{"id":1763,"date":"2020-09-30T12:42:47","date_gmt":"2020-09-30T17:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=1763"},"modified":"2020-11-03T13:52:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T19:52:08","slug":"native-sun-news-today-tribal-nations-win-ruling-in-covid-19-funding-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/30\/native-sun-news-today-tribal-nations-win-ruling-in-covid-19-funding-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Native Sun News Today: Tribal nations win ruling in COVID-19 funding dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n <iframe class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TAFpBJyH3Mo\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n <\/div> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Indianz.Com Video: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/TAFpBJyH3Mo>D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals &#8211; Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation v. Steven Mnuchin &#8211; September 11, 2020<\/a>\r\n                    <\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Appeals court rules no relief funds for Alaska Native Corporations<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">Several tribes join case as plaintiffs including Oglala Sioux Tribe<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Wednesday, September 30, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Talli Nauman<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Native Sun News Today Health & Environment Editor<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source-website\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nativesunnews.today\/\">nativesunnews.today<\/a><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8226;  <strong>  SPREADSHEET <A HREF=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/25\/spreadsheet-coronavirus-relief-fund-allocations-for-tribal-governments\/>Coronavirus Relief Fund allocations for tribal governments<\/a> <\/strong>\r\n<P><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON \u2013 In the most recent about-face on CARES Act funding for Alaska Native Corporations, a federal appeals court panel ruled September 25 that they are <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/25\/appeals-court-sides-with-tribes-in-covid-19-funding-dispute\/>not eligible for any of the $8 billion in pandemic relief<\/a> Congress earmarked for tribal governments.<p><\/p>\r\nThe <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/20-5204-1863446.pdf>decision responds to the consolidated cases<\/a> of dozens of plaintiff American Indian tribes, including Alaska Native villages, which maintain that the corporations are for-profit state-chartered businesses and have no government-to-government trust relationship with the United States that would qualify them to administer the funding.<p><\/p>\r\nThe tribes prevented the disbursement to the corporations early this year, suing the U.S. Treasury Department for its interpretation of Congressional intent in the March allocation to tribal and local governments provided by Title V in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Now in spreadsheet form! Search and sort to find out how much tribal governments received from the $8 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CoronavirusReliefFund?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CoronavirusReliefFund<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Coronavirus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CARESAct?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CARESAct<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/aVuyyitszv\">https:\/\/t.co\/aVuyyitszv<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1309519943566843906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 25, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><p><\/p>n\r\nTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin opted to include the corporations at the recommendation of Assistant Interior Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney, an Alaska Native Corporation shareholder.<p><\/p>\r\nDistrict of Columbia Federal Judge Ahmet P. Mehta ruled them eligible in July but barred disbursement of their share pending the appeal that led to the most recent decision &#8212; reversing his.<p><\/p>\r\nA three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, thanked Mehta for his opinions in the cases, saying: \u201cIn considering the difficult legal question now before us, we have benefitted greatly from the district court\u2019s two thoughtful opinions, rendered under severe time constraints, which carefully assess the arguments on both sides.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nThe unanimous higher court decision hinged on the 1975 Indian Self Determination and Educational Assistance Act. Under it, \u201cBecause no Alaska Native Corporation has been federally recognized as an Indian tribe,\u201d Circuit Judge Gregory G.  Katsas wrote, \u201cWe hold that Alaska Native Corporations are not eligible for funding under Title V of the CARES Act.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=row><div class=col-md-6>\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/picurispueblo.jpg\" alt=\"picurispueblo\"  \" class=\"alignnone img-fluid wp-image-1771\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-6 align-self-end\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Kyla Mermejo-Varga receives daily visitor Rambo Beasty Boots as she works with pandemic protection mask at\u00a0Picuris Pueblo, one of dozens of tribes that sued successfully for CARES Act distribution. Photo courtesy  <a href=https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ppbisonp>Picuris Pueblo Bison Program<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBig Fire Law and Policy Group, which represented the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in the case, called the decision an \u201cexcellent result for sovereign tribal governments.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nThe Alaska Regional Association and the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association lamented, \u201cThis ruling is a devastating blow to Alaska Native communities facing an alarming increase in Covid-19.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nNoting that data shows Alaska Native people suffer from a disproportionate number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, the organization issued a statement saying, \u201cWe fear this deeply flawed ruling will only make things worse by keeping critical health services and economic relief from reaching our remote communities and villages who are most at risk.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\"\r\n     data-ad-layout=\"in-article\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n  <\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nCircuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson concurred with Katsus\u2019 opinion but also acknowledged their plight. \u201cThis decision is an unfortunate and unintended consequence of high-stakes, time-sensitive legislative drafting,\u201d she said.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt is indisputable that the services Alaska Native Corporations provide to Alaska Native communities\u2014including healthcare, elder care, educational support and housing assistance\u2014have been made only more vital due to the pandemic.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nHowever, Katsas, noted, \u201cWe are confident that, if there are Alaska Natives uncared for because they are not enrolled in any recognized village, either the State of Alaska or the Department of Health and Human Services will be able to fill the void.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nAlaska has 229 native tribal governments, more than a third of the U.S. total 574, but only 106,660 Alaskan Natives, or 1.5 percent of the U.S. indigenous population.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"row nativesunnewstoday\">\r\n    <DIV class=col-md-3>\r\n        <A href=\"\/https:\/\/www.nativesunnews.today\/\">\r\n            <IMG class=\"img-fluid wow fadein\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2016\/09\/12\/nativesunnewstoday.png\" itemprop=\"image\">\r\n        <\/A>\r\n    <\/DIV>\r\n    <DIV class=col-md-9>\r\n        <H4>\r\n            <A href=\"https:\/\/www.nativesunnews.today\/\">NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY<\/A>\r\n        <\/H4>\r\n        <P>Support Native media!<\/P>\r\n        <P>Find news, opinion and more on  \r\n        <A href=https:\/\/www.nativesunnews.today\/>Native Sun News Today<\/A>.\r\n        <\/P>\r\n    <\/DIV>\r\n<\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com<\/EM><HR>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<strong>Note: Copyright permission <A href=\"https:\/\/www.nativesunnews.today\/\">Native Sun News Today<\/A><\/strong>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the most recent about-face on CARES Act funding for Alaska Native corporations, a federal appeals court panel ruled that they are not eligible for any of the $8 billion in pandemic relief.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,19,20,13,1,14],"tags":[78,79,80,221,81,74,5,83,75,344,446,410,2,776,131,89],"class_list":["post-1763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-health","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-native","tag-ancs","tag-anvca","tag-ara","tag-cares-act","tag-coronavirus","tag-dc-circuit","tag-donald-trump","tag-gregory-katsas","tag-karen-lecraft-henderson","tag-law-firms","tag-native-sun-news-today","tag-steven-mnuchin","tag-tara-sweeney","tag-treasury","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-sr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/picurispueblo.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}