JUNE 8, 2024

MATTER OF FACT, JAMES MADISON IS ONE OF OUR NATION’S FOUNDING FATHERS. AT HIS MONTPELIER ESTATE, A DIG IS UNDERWAY TO UNCOVER THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE BURIED ON THE GROUNDS. YOU HAVE OF FOUNDING LEADERS WHO PROFESS THESE IDEAS OF FREEDOM. YET THEY ALSO HELD AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE IN BONDAGE. A LOOK AT THE EFFORTS TO TELL THE FULL STORY OF THOSE WHO BUILT THIS NATION. PLUS, THE FDA WEIGHS IN ON WHETHER TO TREAT PTSD WITH AN ILLEGAL CLUB DRUG. IT JUST FELT LIKE A LOT OF EMOTIONS THAT I’D BEEN HOLDING DOWN WERE JUST COMING UP TO THE SURFACE. WE HEAR FROM SOME OF THE VETERANS WHO ARE ADVOCATING FOR PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY, AND SHE WENT FROM NEVER HAVING WATCHED A NASCAR RACE TO MAKING HISTORY AT NASCAR. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB? MY JOB IS JUST INSPIRING. BREHANNA DANIELS JOINS ME IN STUDIO TO TALK ABOUT CARVING A PATH IN A SPORT NOT REALLY FULL OF WOMEN OF COLOR. THOSE STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. JAMES MADISON WAS ONE OF OUR NATION’S FOUNDING FATHERS. HE HELPED WRITE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS. HE WAS AMERICA’S FOURTH PRESIDENT AND A SLAVE OWNER. THE TRUTH OF AMERICA’S PAST IS SOMETHING WE CAN CONTINUE TO GRAPPLE WITH TODAY, INCLUDING AT MONTPELIER. THE 2600 ACRE PLANTATION IN VIRGINIA THAT BELONGED TO MADISON AND HIS FAMILY IN MONTPELIER’S LIBRARY. MADISON SPENT MONTHS RESEARCHING VARIOUS FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AND THOUGHT ABOUT AN AMERICA BUILT ON FREEDOM THAT FREEDOM DIDN’T EXTEND TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE HUNDREDS OF SLAVES ON HIS PLANTATION. TODAY, THE MONTPELIER FOUNDATION IS FOCUSED ON UNCOVERING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THIS FOUNDING FATHER, THE ENSLAVED PEOPLE WHO WORKED AT HIS PLANTATION, AND MAKING SURE THOSE STORIES ARE FULLY TOLD. IT’S A COOL, RAINY MORNING AT THE MONTPELIER ESTATE. JAMES MADISON AND HIS FAMILY LIVED. HERE FOR GENERATIONS. ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS WHO HELPED WRITE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS, MADISON WENT ON TO BECOME AMERICA’S FOURTH PRESIDENT. HE WAS ALSO A SLAVE OWNER, AND HIS HOME, A PLANTATION. WE’RE LOOKING ABOUT AT AROUND 2 TO 2 AND A HALF ACRES THAT HAVE GRAVES IN THIS AREA. MATTHEW REEVES IS THE DIRECTOR OF ARCHEOLOGY AT MONTPELIER YEAR, AND WE’RE STANDING ON A GRAVE SITE. SO HOW MANY GRAVES DO YOU THINK MIGHT BE IN THIS SPOT? THAT’S THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION. REEVES IS LOOKING FOR CLUES AT THIS UNMARKED BURIAL SITE FOR AFRICAN SLAVES TODAY, WE’RE DOING A SURFACE LEVEL EXCAVATION, THEN DIGGING DOWN ABOUT A FOOT TO FIND ARTIFACTS WITHOUT DISTURBING ANY BODIES. WE’RE EXCAVATING DOWN TO BELOW THE PLOW ZONE, WHERE THE SOIL HAS NEVER BEEN DISTURBED. THAT FIRST LAYER, ABOUT A FOOT DEEP, WAS PLOWED IN THE 19TH CENTURY TO GROW CROPS. SO THEY, LIKE, GREW VEGETABLES AND FOOD THERE. YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT THE BEST AGRICULTURAL LAND ON THIS ESTATE. WHY IS THIS BEING CHOSEN TO BE PLOWED WHEN THIS IS A BURIAL GROUND? THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS QUITE DISTURBING. IT’S