Investigation finds at least 973 Native American children died in US government boarding schools
A federal investigation has found that at least 973 Native American children perished in the U.S. governmentโs abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period.
In a small Mexican town, Juneteenth is a day of solidarity
Why would a small town in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila have a long history of celebrating Juneteenth? It began after Black Seminole Indians were forced to join other tribes on the harrowing Trail of Tears in the mid-1800s.
Judge dismisses Native American challenge to $10B SunZia energy transmission project in Arizona
A U.S. district judge has dismissed claims by Native American tribes and environmentalists who sought to halt construction along part of a $10 billion energy transmission line.
Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson confronts history at US pavilion as its first solo Indigenous artist
Jeffrey Gibsonโs takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this yearโs Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft.
Biden administration taps $366M to fund clean energy for Native American tribes and rural areas
President Joe Biden's administration is announcing funding for 17 projects to expand renewable energy access on Native American reservations and in other rural areas.
Arizona gallery owner won't be charged in racist rant against Native American dancers
Authorities in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale say they won't charge a gallery owner whose racist rant was caught on video last February while Native American dancers were being filmed.
A famed NYC museum is closing two Native American halls. Harvard and others have taken similar steps
New York Cityโs American Museum of Natural History is closing two halls featuring Native American objects.
Pharrell Williamsโ sophomore collection at Louis Vuitton showcases Americana, Native American spirit
At Paris Fashion Week, Pharrell Williams unveiled his sophomore collection for Louis Vuitton, a stunning fusion of Americana and Native American influences.
Judge orders new North Dakota legislative district for 2 Native American tribes
A federal judge has ordered a new legislative district for two Native American tribes who successfully challenged North Dakotaโs 2021 redistricting map as violating the Voting Rights Act in diluting Native American votersโ strength.
Nevada tribe says coalitions, not lawsuits, will protect sacred sites as US advances energy agenda
A Nevada tribe is gearing up for a different kind of fight against the U.S. government as it tries to build more public support for protecting Native American sacred sites.
Court ruling backs tribesโ effort to force lawmakers to redraw North Dakota legislative boundaries
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request from North Dakota's secretary of state to delay a federal judge's ruling that found the state's 2021 redistricting map violated the Voting Rights Act in diluting the voting strength of two Native American tribes.
Survivors say trauma from abusive Native American boarding schools stretches across generations
Survivors of government-backed Native American boarding schools and their descendants have shared their experiences as U.S. officials made a final stop in Montana on their yearlong tour to confront the institutions that regularly abused students to assimilate them into white society.
Oak Flat Timeline: Native American vs. pro-mining interests
Oak Flat is a piece of national forest land in central Arizona that has been at the heart of a years long struggle between Native American groups and mining interests that both see it as important to their future.
Things to know about the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act
The Supreme Court has preserved a federal law giving preference to Native American families when it comes to adopting Native children in foster care.
Supreme Court preserves law that aims to keep Native American children with tribal families
The Supreme Court has preserved the system that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children.
Judge: School district can bar student from wearing Mexican and American flag sash at graduation
A federal judge has ruled that a Colorado school district can bar a high school student from wearing a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation after the student sued.
Montana acts to protect Native American priority in adopting Native children
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a law that gives Native American families preference in fostering and adopting Native children involved with child protective services.
At graduations, Native American students seek acceptance of tribal regalia
For Native American students, tribal regalia is often passed down through generations and worn at graduations to signify connection with the community.
Should school use 'Warrior' nickname? Tribe to have last say
Students and administrators in one New York school district are wrestling with how to respond to the stateโs newly approved ban on the use of Native American-themed logos and names.
Interior: $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights
The Biden administration on Thursday said 15 Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million this year to fund settlements that ensure access to water that's legally theirs.
US renames 5 places, including Texas site, that used racist slur for a Native woman
The U.S. Department of the Interior has renamed five places in California, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas that previously included a racist term for a Native American woman.
Native child welfare law faces major Supreme Court challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday on the most significant challenge to a law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children.
San Antonioโs first Native American Cultural Arts Center and Gallery to open soon
A local nonprofit devoted to preserving and protecting the culture and traditions of Native American tribes and other indigenous people who resided in the Spanish Colonial Missions is forming a new center on the cityโs East Side.
