office visits are by appointment only and require an escort to walk around the buildings. Legislators do hope to pass one reform bill before the next election, which would amend the Electoral Count Act of 1887. 

The Electoral Reform Act is a rather obscure law that got a lot of attention in 2020 because it purportedly allowed the Vice President to decide whether or not to accept Electoral votes. The law was originally passed after the disputed Hayes‐Tilden election in 1876, when multiple slates of electors were submitted to Congress by some Southern states following their readmission to the Union after the Civil War. If there was a question as to which electors represented the official delegation from a particular state, the law put in place the procedure for deciding which votes to count, but unfortunately the law is rather ambiguous as to what constitutes a valid concern and what power the Vice President actually has when a concern is validated. 

But now, a bipartisan group of senators has begun negotiations to remove the ambiguity and secure the electoral process. Senator Manchin (D-WV) and Tillis (R-NC) are working with 14 other senators to put together a framework for reform. Republicans are willing to work on reform, recognizing the flawed nature of the current law and knowing that in 2024 the Vice President counting the votes will be a Democrat. But there is already discussion by Democrats to try and fit other election reforms into the bill that failed to pass a couple weeks ago when Senators Sinema (D-AZ) and Manchin refused to eliminate the filibuster to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021.

The failed voting rights legislation included the provisions of the Native American Voting Rights Act (NAVRA), but if we’ve learned anything from this Congress, large reform bills that try to accomplish too much rarely pass. If NAVRA or reforms to the Electoral Count Act are going to pass with the current Congress, they will probably have to go through as standalone acts. The closer we get to the midterms, the less likely any kind of electoral reform will pass before.

Brookings Institute Report on Native Unemployment

Native Americans working in the service sector were hit hard by the pandemic. Photo courtesy of Supermarket News

For the first time ever, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released monthly data on American Indian and Alaska Native unemployment. Historically it has been difficult for non-experts to discern the well-being of Indigenous people in the labor market and has contributed to Native Americans’ further erasure in mainstream U.S. society. According to a report issued by the Brookings Institution, the new data is a significant step forward for improving the visibility of Native American economic conditions.

The now available data however paints a picture on unemployment which is in stark contrast to the nation’s “stunning jobs report” last week, with the unemployment rate among Native American workers recorded at an extraordinarily high 11.1%.

As the pandemic raged across the United States, it shuttered restaurants, theaters, and other places where in-person labor could not transition to online. Native American workers tend to be overrepresented in frontline and often low-wage service sector work, which was among the most disrupted early in the pandemic. At the same time, COVID-19 itself was particularly devastating for Native American communities, with disproportionately severe effects on Native people’s health. These factors contributed to extremely harsh economic conditions for American Indian communities.

While national unemployment numbers have recovered since the start of the pandemic, Native Americans continue to experience substantial labor market challenges. For example, the January 2022 unemployment rate for Native American workers was higher than the unemployment rate for non-Native workers in June 2020, just two months after the unemployment peak—a period widely considered a national crisis.  

Persistently high levels of unemployment for Native Americans may be related to the structural racism that permeates the U.S. economy, affecting educational access and attainment as well as employment opportunities. As well, there are limited economic opportunities in some parts of Indian Country. On the Navajo Nation, unemployment is about 48.5% and the average household income is below $10,000--well below the Federal poverty guidelines.

On February 17th, the USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) teamed up with the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) to hold a Webinar on Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement (LFPA), with the intent to educate participants about the program and funds made available for tribes.

The purpose of the LFPA program is to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency. They will award up to $400 million through non-competitive cooperative agreements with state and Tribal governments to support local, regional, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers through the purchase of domestic local foods. The cooperative agreements will allow for state and Tribal governments to procure and distribute local and regional foods and beverages that are healthy, nutritious, and unique to their geographic area. The LFPA program is part of the Build Back Better initiative, authorized by the American Rescue Plan.

Established in 1987, the ICA has promoted conservation and development, and has built opportunities for Indian agricultural producers by focusing on Tribal sovereignty and self-sufficiency by recapturing tribes’ ability to feed themselves. Land-based agricultural resources are vital to the economic and social welfare of many tribes. The harmonies of man, soil, water, air, vegetation, and wildlife that collectively make-up the American Indian agriculture community, influence our emotional and spiritual well-being. Prior to 1987, American Indian agriculture was basically unheard of outside reservation boundaries.

AMS will be holding weekly "office hours" for Tribal government/department representatives to get questions answered relating to the open application which closes on April 5, 2022.

For more information contact LFPA@usda.gov

Federal Register