IT’S A IT’S A CHOICE THAT WAS MADE WHILE FLAGS MARK THIS BURIAL GROUND. MADISONS ENSLAVED MASONS BUILT A BRICK WALL AROUND THE MADISON FAMILY CEMETERY. WE’D HAVE FAMILY REUNIONS HERE IN ORANGE, AND NOBODY WANTED TO COME TO SEE THIS PLACE. REVEREND LARRY WALKER’S GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER WAS BENJAMIN MCDANIEL, A FORMER SERVANT OF PRESIDENT MADISON IN THE 1870S, HE WAS A DELIVERY DRIVER. HE WAS A CARPENTER. THE REVEREND WALKER FIRST VISITED THE PLANTATION IN 2017. NOW NOW HE’S THE PRESIDENT OF THE MONTPELIER DESCENDANTS COMMITTEE, REPRESENTING THE VOICES OF RELATIVES OF THE ENSLAVED WHO WORKED HERE. FOR ME, IT’S AN EXCITING TIME BECAUSE IT HELPS US GO BACK AND FIND STORIES THAT WE’RE THAT WE’VE BEEN DISCONNECTED FROM, BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST INTERESTED IN ARCHEOLOGY NOW HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO HEAR AND MEET DESCENDANTS AND RECOGNIZE THAT HOW IMPORTANT THE WORK THAT THEY’RE DOING IS TO US. BUT THAT WORK NEARLY CAME TO A HALT IN APRIL. OH MY GOD, MONTPELIER ARCHEOLOGY LAB BURNED TO THE GROUND IN A FIVE ALARM FIRE IMMEDIATELY AS I SAW SMOKE AND FLAMES, I DIALED 911 YOLA DANCE IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE MONTPELIER FOUNDATION TO IMAGINE IT HAD TO FEEL LIKE. WHAT A SHOCK. ABSOLUTELY. IT WAS INCREDIBLY EMOTIONAL THINKING ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS. THESE ARE COLLECTIONS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE NATIVE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AND INHABITANTS HERE. THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, THE MADISONS. AND IT WAS THAT THAT FEAR THAT WE COULD LOSE SOMETHING IRREPLACEABLE. I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS JUST GOING TO BE SCUTTLED. MAYBE NOT FOREVER, CERTAINLY, BUT JUST IT WOULD PUT AN END IN THE SHORT TERM TO WHAT YOU’RE DOING. WE DID CONSIDER WHAT WHAT IS UM, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO AND WHAT DO WE WANT TO DO? AND THIS FELT LIKE SOMETHING WE NEEDED TO DO. THIS IS A RECOVERY MOMENT, A RESTORATION MOMENT, AND A REBIRTH OF OUR COMMITMENT TO TELLING A WHOLE HISTORY, TELLING BOTH STORIES OF THE FATHER OF OUR NATION’S CONSTITUTION AND THE SLAVES HE OWNED WHO WORKED HIS LAND. WHAT DOES IT MATTER? WHY DID THE VOICES OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE ENSLAVED, WHO OFTEN, WHEN NOBODY TELLS THEIR FULL STORY, WHY DOES THAT MATTER? WE THINK OF IT AS THE PARADOX OF SLAVERY. YOU’RE AT A PLACE WHERE ALL OF THOSE IDEAS ORIGINATED, RIGHT? IN JAMES MADISON’S LIBRARY. YOU’RE ALSO IN A PLACE WHERE OVER 300 ENSLAVED PEOPLE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO SEQUESTER HIMSELF IN THAT LIBRARY BECAUSE OF THEIR LABOR AND WHAT THEY DID TO HELP UNDERGIRD AMERICA AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA. THE DIG IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. THE PLAN IS TO CREATE A MEMORIAL HONORING THE SLAVES BURIED THERE. ONCE THE SITE IS FULLY MAPPED. FOR MORE INFORMATION IF YOU’D LIKE TO DONATE, HEAD TO MONTPELIER DOT ORG. NEXT. ON MATTER OF FACT, COMBAT VETERANS PIVOTING TO A NEW ROLE ADVOCATING IN SUPPORT OF PSYCHEDELIC ASSISTED THERAPY, I WAS ABLE TO FORGIVE MYSELF THIS FORMER MARINE EXPLAINS HOW IT