Native groups seek to repair lands damaged by colonization
The Wampanoag Common Lands project is among efforts by tribes and other Native groups from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest seeking to repair lands altered by European colonization.
60 curators, 1 show: Native Americans pick favorite pottery
Native American artists, political leaders and storytellers are the final arbiters of taste and style for a traveling exhibition of pottery from the Pueblo Indian region of the Southwestern U.S. They've plucked their favorite pieces from institutional collections in New Mexico and New York that didnโt always defer to Indigenous perspectives.
Army: Disinterred remains do not match Native American boy
The military says that remains exhumed from a U.S. Army base in Pennsylvania do not belong to the Native American teenager recorded to have been buried there more than a century ago.
Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era water rule for now
The Supreme Court has reinstated, for now, a Trump-era rule that had curtailed the power of states and Native American tribes to block pipelines and other energy projects that can pollute rivers, streams and other waterways.
Joni Mitchell, Amy Tan, N. Scott Momaday join arts academy
Joni Mitchell has received honorary membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the century old institution where general inductees have ranged from Henry James and Georgia OโKeeffe to Sonny Rollins and Jasper Johns.
Cannabis bust on Indigenous land highlights legal divide
A federal raid on a small household marijuana garden on tribal land in northern New Mexico is sowing confusion and resentment about U.S. drug enforcement priorities on Native American lands, as more states roll out legal marketplaces for recreational pot.
US: oil, gas leases on hold around New Mexico's Chaco park
The U.S. Department of the Interior says oil and gas leasing within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico will be prohibited for the next two years.
Harris releases strategy to tackle migrationโs root causes
Vice President Kamala Harris says efforts to address root causes of migration from Central America won't produce immediate results as she unveils a broad strategy that expands on principles the Biden administration has laid out before.
Tribe claims remains of kids who died at assimilation school
The remains of nine Native American children who died more than a century ago while attending a government-run school in Pennsylvania meant to assimilate them into white culture have been returned to their South Dakota tribe for burial.
Indigenous children's remains turned over from Army cemetery
The disinterred remains of nine Native American children who died more than a century ago while attending a government-run school in Pennsylvania are headed home to Rosebud Sioux tribal lands in South Dakota.
Navajo students describe pandemic struggles to Jill Biden
Students on the largest Native American reservation spoke with first lady Jill Biden on Friday about challenges they've faced during the coronavirus pandemic, including poor internet access and feelings of isolation.
Cherokee chief: Time for Jeep to end use of tribe's name
FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2019 file photo, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., speaks during a news conference in Tahlequah, Okla. The chief of the Cherokee Nation says it's time for auto maker Jeep to stop using the tribe's name on its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models. Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement he believes corporations and team sports should stop using Native American names, images and mascots on their teams and products. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)TAHLEQUAH, Okla. โ It is time for Jeep to stop using the Cherokee Nation's name on its Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SUVs, the chief of the Oklahoma-based tribe said. The controversy comes amid a national reckoning over the use of Native American names and images, particularly in sports.
Goade becomes first Native American to win Caldecott Medal
(Random House Books for Young Readers/Roaring Brook Press/Nancy Paulsen Books via AP)NEW YORK โ Illustrator Michaela Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture story, cited for โWe Are Water Protectors," a celebration of nature and condemnation of the โblack snakeโ Dakota Access Pipeline. "I am really honored and proud," the 30-year-old Goade told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. The Newbery medal was established in 1922, the Caldecott in 1937. Goade, whose other books include โEncounter,โ is the first Native American to win in either category. The Stonewall Book Award for best LGBT literature was given to Archaa Shrivastav for โWe Are Little Feminists: Families."
Biden: Environmental team heavy on experience, diversity
The incoming Biden team will try to undo or block many of the current administrationโs initiatives. In his remarks, Biden stressed the diversity of an emerging team that he described as โbrilliant, qualified, tested and they are barrier-busting." The nominees Biden introduced Saturday had compelling personal stories that they cited as guiding them if confirmed by the Senate. The office oversees environmental reviews for virtually all major infrastructure projects and advises the president on major environmental issues. Two other members of the team introduced Saturday do not need Senate confirmation.
