Native America
Opinion: I’m working to revitalize an Indigenous language and bring it into the future
Language is foundational to Indigenous communities, including my own, and a vital connection to our cultures. It is well documented how residential schools in Canada and boarding schools in the U.S. devastated Indigenous languages and severed cultural connections. While our languages are in decline, efforts to sustain them are ongoing, and I am taking part […]
New report finds another 115 Indigenous boarding schools, most run by missionaries
From the remote parts of northern Alaska to the coastal edges of Florida, Native American Boarding Schools were set up in or near tribal nations to assimilate Indigenous children into white, Christian, American society. The legacy of the federal Indian boarding school system is not new to Indigenous people. For generations, Indigenous people across the […]
Governor remains confident in Native American liaison despite tribal opposition
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s governor continues to have confidence in his newly appointed Native American liaison and will continue to rely on him to build tribal relations, his spokeswoman said Monday. Despite opposition from five of the state’s most powerful tribes, Gov. Kevin Stitt will retain Wes Nofire as his liaison, said gubernatorial spokeswoman Abegail Cave. […]
Oklahoma Senate leader demands details from Stitt on ‘intensely vague’ special session
OKLAHOMA CITY — The head of the Oklahoma Senate wants lawmakers to grill Gov. Kevin Stitt on what he hopes to gain from a special legislative session next month. Calling the governor’s special session agenda “intensely vague,” Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, requested Stitt appear before a legislative panel to provide details […]
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt calls special session on tax issues, budget transparency
OKLAHOMA CITY — Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday called a special session on tax cuts, budget transparency and issues related to ongoing litigation over whether tribal citizens are exempt from paying state income taxes in certain situations. Stitt called the Oklahoma Legislature back to the Capitol on Oct. 3 to put the state “on the […]
House speaker to hold study on tribal compacts
Lawmakers plan to probe the state’s compacts with Native American tribes later this year after the House’s top Republican lawmaker called for a deep dive on the issue. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, has said he requested the interim study to better understand the history of the compacts, how they were formed and the importance […]
Tribal health workers aren’t paid like their peers. See why Nevada changed that.
FALLON, Nev. — Linda Noneo turned up the heat in her van to ward off the early morning chill that persists in northern Nevada’s high desert even in late June. As the first rays of daylight broke over a Christian cross on the top a hill near the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone colony, she drove toward her […]
At odds with the tribes, Stitt stripped of power over Native American education council
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers curtailed Gov. Kevin Stitt’s influence over a board devoted to Native American education as the state’s chief executive continues to feud with tribal leaders. Lawmakers stripped Stitt of eight of his nine appointments to the Oklahoma Advisory Council on Indian Education — a lesser known state board that could play […]
Oklahoma law to tackle missing, murdered Indigenous crisis remains unfunded
OKLAHOMA CITY — Two years after Oklahoma lawmakers passed bipartisan legislation to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people, a state law enforcement entity has not secured federal funding to carry out the new law. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, in following the law, has appointed an agent to tackle these cases. […]
Three years after landmark ruling, Congress silent on tribal jurisdiction in Oklahoma
After a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling defined much of Eastern Oklahoma as a Native American reservation, limiting state jurisdiction over tribal citizens, Congress has taken little interest in addressing the issues the tribes and state officials say the court decision has raised. The 5-4 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma held that lands the federal […]