Native America
An Omaha Nation school garden is teaching students valuable employment skills and life lessons
MACY, Neb. – A light rain sprinkles rows and rows of corn, beans, cucumbers, flowers. A man and a woman walk through the mud, their boots sloshing, as they stop periodically to point out and name specific plants, their faces beaming with pride. It’s a week before the big harvest, and Suzi French and Ricardo […]
Native American education council still short on members despite legislative effort
OKLAHOMA CITY — As an advisory board on Native American education approaches a milestone year, the group is still hamstrung by a lack of members. The 18-person Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education has seven vacancies despite recent legislation intended to improve the member appointment process. The council and the Oklahoma State Department of Education […]
Lawmakers reject gaming compacts for two small Oklahoma tribes
OKLAHOMA CITY — Saying there were “significant fatal flaws,” Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously rejected a pair of compacts that would have allowed two tribes to offer gaming outside of their traditional boundaries. Leaders with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town said after the vote that they were disappointed […]
As two small tribes seek to build casinos, Oklahoma lawmakers asked to approve compacts
OKLAHOMA CITY — Lawmakers might have to decide whether two small Oklahoma tribes should have the right to build casinos outside their traditional boundaries. Supporters contend that allowing the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Kialegee Tribal Town to offer gaming in Oklahoma and Logan counties would be an economic boon for their […]
Native lands lack clean water protections, but more tribes are taking charge
Across the roughly 1,300 square miles of the White Earth Indian Reservation in northwest Minnesota, tribal members harvest wild rice in waters that have sustained them for generations. They’ve been working for decades to restore sturgeon, a culturally important fish, and they harvest minnows and leeches to supply bait for anglers across the country. But […]
Opinion: Historic partnership between VA and Cherokee Nation will be boon for veterans
It’s exciting that the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have entered into a historic partnership to increase access to veteran care in rural Oklahoma. The two entities recently announced they formed a unique partnership that officials said could serve as a “roadmap” for how rural America can work with tribal nations […]
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ puts Oklahoma’s dark history of Osage murders on display
OKLAHOMA CITY — Although many Oklahomans were long ignorant about how white settlers systematically murdered members of the Osage Nation for their oil wealth in the 1920s, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will mark a milestone in how the state addresses its complex and painful history. The Friday release of the film that shines a […]
Biden nominates first Indigenous woman to serve as Oklahoma federal judge
President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the historic nomination of a Cherokee Nation attorney to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sara Hill would become the first Native American woman to be appointed as a federal district judge in Oklahoma, according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and […]
State’s high court punts case challenging Oklahoma lawmakers’ tribal compact extensions
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers’ decision to extend tribal compacts without the governor’s blessing withstood its first legal challenge after the state’s highest court refused to hear the case. In a 6-3 decision, the Oklahoma Supreme Court announced Monday that it would not hear a case brought by a conservative nonprofit against House Speaker Charles […]
‘The American Buffalo’ traces fall and rise of a ‘sacred relationship’
In a sweeping two-part, four-hour film, master documentary filmmaker Ken Burns tells the story of the near-extinction and Indigenous-fueled return of the American buffalo, an animal that transcends mere existence and rises to spiritual being for Native communities. Premiering on PBS on Oct. 16-17, the series, “The American Buffalo,” takes viewers on a journey through […]
‘Historic agreement’ reached between VA, Cherokee Nation to expand veterans care in Oklahoma
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Cherokee Nation have entered into a “historic agreement” that officials said could serve as a “roadmap” for how rural America can work with tribes to increase care for veterans. Through the partnership, the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System plans to open a new 1,300-square-foot clinic inside […]
Oklahomans concerned contentious law impacts teaching of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ history
OKLAHOMA CITY — With the movie release of “Killers of the Flower Moon” only days away, questions still persist about Oklahoma schools’ ability to teach the historical events depicted in the film. The source of the uncertainty is House Bill 1775, a 2021 state law regulating classroom discussions on race and gender. Tribal leaders have […]