Indigenous

The ongoing federal government shutdown is putting crucial food programs – and families that rely on them – at risk.

The Westwin Elements nickel refinery in Lawton, Oklahoma is trying to provide a domestic source for critical minerals. KOSU’s Sarah Liese highlights what is at stake for Westwin Elements, as they work to secure the mineral supply chain, and the tribal nations who oppose it.

An interview with Mary Annette Pember, author of Medicine River. The book is a wide-ranging and deeply personal account of Native American boarding schools in the United States, taking a hard look at their intent and legacy of abuse.

Last week, we reported on a nickel refinery in Oklahoma that is built on the historic reservation of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribal nations. But the refinery is operating without consent, which brings up questions of tribal sovereignty.

Across the country, critical minerals are in increasingly high demand for green technology and national defense. In the first of a three part series, KOSU’s Sarah Liese reports on a nickel refinery in Oklahoma facing pushback from three tribal nations.

Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, was the first Indigenous US Secretary of the Interior. Our Living Lands Producer Daniel Spaulding spoke with her about the challenges and opportunities facing tribes, including climate change and political headwinds.

In 2021, Chuck Sams became the first Indigenous director of the National Park Service. Our Living Lands producer Daniel Spaulding spoke to Sams about his work, climate change, and what the country can learn from Indigenous land management practices.

Last week, Mountain West News Bureau reporter Murphy Woodhouse brought us a story about cultural burning efforts by the Karuk Tribe in Northern California. Our Living Lands Producer Daniel Spaulding spoke with Woodhouse to discuss Karuk burning and its implications across the West.

For millennia, Indigenous peoples have intentionally set fires to care for the land. The Mountain West News Bureau's Murphy Woodhouse reports how a new law in California has opened the door to restore cultural burning - a potential model for other Western states.

Indigenous communities in Alaska's North Slope rely on Walrus for subsistence but climate change has shifted walrus habits. The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Museum of the North are working with Indigenous hunters to understand these changes and document traditional knowledge.