Native Affairs

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Meagan Good and Debbi Morgan. Black girls and women and man pose in dark clothing on black background with white text; Adam Beach, Irene Bedard and Evan Adams. Indigenous woman and men smile under blue sky with red text
Sameer Rao  Dec 12, 2018 11:29AM EST

1990s Black and Indigenous Coming-of-Age Stories Added to National Film Registry

Their induction coincides with the NFR’s 30th anniversary. 
Indigenous man in blue and white shirt sits next to standing Indigenous child in yellow jacket and black pants holding brown stick on brown rocks in front of grey water
Sameer Rao  Dec 5, 2018 3:22PM EST

Livestream 'Dawnland' and Discussion With Indigenous Activists

Watch as the documentary’s stars, Esther Anne and Dawn Neptune Adams, join the filmmakers for a live screening, concert and panel discussion.
Kevin Hart. Black man in black and red striped shirt and black jeans sits on brown stool and speaks into black microphone in front of light pink wall with white text
Sameer Rao  Dec 5, 2018 3:14PM EST

Indigenous Critics Not Pleased That Kevin Hart Will Host Oscars

The comedian faces backlash for throwing a “cowboys and Indians” party for his son’s first birthday.
Black Panther, Black Widow, Thor, Captain Marvel and the Hulk. Black man and White women and men in multicolored superhero outfits in front of navy background
Sameer Rao  Nov 26, 2018 5:07PM EST

Jeffrey Veregge Draws On His Indigenous Roots to Recreate Marvel Superheroes

The artist and member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe rendered Black Panther, Ms. Marvel and other members of the Marvel pantheon in traditional formline style for an exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian.
A man carries personal items through a flooded street caused by remnants of Hurricane Matthew on October 11, 2016, in Fair Bluff, North Carolina. The severity of the storm was felt throughout the state with flooding just as bad in Princeville, N.C.
Ayana Byrd  Nov 26, 2018 12:24PM EST

Trump Administration Downplays Damning Climate Change Report

Produced by 300 scientists, it shows that global warming—which disproportionately impacts people of color—will wreak havoc on the United States’ economy, public health, coastlines and infrastructure.
Indigenous people in multicolored clothing holding ceremonial flags and black and red and yellow flag of the American Indian Movement in front of brown rocky terrain and pink sky
Sameer Rao  Nov 21, 2018 5:08PM EST

Unthanksgiving: Indigenous People's Sunrise Ceremony Honors Resistance Over Revisionism

The annual gathering pays tribute to the original residents of Alcatraz Island and the coalition of Indigenous activists who occupied it from 1969 to 1971.
Moroni Benally. Indigenous man in purple sweater and blue jeans and bowtie smiles and leans against portrait of brown and red rocks in front of blue sky in brown hallway
Sameer Rao  Nov 20, 2018 3:58PM EST

Documentary Follows Gay Diné Man's Quest to Lead the Navajo Nation

Moroni Benally on his candidacy, which is chronicled in “Moroni for President”: “There were a lot of issues in terms of uneven understandings about the Navajo traditional perspective on what it means to be gay or queer.”
Crude oil pipeline construction in Jefferson County, Texas, in August 2008.
Ayana Byrd  Nov 9, 2018 11:26AM EST

Judge Halts Construction of Keystone XL Pipeline

The project is opposed by Indigenous groups who say it ignores treaties and could damage their lands.
Georginia Sappier-Richardson. Indigenous woman in gray shirt and black and yellow and blue patterned vest speaks at brown wood table in front of Indigenous boy and woman with woman in black shirt and orange and green scarf in foreground
Sameer Rao  Nov 5, 2018 2:48PM EST

Wabanaki Seek Healing and Justice in 'Dawnland'

A new documentary follows the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission as it explores the legacy of forced child relocation policies.
Auntie Beachress. Indigenous woman in white and black beads and tan and green and pink patterned shirt with brown hair holding phone with red case in front of white wall
Sameer Rao  Oct 26, 2018 1:23PM EDT

