Native Affairs

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.
Mary G. Ross on a Google Doodle. Brown woman in a green dress, white pearls, with her face surrounded by a yellow and orange star with green trim. A gray satellite, starry space and Earth are behind her
Kenrya Rankin  Aug 9, 2018 11:01AM EDT

Google Doodle Honors Mary G. Ross, First Native American Female Engineer

The pioneering aeronautical engineer helped design concepts for space travel to Venus and Mars.
Brown woman holds pregnant belly, rest of frame is black
Ayana Byrd  Jul 10, 2018 1:12PM EDT

Racism Linked to High Maternal and Infant Mortality for Native Women

“We stopped keeping statistics on the number of Native moms and babies that are lost in our region; it was just too upsetting.”
Indigenous man with black hair in grey suit with purple tie smiles in front of crowd behind red carpet and white wall with orange text
Sameer Rao  Jul 2, 2018 3:04PM EDT

LISTEN: Michael Greyeyes On 'Sea Change' for Indigenous Actors

“I’ve started to see a dimensionality finally appear in the materials I was being sent, the scripts I was reading. And I started to see it in other places—in the treatment of our cultures, of our characters.”
Digital illustration of silver ring and orange flame on grey stone platform in front of brown building and green flag and purple sky
Sameer Rao  Jun 27, 2018 3:46PM EDT

Smithsonian Unveils Indigenous Artist's Winning Plan for Veterans' Memorial

The National Museum of the American Indian chose Cheyenne & Arapaho artist Harvey Pratt’s design, which draws on a circle motif of life and death.
Illustrated book cover depicting White children and adults in brown wagon in front of blue sky on green grass; sepia image of White woman in dark dress
Sameer Rao  Jun 25, 2018 3:22PM EDT

Library Group Removes 'Little House' Author's Name From Award For Racist Themes

The Association for Library Service to Children renamed the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in response to long-standing complaints about her books’ treatment of Indigenous and Black people.
Indigenous man with black hair in navy suit smiles in front of orange wall with black text
Sameer Rao  Jun 20, 2018 1:00PM EDT

Gil Birmingham Plays 'Dream Character' in 'Yellowstone'

The Indigenous actor talks about portraying Thomas Rainwater, a tribal chief fighting corporate interests on behalf of his people in the new drama series.
A buried section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline emerges a few miles north of the Yukon River on July 21, 2002 in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Ayana Byrd  Jun 8, 2018 12:59PM EDT

Activists, Attorneys Say Government Ignored Data on Negative Impact of Pipeline on Natives, Blacks

The number of Indigenous people who could be negatively impacted is larger than those living near the Dakota Access pipeline.
Illustration of Brown man with black hair in white and grey and black running uniform on white background with red maple leaf and text and brown buildings
Sameer Rao  Jun 4, 2018 4:54PM EDT

Google Doodle Honors Indigenous Marathoner Tom Longboat

Longboat made history in 1907 as the first member of an Indigenous tribe to win the Boston Marathon.
Brown and orange casino floor with yellow lights on slot machines and games
Sameer Rao  May 23, 2018 4:39PM EDT

Indigenous Tribes Fight for Share of Sports Betting Profits

Tribes that run casinos stand to benefit from a Supreme Court ruling that lets states set their own commercial sports betting policies.
Indigenous boys in white lacrosse masks and multicolored athletic clothing hold white and yellow and red lacrosse sticks in front of blue sky
Sameer Rao  May 21, 2018 5:19PM EDT

Youth Lacrosse League Head to Resign After Racism Allegations

Corey Mitchell will pass control of the Dakota Premiere Lacrosse League to a new board with Indigenous members after this season.
Indigenous girl in blue and pink hat and green vest and white and pink shirt next to Indigenous girl in purple shirt and blue overalls at brown table in front of brown and red and grey house and appliances
Sameer Rao  May 10, 2018 11:59AM EDT

Meet 'Molly of Denali,' PBS Kids' New Alaska Native Star

The first nationally distributed children’s series with an Alaska Native premieres next summer.