Category: Native Americans

Come and Learn During Reservation Visits 

The man scowled menacingly as he danced toward members of the crowd who watched him in fascination. Feathers adorned his headdress, and he clutched something that looked like a club in his right hand. Then, prancing just a few feet from the onlookers, he broke into a grin, took several more steps in time to…


Biden Administration Says Nevada’s Lithium Mine Project Can Continue After Court Ordered Review

The Biden administration says Nevada’s massive lithium mine project can continue construction after the administration completed a court-ordered review that approved the project, despite legal challenges from tribal leaders and conservation groups. The Interior Department announced Tuesday it is taking steps to clarify mineral rights under the 1872 law to reflect the “realities of the…


Tribe’s Land Cut Between US and Mexico Amid Border Crisis

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is caught between the U.S. and Mexican border, as their land stretches beyond the border wall in Arizona. Raymond V. Buelna, a cultural leader for the tribe, has been separated from tribal members who are stuck living on the Mexican border side after being detained by border patrol agents. It was…


Tribes Seek New Lease on Economic Development in ‘Indian Country’

The Prairie Band Casino & Resort off U.S. Highway 75 in northeast Kansas is a sprawling Las Vegas style casino and hotel with an RV park and golf course that employs 750 and generates $65 million in revenues. Owned by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the resort in Mayetta, Kansas, features a 35,000-square-foot gaming floor,…


US Marshals Service Partners With Yurok Tribe for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative

Northern California’s Yurok Tribe will work with the U.S. Marshals Service as a pilot location for the agency’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Initiative, according to a Feb. 21 press release by the U.S. Marshals Service. The Initiative is in accordance with the agency’s plans to “develop tribally-led collaborative partnerships to proactively examine public safety…


University of California Waives Tuition for Native Americans, Starting Fall 2022

Native American students attending schools in the University of California (UC) system will have their tuition fully waived starting this fall. Announced in April, the UC Native American Opportunity Plan allows California residents who are “members of federally recognized Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native tribes” to get free education on UC campuses. The…


American Pioneer Adventures: Nelson Story Led The Longest Cattle Drive in History, from Texas to Montana

If you were to visit Virginia City, Montana, today, you’d find a town that looks much like it did in May 1863. That’s when a rich placer deposit of gold was discovered in Alder Gulch, the streambed behind the town. Miners returning from gold fields in Bannack, Montana, stumbled across the gold, and despite a…


Exploding Maple Trees Rock Texas Winter

The next time you hear a loud “crack” outside on a moonless winter night, don’t assume it’s someone firing a weapon. It could just be an exploding tree. In Collin County, Texas, locals recently heard a number of trees cracking in the icy weather. “We listened to them all night. Sounds like gunshots going off,”…


J&J and Drug Distributors to Pay $589 Million Settlement to Native American Tribes Over Opioid Crisis

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and three of the nation’s largest drug wholesalers and distributors have agreed to pay $589 million in settlement after hundreds of native tribes accused the companies of fueling the opioid crisis in their communities. The three pharmaceutical distributors—Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Corp., and McKesson Corp.—will pay more than $439 million in settlement…


Missouri Cave With Ancient Native American Drawings Sold

O’FALLON, Mo.—A Missouri cave containing Native American artwork from more than 1,000 years ago was sold at auction Tuesday, disappointing leaders of the Osage Nation who hoped to buy the land to “protect and preserve our most sacred site.” A bidder agreed to pay $2.2 million to private owners for what’s known as “Picture Cave,”…