WORKED FOR HIM AND NATIVE AMERICANS COULD PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE 2024 ELECTION. GET OUT THERE AND VOICE YOUR VOTE. BUT COULD VOTING REQUIREMENTS MAKE IT HARDER FOR NATIVE AMERICANS TO CAST THEIR VOTE? PLUS, NASCAR PIT CREW MEMBER BREHANNA DANIELS JOINS ME IN STUDIO TO TALK ABOUT EFFORTS TO GROW DIVERSITY IN RACING. YOU’RE WATCHING, MATTER OF FACT, AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWS MAGAZINE. MILITARY VETERANS HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE LOUDEST VOICES IN SUPPORT OF LEGALIZING PSYCHEDELIC THERAPY FOR TREATING POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. BUT THIS WEEK, THEY WERE DEALT A MAJOR SETBACK. A PANEL OF ADVISERS TO THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION REJECTED THE USE OF MDMA FOR TREATING PTSD, AND THE FDA IS EXPECTED TO ISSUE ITS FINAL DECISION IN MID-AUGUST LAST YEAR, OUR CORRESPONDENT JESSICA GOMEZ MET WITH SOME OF THE VETERANS ADVOCATING FOR PSYCHEDELIC ASSISTED THERAPY, INCLUDING MDMA AND PSILOCYBIN, THE ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN MAGIC MUSHROOMS, ALL FOR TREATING THE INVISIBLE WOUNDS OF WAR READY MIXED MARTIAL ARTS. PART OF NIGEL MCCURRY’S MENTAL HEALTH CARE ROUTINE. VERY NICE, NIGEL WAS 21 WHEN HE JOINED THE MARINES. IN 2003 AND WITHIN A YEAR WAS ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE WAR IN IRAQ. EVERY DAY WE WERE GETTING SHOT AT AND THEN WHILE MANNING A TRAFFIC CHECKPOINT, A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT, A TRUCK APPEARING TO IGNORE SIGNALS TO STOP IT JUST KEPT COMING RIGHT AT US, RIGHT AT US. AND SO I STARTED TAKING SHOTS AT IT INSIDE A FAMILY, TWO LITTLE GIRLS WERE KILLED BY THE GUNFIRE. THIS GIRL’S THEY DIDN’T THEY DIDN’T DESERVE THAT. WHAT HAPPENED HAUNTED NIGEL FOR YEARS. HE HAD TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE. YES. OKAY. UNTIL HE ENROLLED IN THIS CLINICAL TRIAL STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF MDMA ASSISTED THERAPY ON PATIENTS WITH PTSD. MDMA, KNOWN AS THE PARTY DRUG ECSTASY. THE TRIAL, INCLUDING TALK THERAPY BEFORE DURING AND AFTER THE DRUG SESSIONS. IT JUST FELT LIKE A LOT OF EMOTIONS THAT I’D BEEN HOLDING DOWN, NOT ALLOWING MYSELF TO FEEL WERE JUST COMING UP TO THE SURFACE. TWO THIRDS OF THEM ADD TWO MONTH FOLLOW UP, HAD LOST THEIR PTSD DIAGNOSIS. DOCTOR CHRISTOPHER STAUFER IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AT OREGON HEALTH AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY, AND AN MDMA TRIAL RESEARCHER. IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEUROSCIENCE, IT SUPPORTS THIS IDEA THAT WE’RE INCREASING THE WINDOW OF TOLERANCE FOR SOMEONE TO GO INTO THEIR TRAUMA AND DO PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK THAT OTHERWISE WOULDN’T BE TOLERABLE WITH OUT THE MDMA AND AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, RESEARCHERS ARE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW PSILOCYBIN CHANGES THE BRAIN WHEN PAIRED WITH PSYCHOTHERAPY. CLINICAL TRIALS SHOWING THE COMBINATION IS EFFECTIVE IN RELIEVING DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS FOR UP TO A YEAR. YET RESEARCHERS CAUTION, THEY’RE STILL MUCH MORE TO LEARN. I THINK THERE’S AN AWFUL LOT TO BE HOPEFUL FOR HERE, BUT WE’RE STILL