#american-indian

#american-indian

Indigenous communities have seen dramatic changes, from rescinding land-management policies that were more inclusive of Indigenous knowledge to reducing $1.5 billion in climate funding for tribal initiatives.

Virginia Brown, a 69-year-old elder, recalls her traumatic experience: 'I was forced into a boarding school when I was six years old. They cut off all our long hair and washed our mouths out with soap if they caught us speaking Navajo.'

The tribes argue the lawsuit threatens a key source of future revenue and self-governance. Their filing says the case concerns a constitutional attack on a Maine statute that establishes regulatory parameters pursuant to which the four Wabanaki Nations may seek to obtain licenses to offer internet gambling.

Thank you...for being able to fight for my freedom. But what's more important than that is that you continue to fight for your land and to continue to fight for your people and all people.

"Today, our Board took decisive action to protect what generations before us fought to build. These so-called prediction markets are an attempt to bypass tribal authority and recast gambling as a financial product. We will not allow that. We will stand united to defend tribal sovereignty and the integrity of Indian gaming."

"Once the Declaration of Independence is issued by Congress, then it kind of changes the calculus. Then, both sides are putting pressure on Native people to join one side or the other."

That number represents roughly 7% of the state's land and waters. It also corresponds with the amount of land the federal government promised it would hold as reservations for Indigenous tribes after California joined the union in 1850. Congress ultimately rejected these treaties in a secret meeting - after pressure from the state - and failed to notify tribes, many of whom upheld their end of the agreement to relocate.

Starting next month, the cost of renouncing your U.S. citizenship will go down dramatically - a boon for people already shouldering the burden of paying for a major overseas move. Anyone wishing to formally shed their American citizenship is required to obtain a form called a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, and right now it comes with a whopping $2,350 fee. In April, that fee will drop by 80% to $450.

When California became a state in 1850, officials signed 18 treaties setting aside millions of acres for tribal reservations. Congress killed the deals in secret after pressure from state leaders. Many tribes had already moved, trusting the promises. Now California wants to make good.

The issue is really relevant now because the issue is being argued again in terms of things like states being able to pass rules to suppress votes that have been used before. For example, if a physical address is required to vote, many Indian lands have only recently gotten streets with addresses.

Provincial decisions affect First Nations' rights, lands and environments, and FOI requests are one of the few mechanisms available to First Nations and the public to understand how those decisions were made. Having access to this information, particularly if it's a decision made by the premier or other cabinet ministers, or just understanding how those decisions came to be, is just part of good governance.

A record high of adults—80 percent—believes that Americans are divided on the most important values. National pride, trust in government, and confidence in institutions are near record lows. The Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz says the United States hasn't been this divided since the Civil War. Nearly half of Americans think another civil war is likely in their lifetime.

On Feb. 27, 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children; the occupation would last for over two months.

"These regulations are an important step in combating unscrupulous and illegal gaming in California," CNIGA Chairman James Siva said in a statement sent to ReadWrite. "The regulations further clarify that games and practices employed by commercial card rooms are indeed prohibited under California law. Running a business contrary to that law is an illicit business, period. We hope that Department of Justice will now enforce these regulations so California can ensure a well-regulated gaming industry that is safe for consumers."

When I enter a museum, I'm not looking for what's on the walls, I'm looking at what's behind them.

The Maidu tribe of Butte County-Berry Creek, Mechoopda, Mooretown, Enterprise and Konkow Valley, come together to conduct CAL-TREX prescribed burn training to relearn how to put helpful fire back on their native lands that have been devastated by recent catastrophic wildfires. Organizers say the training camp is designed to help restore fire-scarred lands and people. While other Northern California tribes have been reintroducing cultural fire for decades,

Developers seeking to build dams, mines, data centers or pipelines must navigate a permitting process to do so. One requirement in the process is obtaining certification from a tribe or state confirming that the project meets federal water quality standards. Currently, tribes and states conduct holistic reviews of projects, known as " activity as a whole ", evaluating all potential impacts on water quality, including spill risks, threats to cultural resources, and impacts on wildlife. This approach was established under the Biden administration in 2023.

Last February, master of ceremonies Dennis Bowen (a Seneca elder) welcomed the reigning champion into the 2025 World Championship Hoop Dance Contest arena at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona. Thousands of spectators joined them to watch more than 100 dancers compete across the two-day event. Bowen announced Josiah Enriquez's (Pueblo of Pojoaque, Navajo, Isleta) accomplishments as a top place finisher several years running in the teen division and as the surprise winner in an unprecedented tiebreaking round in the adult division the year before.

U.S. president Donald Trump shared a racist video on his Truth Social account in which former American president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama were depicted as apes. I was unsurprised, yet nonetheless disgusted. U.S. senator Jon Ossoff also found the video unacceptable. He said during a rally in Atlanta that Donald Trump was "posting about the Obamas like a Klansman."