u/LostatSeagamer

Dubbed the “grandmother tree,” the cottonwood cut down Monday was hundreds of years old. It was one of several that lined the edge of private property along Border Road, a dirt road that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border, in a remote area of Arizona in the San Rafael Valley about 25 miles east of Nogales. 

After three cottonwoods were cut down in June, activists set up a tree-sit in an attempt to protect the last remaining grandmother tree. At least one person sat or slept in the tree at all times. For 71 days, people camped out in private property just north of the tree and took turns occupying it. 

On Monday around 6:30 a.m., Border Patrol agents with their faces covered began to arrest protesters, videos posted on Instagram show. People screamed and some warned the agents that they were pushing people into barbed wire on the ground. The protesters were trying to move back onto the private property on the other side of the barbed wire.

"According to the Sturgeon Lake residential school narrative at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), a summary of the school's history prepared by the Government of Canada as part of its response to litigation, at least five children died at the school in 1943."

“These Nations are demonstrating what responsible First Nations governance looks like,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “They are protecting the animals that sustain their people and ensuring those resources remain for generations to come. Their knowledge and laws must be part of the decision-making—not an afterthought.”

The Pine Ridge Girls School has been announced as a finalist for the $1 million Yass Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes innovation in education.

The Pine Ridge Girls School is an independent, all-girls school located on the th sovereign Oglala Lakota reservation in South Dakota. The school is the first and only all-girls college preparatory school on a Native American reservation.  

Founded in 2016, the school’s philosophy is grounded in Lakota culture and girls’ empowerment. By offering a rigorous college preparatory education, rooted in Lakota language, history, and values, the school aims to deepen students’ connection to their community and cultural identity, while preparing them for success in higher education.

The Pine Ridge Girls’ School is tuition-free and supported by private donors, receiving no state or federal funding.

"Culturally there are things that we don't talk about at home… we don't take care of ourselves," said Melody Lewis, founder and CEO of the Indigenous Community Collaborative and co-host of Matriarch Mixer.

Matriarch Mixer, which meets monthly, aims "to uplift Indigenous businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals, and specifically the Indigenous women," Lewis said.

Lewis, who is from the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, said she created the summit partly for her 9-year-old niece, who is Indigenous and whose mother is from Sinaloa, Mexico. Her niece attended with Lewis' mother.

"I put my community and family first and then myself second, so that means I'm working or I'm not taking care of myself," Lewis said. "We've got to fill our cups. We've got to take care of ourselves if we're going to do this work."

"Initiative Petition 28 would have banned nearly all harming or killing animals, with exceptions for self-defense and veterinary care. It would not have applied to insects, which aren’t considered animals under Oregon law, but would cover all other non-human creatures.

The initiative had widespread opposition from Democratic and Republican political leaders, the farming, ranching and fishing industries and Oregon’s federally recognized tribes, whose treaty-protected rights to hunt and fish in their traditional land would not have been exempted from the ban.

A coalition opposing the initiative welcomed the news. Lauren Kuenzi, government affairs director at the Oregon Farm Bureau and a coalition spokesperson, thanked Oregonians who raised alarms about the potential consequences of the proposed law.

“Today’s announcement means Oregonians will not be faced with a ballot measure that would have made criminals out of law-abiding citizens, threatened family farms and ranches, increased food costs and undermined the science-based wildlife management that protects our state’s natural resources,” Kuenzi said.

This was the third election cycle that animal rights advocates have introduced a version of the initiative, and the closest they’ve come to making the ballot. The campaign raised more than $300,000 for its efforts this time around, state campaign finance records show, allowing it to pay petition circulators. 

None of the other 88 initiatives Oregonians proposed this year submitted enough signatures, so this will be the first general election in decades without a citizen-led initiative on the ballot."