VERY EARLY IN THE PROCESS AND WE HAVEN’T GATHERED ALL THE DATA THAT WE NEED TO KNOW THAT THIS IS TRULY SAFE AND HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE. YOU CAN DO IT FOR NIGEL MCCOURY, IT’S BEEN MORE THAN HELPFUL. WHILE NOT A DAY GOES BY THAT HE DOESN’T THINK ABOUT IRAQ, I WAS ABLE TO REALLY HAVE COMPASSION FOR WHO I WAS WHEN I WAS IN THAT EXPERIENCE, AND FORGIVE MYSELF. FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JESSICA GOMEZ COMING UP. I CAN TAKE A TIRE OFF IN ABOUT A SECOND. ONE SECOND. YES. OH MY GOD, ME TOO. NO I’M KIDDING. HOW BREHANNA DANIELS TOOK HER SKILLS ON THE BASKETBALL COURT TO THE RACE TRACK AND DIED 100 YEARS AGO. THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW. SO WHY DID IT STILL TAKE DECADES FOR ALL NATIVE AMERICANS TO GET THE RIGHT TO VOTE? IN 2016, BREHANNA DANIELS STEPPED INTO UNCHARTERED TERRITORY. AT THE TIME, SHE WAS PLAYING COLLEGE BASKETBALL IN VIRGINIA, HOPED TO TURN PRO, BUT THEN NASCAR’S DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY PROGRAM VISITED HER SCHOOL, AND THEY WERE TRYING TO RECRUIT MORE DIVERSE PIT CREWS AND DRIVERS, AND THEY ASKED DANIELS, WHO ADMITTEDLY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT NASCAR, IF SHE JOINED THEM. WELL, DANIELS DID, EVENTUALLY BECOMING NASCAR’S FIRST BLACK FEMALE TIRE CHANGER. SHE’S WITH US IN STUDIO TODAY. SO NICE TO HAVE YOU. WHAT A PLEASURE. I’M A BIG FAN. I LOVE BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WE APPRECIATE IT. SO WE SAID YOU’RE A TIRE CHANGER, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE INCREDIBLY SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD. BUT THEN YOU WATCH NASCAR AND YOU THINK IT’S KIND OF LIKE ORGANIZED ISH CHAOS, AND THE PACE IS FRANTIC. SO I’M A REAR TIRE CHANGER. I’M RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TWO BACK TIRES. THERE’S A FRONT TIRE CHANGER. WE HAVE A JACK MAN, A GAS MAN MAN, AND EVERYTHING IS REALLY, LIKE FAST DURING THIS PIT STOP. SO I HAVE MY IMPACT WRENCH AND I’M LIKE, ZIP, ZIP ZIP ZIP, ZIP, PULLING THE TIRE OFF AND I PRETTY MUCH I CAN TAKE A TIRE OFF IN ABOUT A SECOND, ONE SECOND. YES, IT JUST SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY, UM, CHAOTIC. HOW DOES THAT COORDINATION WORK? THERE’S SO MUCH GOING ON, BUT WE HAVE TO BE, YOU KNOW, CONTROLLED, AT EASE, POISED, AND OUR DIFFERENT SPORTS BACKGROUNDS ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO JUST COME TOGETHER AND GET IT DONE. OH, THAT’S INTERESTING. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF NASCAR, I THINK FROM 2014 THEY DID A STUDY AND THEY FOUND THAT 60% OF NASCAR WAS WHITE. YES, 80% OF NASCAR FANS WERE MALE. AND AND I HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT AS A BLACK WOMAN WORKING IN THE PIT, LIKE THAT’S THOSE ARE NOT YOUR DEMOGRAPHICS REALLY. THAT WAS ALSO TOO LIKE ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS HOLDING ME BACK. I’M LIKE, WHY WOULD I JOIN A SPORT WHERE THERE’S NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME AND THEN I STARTED THINKING BIGGER. I’M LIKE, THIS IS BIGGER THAN ME. LET ME, YOU KNOW, MAKE THIS HISTORY NOW SO I CAN BE PAVING THE WAY FOR, FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. SOMETIMES BEING THE FIRST, THOUGH, IS IS LONELY AND, UM, AND