Survivor bill passes, saving Indigenous lives, and historic theatre revived
VNN Weekly Digest April 15-21
Here’s a look at the week’s top stories:
Oklahoma Survivor's Act clears House, offers new hope to criminalized survivors
(OKLAHOMA) Criminalized survivors of domestic violence are another step closer to a new chance at freedom. The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act (Senate Bill 1470) on Wednesday, with 84 yeas and just 3 nays.
Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans. Better Health Care Isn’t the Only Answer.
(SOUTH DAKOTA) Katherine Goodlow is only 20, but she has experienced enough to know that people around her are dying too young. Goodlow, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, said she’s lost six friends and acquaintances to suicide, two to car crashes, and one to appendicitis. Four of her relatives died in their 30s or 40s, from causes such as liver failure and covid-19, she said. And she recently lost a 1-year-old nephew.
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Historic Tall Chief Theater in Fairfax rises again with a new roof
(OSAGE NATION) Threatening rain clouds loomed over Main street in downtown Fairfax as crews from All Performance Roofing and Restoration shouted instructions in Spanish amidst the slinging of hammers nailing down some of the first pieces of wood to cover a cavernous hole in the roof of the Tall Chief Theater. “It’s a new day,” Carol Conner said almost tearily.
NATIVE COMMERCE NEWS
The Gathering returning to Choctaw Nation in 2024
Native Commerce News is sponsored by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma (AICCO), dedicated to expanding Indian Country commerce across the globe.
(OKLAHOMA) Held by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma (AICCO), the Gathering is set to return to Choctaw Nation this July 10-12. The return south to the Choctaw Reservation is five years in the making, as the annual business summit was held there in 2018 and 2019.
WEATHER ACROSS AMERICA
(NATIONAL) A Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Florida Peninsula, light snow along the southern shore of Lake Superior, temperatures above average over the Southwest, and below average from the east to the Southern Plains.
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