ICYMI: Auntie Beachress Calls On Her Fellow Indigenous Peoples to Vote

The Indigenous comedic character appears alongside community members and Hollywood heavyweights in a new PSA for the #StandNVote campaign. 
Sid Hill. Indigenous man in black jacket and red shirt holds grey and white Hiawatha Wampump Belt in front of lake and orange sunset and lakeside vegetation in black shadow
Sameer Rao  Oct 23, 2018 12:45PM EDT

PBS Docuseries Revisits Richness of Pre-Columbian 'Native America'

The four-part series uses Indigenous oral traditions, archeological evidence and 3-D mapping to explore the cultures that flourished before colonization.
A U.S. border wall tops a levee near Rio Grande at the U.S.-Mexico border on March 15, 2017, near La Grulla, Texas.
Ayana Byrd  Oct 15, 2018 12:29PM EDT

Trump Administration to Suspend Dozens Of Environmental and Health Laws to Build Border Wall

Activists says residents and wildlife along the wall’s proposed route are in danger.
Red, white and blue sign says "Vote here" with an arrow and an American flag
Kenrya Rankin  Oct 10, 2018 5:09PM EDT

What You Need to Know About the Voter ID Law SCOTUS Refused to End

Native Americans say the North Dakota law was designed to keep them from the polls and violates the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Constitution and the state Constitution. The Supreme Court just declined to get involved.
White marble building with columns and statue of someone holding an unfurled scroll, bright blue sky in the background
Ayana Byrd  Oct 10, 2018 1:36PM EDT

Judge Rules Indian Child Welfare Act Unconstitutional

When the law was passed in 1978, about a third of Native children were being forced into foster care and adoption.
Mural depicting White man with blue eyes in White shirt holding hands of Indigenous and Latinx man without faces and in green and red shirts, respectively, in front of brown desert sand and blue sky
Sameer Rao  Oct 9, 2018 3:33PM EDT

University of New Mexico May Remove Murals that Ignore Indigenous POV

University leadership recommends covering four murals that center and celebrate White colonizers and marginalize Native and Latinx contributions and resistance.
Redbone. Black and white photograph of five Indigenous and Latinx men in multicolored clothing in front of grey background
Sameer Rao  Oct 8, 2018 11:00AM EDT

Livestream Los Angeles' First Official Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration

The United States’ largest city to officially replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day marks its first official commemoration with a series of events, including a concert by rock band Redbone.
The 1.35 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah protects one of most significant cultural landscapes in the United States, with thousands of archaeological sites and important areas of spiritual significance.
Ayana Byrd  Oct 2, 2018 2:17PM EDT

Indigenous Activists Win Two Legal Battles To Protect Their Land

Federal courts halted moves by the Trump administration that would have contaminated water sources and destroyed Native cultural artifacts.
Illustration of Asian and Brown children in orange and blue and grey clothing and brown mythical creatures on brown wall near green vegetation and blue sky
Sameer Rao  Sep 20, 2018 12:53PM EDT

Creators Promise Not to Whitewash New 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko insist they won’t repeat the mistakes of M. Night Shyamalan’s 2010 live-action film adaptation of the animated series.
Native American Activists Celebrate Decision To Mark Columbus Day In LA County As Indigenous Peoples Day Starting 2019
Ayana Byrd  Sep 10, 2018 1:18PM EDT

READ: Bills Seek to Save the Lives Of Native Women

Savanna’s Act, the End Trafficking of Native Americans Act and the #NotInvisible campaign hope to strengthen the federal response for Indigenous women who are kidnapped and murdered.
"Shark Dialogues" book cover featuring Brown woman in red and white and green dress in front of pink background; Lisa Takeuchi Cullen in pink sweater in front of dark red wall
Sameer Rao  Aug 23, 2018 4:25PM EDT

Viola Davis, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen Adapt Hawaiian Women's Saga for ABC

“‘Ohana”—which draws on Kiana Davenport’s “Shark Dialogues”—will center Hawai‘i’s Native, Asian, Pacific Islander and Hapa communities.