STRESSFUL, FRANKLY. WAS IT FOR YOU? YES, IT WAS SUPER HARD FOR ME JUST BEING OUT THERE. YOU KNOW, THE GUYS NOT REALLY TAKING YOU SERIOUS. THEY’RE LIKE, OH, SHE SHE DOESN’T WANT TO BE HERE. SHE CAN’T DO THIS. AND IT’S LIKE I’M THINKING IN MY HEAD, LIKE, JUST WATCH ME. MM. WATCH ME. HAVE YOU SEEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGE BOTH IN THE PIT AND ALSO IN THE AUDIENCE? YES. OH MY GOD. YOU’RE YOU’RE NODDING YOUR HEAD LIKE THAT IS A STUPID QUESTION. SOLEDAD. NO NO NO, IT’S NOT DEFINITELY. AND I LOVE TO SEE THAT CHANGE JUST STARTING LIKE IN 2020 WHEN ALL THAT STUFF WAS GOING ON, YOU KNOW, WITH THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT AND I’VE LITERALLY SEEN MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR WATCHING THE SPORT, PEOPLE REACHING OUT TO ME SAYING LIKE, GIRL, YOU KNOW, MY FAMILY NEVER WATCHED NASCAR, BUT WE WATCHED IT NOW BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU KNOW, I’M SEEING MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE STANDS AND IN THE PITS. THERE HAS BEEN A MASSIVE PUSH BACK ON DEI AND DIVERSITY OVERALL. WHEN I SAW THAT, I WAS LIKE, ARE YOU SERIOUS? IT’S JUST CRAZY TO ME. SO YOU’RE NOT GETTING ANY SENSE THAT NASCAR IS STEPPING BACK BECAUSE SOME ORGANIZATIONS ARE. I HOPE NOT. YOU KNOW, I’M STILL HOPING FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE TO BE PRESENTED TO WOMEN. YOU KNOW, ON THE CUP SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, WOMEN OF COLOR, JUST ALL THOSE THINGS, LIKE, WE REALLY NEED THAT AS SOMEONE WHO’D NEVER EVEN WATCHED NASCAR BEFORE, YOU GOT THE GIG. ORG WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT NASCAR? I LEARNED THAT, YOU KNOW, WELL, A LOT OF PEOPLE, THEY DON’T THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, PIT CREW MEMBERS ARE ATHLETES AND. I WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. I GOT TO ADMIT, YOU KNOW, I STILL GET THAT ADRENALINE RUSH, YOU KNOW, THAT I GOT PLAYING BASKETBALL, YOU KNOW, HAVING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FANS WATCHING US WHILE WE’RE PERFORMING, DOING OUR JOBS, RUNNING IN FRONT OF MOVING CARS, JUMPING IN FRONT OF MOVING CARS FOR A LIVING. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE A HISTORY MAKER? YEAH, I FEEL LIKE I’VE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, I PAVED THE WAY FOR OTHERS IN THE SPORT AND, YOU KNOW, I FEEL LIKE I WAS THE PERFECT PERSON TO BE IN THAT POSITION. SOMEBODY WOULD REALLY, REALLY TOUGH SKIN BECAUSE IT IS VERY, VERY TOUGH BEING THE VERY FIRST TO DO SOMETHING. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB? JUST INSPIRE CHEERING. YOU KNOW, JUST WHEN PARENTS CONTACT ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, SENDING ME VIDEOS OF THEIR DAUGHTER OR THEIR SON, YOU KNOW, AND SITTING IN FRONT OF A TIRE LIKE, LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER TRYING TO CHANGE TIRES LIKE YOU. YOU KNOW, SHE’S SHE WANTS TO BE LIKE YOU WHEN SHE GROWS UP. JUST, JUST IT’S SO REWARDING HEARING THINGS LIKE THAT. I’M REPRESENTING. WELL, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE REPRESENTATION DOES MATTER. YEAH, IT REALLY DOES. BREHANNA DANIELS. IT’S SO NICE TO HAVE YOU IN STUDIO. THANK YOU. THANKS FOR JOINING ME. