American Indian

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Tribe Could Get Land Stolen by US Government Back

Terms of 1829 treaty remain in effect

(Newser) - Some 175 years after the US government stole land from the chief of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation while he was away visiting relatives, Illinois may return it to the tribe. Nothing ever changed the 1829 treaty that Chief Shab-eh-nay signed with the US to preserve for him a reservation...

Chiefs' Success Renews Activists' Efforts

Group takes protest against use of Native American imagery to Las Vegas

(Newser) - Rhonda LeValdo is exhausted, but she refuses to slow down. For the fourth time in five years, her hometown team and the focus of her decades-long activism against the use of Native American imagery and references in sports is in the Super Bowl. As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for...

A New Look at the Killing of the 'Face of Red Power'

Richard Oakes, a Mohawk, was shot to death in 1972, and the shooter went free

(Newser) - In one sense, the events that day were straightforward: "On Sept. 20, 1972, a white man pulled out a pistol, pointed it at an unarmed Indigenous father and fired a single bullet. It struck Richard Oakes in the heart, killing him almost instantly." So write Jason Fagone and...

Supreme Court Hands Big Win to Native American Tribes

Justices uphold law stipulating Native American kids up for adoption go to Native American families

(Newser) - The Supreme Court delivered a big win to American Indians on Thursday, upholding a law that stipulates Native American children up for adoption should go to Native American families. NPR reports that the 7-2 ruling defied predictions, with Amy Coney Barrett writing the majority opinion and only Clarence Thomas and...

Did Alito Take a Shot at Elizabeth Warren in Court?

Justice floats question about bogus claims to American Indian heritage

(Newser) - Now that the dust has settled on hours of oral arguments Monday in two separate affirmative-action cases before the Supreme Court, a clear consensus has emerged in coverage. "The court's conservative majority signaled that it could be ready ... to end the use of race in college admissions,"...

'To Us, Thanksgiving Is a Day of Mourning'

Native American group is holding solemn event in Plymouth

(Newser) - Members of Native American tribes from around New England are gathering in the seaside town where the Pilgrims settled—not to give thanks, but to mourn Indigenous people worldwide who've suffered centuries of racism and mistreatment. Thursday’s solemn National Day of Mourning observance in downtown Plymouth, Mass., will...

Colorado's 1864 Order to Kill Native Americans Voided

Gov. Jared Polis rescinded the awful proclamation Tuesday

(Newser) - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday rescinded a 19th-century proclamation that called for citizens to kill Native Americans and take their property, in what he hopes can begin to make amends for "sins of the past." The 1864 order by Colorado’s second territorial governor, John Evans, would...

'Most Important Indian' Resolved Standoffs
'Most Important Indian'
Resolved Standoffs
obituary

'Most Important Indian' Resolved Standoffs

Hank Adams often worked behind the scenes, or with Marlon Brando

(Newser) - Hank Adams, one of Indian Country's most prolific thinkers and strategists, has died. Adams, an Assiniboine-Sioux, died Monday at a hospital in Olympia, Washington, according to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. He was 77, the AP reports. Adams was called the "most important Indian" by influential Native American...

Biden Pick Would Break a 245-Year String

Native American has never overseen US policy with tribes

(Newser) - President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland as interior secretary, a historic pick that would make her the first Native American to lead the agency that has wielded influence over the nation's tribes for generations, per the AP . Tribal leaders and activists around the country,...

Tribes 'Can't Fund Any Programs' After This Loss

American Indians are losing their best source of income

(Newser) - When the Kalispel Tribe of Indians closed its casino as the coronavirus took hold in Washington state, it essentially shut down its economy. That difficult choice has played out nationwide as some 500 Native American casinos have voluntarily closed during the pandemic, often taking away tribes' main source of income...

Governor, Tribes Face Off Over Virus Checkpoints

Gov. Kristi Noem sends a letter to Sioux tribes

(Newser) - South Dakota is threatening legal action if two Sioux tribes don't remove their highway checkpoints—and one tribal leader doesn't seem too impressed. "We are strongest when we work together; this includes our battle against Covid-19," Gov. Kristi Noem said in letters to the Cheyenne River...

Navajo Fight Crushing Battle Against Coronavirus

Their infection rate is America's third-highest

(Newser) - The Navajo are battling America's third-highest coronavirus infection rate after New York and New Jersey as they scramble to treat the sick—and it's clearly an uphill battle, NPR reports. Their challenges include lack of hospital space, lack of nursing, lack of equipment, and facilities that simply aren'...

Thursday Is Annual 'Day of Mourning' for Native Americans

For 50th year, they will gather near Plymouth Rock

(Newser) - Native Americans are gathering for a 50th year in the seaside town where the Pilgrims settled—not to give thanks but to grieve, reports the AP . United American Indians of New England held its first National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., in 1970. Since then, tribes have assembled at...

As Old Document Surfaces, Warren Apologizes Again

1986 Texas bar registration shows identification as 'American Indian'

(Newser) - Her private apology has moved public: Sen. Elizabeth Warren tells the Washington Post she is sorry for identifying as Native American for nearly two decades. "I can't go back. But I am sorry for furthering confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship and harm that resulted," the...

Europeans Came. Then The Climate Changed
Indigenous Genocide
Caused the Little Ice Age
new study

Indigenous Genocide Caused the Little Ice Age

Genocide greatly altered the use of agricultural land, study says

(Newser) - The arrival of Europeans in the Americas didn't just kill off millions of people—it may have also helped trigger the Little Ice Age, CNN reports. A new study says so many indigenous people died of disease or slaughter in the "Great Dying" after 1492 that far less...

These Americans Will Not Be Watching the Eclipse

Navajo tradition says rare phenomenon is a 'time of renewal'

(Newser) - Not all Americans will be watching Monday's much ballyhooed eclipse . For some Native Americans, the rare phenomenon is an opportunity to stay inside and honor age-old tradition. When the moon passes over the sun, Navajo Bobbieann Baldwin and her children will draw their blinds. "It's time of...

Protesters, Police Clash While Pipeline Company Could Be Fined

Two protesters arrested, others treated for hypothermia

(Newser) - Officers in riot gear clashed again Wednesday with protesters near the Dakota Access pipeline, hitting dozens with pepper spray as they waded through waist-deep water in an attempt to reach property owned by the pipeline's developer, the AP reports. The confrontation came hours after North Dakota regulators criticized the...

Indigenous Emergency: 11 Suicide Attempts in One Day

Ontario's Attawapiskat First Nation declares state of emergency, pleads for help

(Newser) - A "suicide epidemic" that started last fall in a northern Ontario community—with 11 suicide attempts this past Saturday alone, per the CBC —has led the Attawapiskat First Nation to declare a state of emergency, per the National Post . The remote enclave of 2,000 people has reportedly...

After More Than a Century, Bison Are 'Coming Home'

Canadian population will relocate to Montana next month

(Newser) - Descendants of a bison herd sent to Canada more than a century ago will be relocated to a Montana American Indian reservation next month, in what tribal leaders bill as a homecoming. The shipment of animals from Alberta's Elk Island National Park to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation follows a...

Health Care for Native Americans 'Horrifying'

Advocates tell horror stories at Senate hearing

(Newser) - "Don't get sick after June" is a common refrain in the Native American community—mainly because the Indian Health Service federal agency is "severely underfunded," says a rep for an advocacy group, per NBC News . In fact, witnesses at a Senate hearing Wednesday pleading for funds...

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