In wake of Indians' decision, Blackhawks stay with team name
The Chicago Blackhawks are going to remain the Blackhawks and there is no sign of any change coming anytime soon. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)CHICAGO โ The Chicago Blackhawks are going to remain the Blackhawks and there is no sign of a change coming anytime soon. Washington ended up dropping the โRedskinsโ name, logo and all Native American imagery. The Indians announced their decision this week, while the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and baseball's Atlanta Braves have said they have no plans to change their name. The team announced later in July that they were banning headdresses at home games as part of their pledge to honor the Native American community.
U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo to serve third 1-year term
NEW YORK โ U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo will serve a third, one-year term and has launched an online project that celebrates Native American poets around the country. Her reappointment was announced Thursday by the Library of Congress, and her new term begins in September. Poetry has provided doorways for joy, grief and understanding in the midst of turmoil and pandemic,โ Harjo, the first Native American to be named poet laureate, said in a statement. โI welcome the opportunity of a third term to activate my project and visit communities to share Native poetry. It features a digital map of 47 contemporary writers, including Harjo, Louise Erdrich and Natalie Diaz.
Trump lawyer: Census could be done if not for court meddling
But the 2020 census deadline remains in flux, making it uncertain if census takers will finish counting the vast, rural state. An attorney for the Trump administration urged the panel of three Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judges in San Francisco to suspend U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh's injunction from last month. The Trump administration says the judge's decision ignores the congressionally-mandated deadline requiring the Census Bureau to turn in apportionment numbers by Dec. 31. The Census Bureau reported that, as of Sunday, 99.6% of households nationwide have been counted, although seven mostly southern states haven't crossed the 99% threshold yet. The Trump administration is appealing that case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge: Census violated order; demands mass text to workers
But the 2020 census deadline remains in flux, making it uncertain if census takers will finish counting the vast, rural state. Judge Koh wrote in Thursday's decision that the Census Bureau and Commerce Department, which oversees the agency, had violated her injunction โin several ways." โDefendantsโ dissemination of erroneous information; lurching from one hasty, unexplained plan to the next; and unlawful sacrifices of completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census are upending the status quo, violating the Injunction Order, and undermining the credibility of the Census Bureau and the 2020 Census," the judge wrote. The Census Bureau said it sent out the mandated message Friday afternoon. Contact your supervisor with any questions.โThe Census Bureau reported that 99.1% of the nation's households had been counted, though several states in the South were trailing that figure.
Only Native American on federal death row set to be executed
(AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)CHICAGO The only Native American on federal death row is set to die Wednesday for the slayings of a 9-year-old and her grandmother nearly two decades ago, though many Navajos are hoping for last-minute intervention by President Donald Trump to halt the execution. The first three federal executions in 17 years went ahead in July after similar legal maneuvers failed. If Mitchells execution goes ahead as planned, it would happen on the third night of the GOP convention. There are currently 58 men and one woman on federal death row, many of whose executions have been pending for over 20 years. Several relatives had said they opposed Mitchell's execution.
Man claiming to have coronavirus โaggressively coughedโ on officers after he was caught at Native American burial site, TPWD says
HAYS COUNTY, Texas โ A man who was detained with his wife for allegedly digging at a Native American burial site in Hays County โaggressively coughedโ on deputies and claimed to have coronavirus, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. A couple trespassing on a Native American burial site had several artifacts in their possession, along with a #BabyYoda glass pipe. When the warden returned to the front of the vehicle, the pipe was no longer on the hood. Officers with the San Marcos Police Department showed up to the scene and took the couple to Hays County Jail. En route to the jail, the man said he had the coronavirus and โaggressively coughedโ on the SMPD officers.
A Snow Moon will light up the sky this weekend
A Snow Moon will appear from Friday evening to Monday morning, but don't worry: it won't affect the weather. According to the Farmers' Almanac, northeastern Native American tribes referred to the second full moon of winter as the Snow Moon because of February's heavy snow. However, experts disagree on what constitutes a supermoon, according to EarthSky. A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is at the closest point to earth in its orbit. This moon is important for other reasons as well, according to NASA.