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, PREPARING FOR VOTING DAY ON A 1.5 MILLION ACRE RESERVATION. THIS WILL SERVE AS A POLLING SITE. THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES FACING NATIVE AMERICAN VOTERS. PLUS, WHY CALIFORNIA IS BUILDING THIS MASSIVE BRIDGE THAT ISN’T FOR PEOPLE ALL TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH. MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER ATTHIS PAST WEEK MARK MILESTONE IN U.S. HISTORY, 100 YEARS SINCE THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW, IT STILL FELL SHORT, THOUGH IT DIDN’T GUARANTEE VOTING RIGHTS TO NATIVE AMERICANS. THAT WAS DECIDED BY THE STATES AND SOME STATES, INCLUDING ARIZONA, BANNED NATIVE AMERICANS FROM VOTING. THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM A LOT OF TRIBES, IS REALLY THEIR RIGHT TO BE HEARD. WE RECENTLY GOT OUR RIGHTS TO VOTE. THAT’S MARISSA AND MARK OF THE HOPI TRIBE. THEY LIVE ON A RESERVATION IN NORTHWEST ARIZONA. THE NATIVE AMERICANS WERE ALL FINALLY GRANTED THE RIGHT TO VOTE IN 1956, WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT. WHEN WE SPOKE WITH MARK AND MARISSA AHEAD OF THE 2020 ELECTION, THEY TOLD US THEY STILL FACE CHALLENGES VOTING THE BARRIERS WE FACE HERE ON THE RESERVATION ARE, I’M SURE, DIFFERENT TO THE OTHER COMMUNITIES OUT THERE. WE HAVE 12 VILLAGES HERE ON THE HOPI NATION, WHICH COVERS A SPAN AREA OF 1.5 MILLION ACRES. THERE’S BEEN NO EDUCATION TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE TO GET REGISTERED TO VOTE, HOW TO GO REGISTER TO VOTE AHEAD OF THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION, NATIVE AMERICAN LEADERS IN ARIZONA SAY THEY’RE WORRIED THAT EFFORTS TO REVIVE AND EXTEND THE REACH OF VOTER ID REQUIREMENT S COULD CREATE OBSTACLES FOR NATIVE AMERICANS STILL AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, CALIFORNIA IS BUILDING A MASSIVE BRIDGE FOR WILDLIFE. HOW IT COULD HELP HUMANS ASAND F SOON BE BE HOME TO ONE OF THE LARGEST WILDLIFE CROSSINGS IN THE WORLD. THE WALLACE ANNENBERG WILDLIFE CROSSING WILL STRETCH ACROSS TEN LANES OF U.S. HIGHWAY 101 IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY. RIGHT NOW, THE FREEWAY SPLITS NATURAL HABITATS OF ANIMALS LIKE MOUNTAIN LIONS, BOBCATS, DEER, LIZARDS, COYOTES, SNAKES, AND WHEN THEY TRY TO CROSS THE ROAD, CARS IS OFTEN HIT THEM. EACH YEAR. THERE ARE MORE THAN 1 MILLION ANIMAL VEHICLE CRASHES, KILLING ABOUT 200 PEOPLE AND INJURING ABOUT 26,000 OTHERS. THIS PROJECT STARTED TWO YEARS AGO AND IT’S EXPECTED TO BE FINISHED IN EARLY 2026. THE 210 FOOT CROSSING WILL BE COVERED WITH VEGETATION, INCLUDING AT LEAST A MILLION PLANTS TO ATTRACT ANIMALS. NOW, A BRIDGE LIKE THAT OBVIOUSLY IS GOING TO BE HEAVY. RECENTLY, CREWS FINISHED INSTALLING MORE THAN 80 CONCRETE GIRDERS. THE HORIZONTAL STRUCTURES THAT HOLD UP SMALLER BEAMS. THOSE WEIGH. BETWEEN 126 AND 140 TONS EACH. THAT’S EQUIVALENT TO THE WEIGHT OF MORE THAN 14 AFRICAN ELEPHANTS. BUT HERE’S WHAT’S COOL YOU CAN KEEP AN EYE ON ALL OF THE PROGRESS BY WATCHING THE LIVE WEBCAMS. THAT’S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF MATTER OF FACT, I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. I WILL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK TO WATCH MORE STORIES LIKE THIS. ANYTIME, HEAD TO MATTEROFFACTTV.