TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A standing-room-only crowd gathered in Tahlequah to celebrate the life and legacy of the Cherokee Nation’s first female principal chief, Wilma P. Mankiller, who is now immortalized on a U.S. quarter released June 6. “She’s a legend,” Cherokee Nation citizen Henry Carey Jr., 66, of Tahlequah, said. “She deserves it. Wilma Mankiller, … Read more
By Hanay Geiogamah December 11, 2015 Like so many of us American Indians who have spent the better part of our lives trying to find our place in the world in American life and in tribal life John Trudell was born and grew up dirt poor in the wind-swept openness of the prairies of Nebraska. … Read more
By Noelani Arista & Randall Akee November 20, 2015 As you read this, Na’i Aupuni (Seizure of Government), the new non-profit agency created and funded by the State of Hawai’i, is launching a Native Hawaiian constitutional convention. In order to understand the process it has never been more timely to have a public discussion about … Read more
By Tanya Lee January 22, 2014 Radical, revolutionary, exceptional or just plain common sense are some of the terms used to describe “A Roadmap to Making Native America Safer,” the result of two years’ work by the nine-member Indian Law and Order Commission established by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. For more … Read more
By Tanya H. Lee October 23, 2013 Justice systems are never easy to come by, as the U.S. vertical hierarchy of courts, jury options and appeals processes attest. In American Indian law, with its need to integrate the principles of 567 nations (counting the U.S.), tribal law, state law, federal law, the inherent and reserved … Read more
By Dot Scott October 13, 2013 The recent cases of Baby Veronica and Baby Desaray make me fear for young adoptive children, especially those of color. The similarities of these two cases, including the same adoption agency attorney in both, demand a closer look into these children’s civil rights. As an African-American mother, it disturbs … Read more
By Suzette Brewer September 24, 2013 In the end, it came down to one simple strategy: Waiting. As Dusten Brown faced the Damocles Sword of jail time and a felony warrant, Matt and Melanie Capobianco only had to wait. Last week, as the clock was running down on the stay that the Oklahoma Supreme Court … Read more
By Angela Aleiss June 17, 2013 As The Lone Ranger heads for the big screen this summer, many Native Americans are questioning Disney’s campaign to court their approval. They believe that the studio’s public relations gestures mask the real issues of the marketing and identity of indigenous people. The movie, which stars Johnny Depp as … Read more