Highlighting Indigenous stories from across NPR's network

"For Indigenous Peoples' Day, the Up First newsletter is recognizing the work NPR's member stations do to uplift Indigenous voices. NPR network member stations are independent and locally operated. They determine their own schedules and base their reporting on the needs and interests of their communities, many of which feature large Indigenous populations. Lily Hope, a Lingit master weaver, is using the popular Labubu dolls to raise awareness of Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving. She has dedicated her life to reviving this craft."

"For her senior thesis, Natalie Zenk researched a Native American statue that had been in Cornell College's art collection for more than a century. But her project quickly shifted when she discovered its origins were from the Etowah Indian Mounds, a Mississippian burial site in Georgia, hundreds of miles from where the college is located in Iowa. (via Iowa Public Radio)"

"(via Nebraska Public Media) Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines-Roberson Jr. is a Nipmuc cultural steward who teaches traditional Indigenous arts and advocates for Indigenous communities to have access to and manage conservation land. His efforts have brought attention to the declining supply of Atlantic white cedar trees in Nipmuc territory. These cedar saplings are essential for constructing the traditional dwellings of Eastern Woodlan"

NPR member stations amplify Indigenous voices and tailor reporting to community needs. Lingit master weaver Lily Hope uses Labubu dolls to revive Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving and has helped hundreds of Alaska Native people begin their own weaving practices. Natalie Zenk traced a Native American statue's origins from a century-old college collection to the Etowah Indian Mounds in Georgia. After serious negotiations, historic belongings taken during a U.S. Army massacre of a Lakota village were returned from the Smithsonian to tribal descendants. Nipmuc cultural steward Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines-Roberson Jr. teaches traditional arts and raises alarm over declining Atlantic white cedar for traditional dwellings.

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