MONTANA

Tribes reveal rare white buffalo calf’s name

WEST YELLOWSTONE — In a gathering near a picturesque lake outside Yellowstone National Park, hundreds of people cheered on June 26 as a Native American leader spoke the name revealed on a painted hide for a rare white buffalo that was born in the park earlier in June: Wakan Gli, which means “Return Sacred” in Lakota.

The moment marked the highlight of a Native American religious ceremony to commemorate the calf’s birth that also featured dancing, drumming, singing and the retelling of how a mysterious woman brought a message of reassurance during hard times.

Earlier in the month, the white buffalo calf was born in Yellowstone National Park’s vast and lush Lamar Valley, where huge, lumbering bison graze by the hundreds in scenes reminiscent of the old American West.

To the several tribes who revere American bison — they call them “buffalo” — the calf’s appearance was both the fulfillment of sacred prophesy and a message to take better care of the Earth.

“It’s up to each and every one of you to make it happen for the future of our children. We must come together and bring that good energy back,” Chief Arvol Looking Horse said at the ceremonies a few miles west of Yellowstone, in far southern Montana.

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About 500 people — including representatives of the Colville Tribes in Washington, Lakota and Sioux in the Dakotas, Northern Arapaho in Wyoming, and Shoshone-Bannock in Idaho — attended the ceremonies at the headquarters of Buffalo Field Campaign between Hebgen Lake and the southern reach of the Madison Range. The conservation group works with tribes to protect and honor wild buffalo.

At most, only a handful of people got a look at the calf soon after its birth June 4. Fewer still got photos to prove its existence. The calf has not been seen since.

Each passing week without a sighting adds to suspicions the calf has fallen victim to predators, river currents, illness or any number of hazards for young buffalo. Regardless, it was an auspicious sign with deep roots in Lakota legend and spiritual belief.

Judge quashes law defining sex as only male or female

MISSOULA — A judge on June 25 struck down a Montana law that defined “sex” in state law as only male or female, finding that it was unconstitutional.

District Court Judge Shane Vannatta in Missoula ruled the law, passed last year, violated the state constitution because the description of the legislation did not clearly state its purpose.

Transgender, nonbinary, intersex and other plaintiffs challenged the law, similar to ones passed in Kansas and Tennessee, because they said it denies legal recognition and protections to people who are gender-nonconforming. Vannatta did not address that argument, simply finding that the bill’s title did not explain whether the word “sex” referred to sexual intercourse or gender, and did not indicate that the words “female” and “male” would be defined in the body of the bill.

The bill was approved during a legislative session that also passed a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors and saw transgender lawmaker Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr expelled from the House floor, following a protest against Republican lawmakers who had silenced her.

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The law that was struck down by Vannatta was sponsored by Republican Sen. Carl Glimm, who said the legislation was necessary after a 2022 court ruling in which a state judge said transgender residents could change the gender markers on their birth certificates.

Emilee Cantrell, a spokeswoman for the Montana Attorney General’s Office, said it would continue to defend a law “that reflects scientific reality.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana praised the ruling as an “important vindication of the safeguards that the Montana Constitution places on legislative enactments.”

NEW MEXICO

Lightning blamed for wildfire that killed 2

RUIDOSO — A lightning strike caused the larger of two wildfires that has killed at least two people and destroyed or damaged more than 1,400 structures in New Mexico, authorities said on July 3.

The South Fork Fire was first reported June 17 on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and forced the evacuation of the Village of Ruidoso.

The wildfire was 87% contained after burning more than 27 square miles. Parts of the village were evacuated again because of recent flash floods.

The fire was investigated by eight agencies including the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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The fire’s point of origin plus evidence and data supported the cause being a lightning strike, investigators said.

Meanwhile, authorities said the cause of the nearby Salt Fire remains under investigation. It had burned more than 12 square miles and was 84% contained as of July 3.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for starting that wildfire.

NORTH DAKOTA

Train derailment led to shelter-in-place order

Officials at the remote site of a derailed train carrying hazardous materials that sparked a fire in North Dakota briefly issued a shelter-in-place notice on July 7 for area residents during cleanup.

The notice was issued as a precaution after air monitors detected low levels of anhydrous ammonia after a railcar began venting during its removal from the site, said Andrew Kirking, emergency management coordinator for Stutsman and Foster counties in east-central North Dakota.

No injuries from the leak were reported, and the notice was lifted later the same day when air monitoring levels returned to zero, Kirking said.

No one was injured in the pre-dawn July 5 derailment, which knocked 29 cars of a CPKC train off the tracks in a marshy area surrounded by farmland about 140 miles northwest of Fargo, officials said.

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Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in the air can cause burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, and can result in blindness, lung damage or death, health officials say. Exposure to lower amounts can result in coughing and irritation of the nose and throat.

The derailment did spark a fire that had been mostly extinguished by July 7, Kirking said. The fire was of particular concern because the train was carrying anhydrous ammonia, methanol and plastic pellets.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Railroad Administration arrived on scene on July 6 to investigate the cause of the derailment, Kirking said.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Governor’s official social media accounts vanish

PIERRE — Longstanding official social media accounts belonging to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem appear to have been deleted without explanation.

The accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X, the site formerly known as Twitter, had reached hundreds of thousands of followers. As of July 8, links to them on the governor’s official website led to pages that said the accounts were no longer active.

A fourth link from the governor’s website to her official YouTube page remained active, as did Noem’s personal accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X.

A new X account for the governor’s office was created this month and had just over 300 followers as of June 8, far fewer than the roughly half-million of her old account.

Noem spokesperson Ian Fury pointed The Associated Press to that account as the source for official updates from the governor’s office but declined to answer questions about her old accounts, including whether they were deleted by Noem or her office.

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Noem, once thought to be a vice presidential contender for former Republican President Donald Trump ‘s 2024 ticket, has been the target of a steady stream of hateful messages for killing a rambunctious puppy since The Guardian in April revealed the details she wrote in her new book.

Noem also has faced backlash from within South Dakota for comments she made earlier this year about tribal leaders benefitting from drug cartels. Several tribes have banned Noem from their reservations.

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