** Pendley’s racist paper trail
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MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2020
@Sagebrush_Rebel/Twitter

President Trump's nominee to run the Bureau of Land Management, William Perry Pendley, has a long history of racist writings targeting Native Americans. Writing at The Intercept, Alleen Brown takes a deep dive into Pendley's five books ([link removed]) , including his 2006 book Warriors for the West, in which Pendley wrote that Indigenous people may cease to exist entirely, and that Congress and the Supreme Court may need to consider “whether there remains a need for the federal government’s policy of paternalistic protection.” Pendley continued by claiming that “with ever-declining blood quantum per tribal member, recognized tribes may soon be little more than associations of financial convenience.”

Pendley's invocation of “blood quantum” refers to a policy imposed on tribes by white Americans seeking to limit the number of tribal members, according to Professor Jill Doerfler of the University of Minnesota Duluth. “This seems like a long, old argument going back to the reason the federal government ever tried to push blood quantum as a way to identify American Indians,” Doerfler said.

Matthew Fletcher, director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University, was more direct. “That’s just a crazy, crazy racist perception of what Indian people are and what tribes are,” Fletcher said. “Somebody who talks like that about people should not have a place in any public position in government. That is just overt racism.”


** Grijalva tests positive for coronavirus
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Days after holding a Congressional hearing in which he sat close to Rep. Louie Gohmert, who frequently refused to wear a mask on Capitol Hill, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva tested positive for COVID-19 ([link removed]) , becoming the 12th known member of Congress to contract the virus. Reason's Radley Balko noted on Twitter ([link removed]) that Grijalva had wanted to hold the hearing on the U.S. Park Police's tear gassing of peaceful protesters via video, but Interior Secretary David Bernhardt refused to cooperate unless the 72-year-old flew from Arizona to appear in person. Grijalva and his staff saw Bernhardt's behavior “as a childish taunt ([link removed]) ,” but agreed to go to D.C. because investigating the police violence in Lafayette Square was important.
Quick hits


** Trump administration turns to land use plans to lock in oil and gas drilling
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National Journal ([link removed])


** Conservation groups raise alarms over BLM plan for central Montana
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Public News Service ([link removed]) | Missoulian ([link removed]\) (Opinion)


** Trump’s land management nominee has four-decade history of anti-Native racism
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The Intercept ([link removed])


** Former BLM officials: Land selloff could happen if Pendley is confirmed
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Arizona Republic ([link removed]) (Opinion)


** Rep. Raúl Grijalva tests positive for COVID-19
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NPR ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Zion park rangers looking for vandals who painted rocks blue
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Surging tourism amid pandemic strains Yellowstone gateway town of Jackson Hole
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National Geographic ([link removed])


** How scientists use photography and 3D data to understand Yellowstone's thermal activity
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Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Quote of the day
While I cannot blame anyone directly for this, this week has shown that there are some Members of Congress who fail to take this crisis seriously. Numerous Republican members routinely strut around the Capitol without a mask to selfishly make a political statement at the expense of their colleagues, staff, and their families.”
—Rep. Raúl Grijalva ([link removed])
Picture this


** @usfws ([link removed])
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This bobcat was caught by a trail camera while exploring a prairie dog restoration site early one morning in Colorado! Bobcats are elusive predators found in many parts of the U.S. & in several different habitat types: deserts, forests, mountains, & prairies. Photo: USFWS

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