Native Affairs

Creek Nation. Man in white cowboy hat, long-sleeve shirt and jeans rides a brown horse with other riders and a tractor trailer in the background
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  Jun 11, 2019 5:08PM EDT

New Podcast Explores Connection Between a Murder and the Fight for Tribal Sovereignty

This Land follows how a 1999 murder paved the way for an upcoming 2019 Supreme Court decision that will decide the land rights of five tribes in Oklahoma.
protestors hold signs against the Dakota Access pipeline
Ayana Byrd  Jun 4, 2019 4:25PM EDT

Trump Administration Seeks More Prison Time For Pipeline Protesters

The Department of Transportation wants Congress to update the law to send anti-pipeline activists to prison for up to 20 years.
Native woman with hand to her mouth standing in front of water and bridge
Ayana Byrd  May 31, 2019 3:08PM EDT

READ: The Me Too Movement in Indigenous Communities

An investigation into why so many Native women are assaulted and harassed—and how they are advocating for themselves.
Shinnecock Musem. Sign on grass with traditional Native American abode in background.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 28, 2019 5:18PM EDT

Shinnecock Indian Nation Erects Billboards to Assert Sovereignty

Tribe chairperson Bryan Polite in response to restraining order: “We don’t recognize their authority on our sovereign lands.”
Three Native American women, standing, full-length, facing front, holding beaded(?) bags, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, Wasco County, Oregon.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 10, 2019 11:49AM EDT

Smithsonian Highlights How Transcontinental Railroad Impacted Native Americans

The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center delves into how the railroad—largely constructed by Chinese immigrants—added to the destruction of Native American lands, livelihood and sovereignty.
Native American woman holds protest sign a Women's March in Los Angeles
Ayana Byrd  May 3, 2019 12:55PM EDT

New Laws Aim to Save Native American Women's Lives

Legislators seek more effective methods to track and stop the murder of Indigenous women.
three book covers side by side the first is as the fire grows by Dina Gilio-Whitacker, second Fearing the Black Body by Sabrina Strings and third Superior by Angela Saini
catherine lizette gonzalez  May 3, 2019 11:09AM EDT

#ColorlinesReads: Get Some Perspective With These 5 Books

These engaging titles unravel myths surrounding resistance movements, settler colonialism and racist pseudoscience.
Red dresses hang from poles in a concrete sitting area outside of a concrete building.
Tiarra Mukherjee  Mar 20, 2019 2:37PM EDT

REDress Project: What Happened to Thousands of Missing Indigenous Women?

A striking new work of public art at the National Museum of the American Indian memorializes murdered and missing Native American women.
Keystone Oil Pipeline Protesters Demonstrate Outside Of Obama Fundraiser
Ayana Byrd  Mar 20, 2019 2:30PM EDT

South Dakota Criminalizes Protest Against Keystone XL Pipeline

The state’s tribal communities say the governor is placing the interests of big business over their safety.
People march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House for the People's Climate Movement to protest President Donald Trump's environmental policies April 29, 2017, in Washington, D.C.
Ayana Byrd  Mar 11, 2019 12:21PM EDT

READ: What It Means That the Environmental Justice Movement is Overwhelmingly White

A new report explores how people of color are “sidelined” in the fight against climate change—despite the fact that they disproportionately suffer more from its effects.
A document with the blurred face of an elderly White man and type
Mary Pember  Feb 22, 2019 5:43PM EST

News Flash: Telling Native Stories Without Native Journalists Is Not a Good Idea [OP-ED]

Mary Pember applauds the recently aired “Frontline” investigation “Predator on the Reservation.” But the Ojibwe veteran journalist takes issue with the absence of Native people in the reporting and historical context in the telling.
Buffy Sainte-Marie. Indigenous woman with black hair in black leather jacket and shirt and scarf performs behind black microphone and stand and in front of grey curtain under red lights.
Sameer Rao  Feb 20, 2019 4:50PM EST

Celebrate Buffy Sainte-Marie's Birthday With These 5 Career Highs

The artist and philanthropist, whose work uplifts Indigenous cultural resistance, turns 78 today.
Joe Four Horns. Indigenous boy with black hair poses in front of black background.
Sameer Rao  Feb 13, 2019 4:39PM EST

Documentary Uncovers Delayed Justice for Sexually Abused Indigenous Boys

“Predator on the Reservation” documents an investigation into the institutional failure that allowed Dr. Stanley Weber to allegedly assault boys on Native American reservations.
Nathan Phillips. Black-and-white photograph of Indigenous man holding feather and other articles while wearing black jacket and glasses and surrounded by people in dark clothing
Sameer Rao  Feb 5, 2019 4:39PM EST

Read Nathan Phillips' Story, In His Own Words

The media hype around the Covington Catholic boys couldn’t stop this Indigenous activist from speaking his truth. 
Link Wray. Indigenous man with black hair in black jacket and sunglasses and white shirt holds red and white electric guitar in front of black and navy background
Sameer Rao  Jan 24, 2019 2:29PM EST

Indigenous Rockers 'Rumble' Into Music History

A new film highlights Native American artists’ influence on rock and pop music.
Nathan Phillips. Native American man with dark shoulder-length hair, wearing black shirt, with blue sky and Capitol Building in the background
Kenrya Rankin  Jan 23, 2019 9:35AM EST

Skip TODAY Show, Watch This Interview With Nathan Phillips Instead

While mainstream media rushes to center the MAGA teens who taunted the Omaha elder, watch the Indigenous leader describe what really happened after the Indigenous Peoples March.
Black and red text spells "INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MARCH" underneath two black silhouettes of birds within black circle with black feathers on white background
Sameer Rao  Jan 16, 2019 12:03PM EST

Indigenous Peoples March to Take Over Washington D.C.

Organizers say the January 18 action will advocate for policies that strengthen Indigenous communities around the world.
A Maya teen holds a portrait of herself wearing a traditional corte dress
catherine lizette gonzalez  Jan 15, 2019 4:21PM EST

WATCH: Teen Photographers Capture Generations of Maya Women and Girls

A new short documentary profiles six Guatemelan teen photographers who are tackling representation, racism and classism through their project Maya Womxn of LA.
Mountain with white snow-capped peaks behind brown foothills and green trees and blue lake and in front of blue sky
Sameer Rao  Jan 7, 2019 1:00PM EST

Alaska Native Teens Honored for Role in Historic Denali Climb

John Fresden and Esaias George assisted Walter Harper in the first recorded summit of North America’s tallest mountain.
The moon sets over sandstone formations near Round Rock December 5, 2002, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, Arizona. A third of the nation lacks access to running water.
Ayana Byrd  Jan 2, 2019 12:16PM EST

What the Government Shutdown Means for Native Americans

As federal money owed to Indian Country under treaties goes unpaid, esesential services are being shut down.