Indigenous

Mustang genes are like those of our country: mixed and mingled, influenced by wave after wave of immigration. Mainstream science tells us the modern-day mustang is descended from horses brought over by the Conquistadors, who used them to subjugate the Indigenous peoples of Central America. But what if the horse wasn’t introduced by newcomers, but was here all along, living alongside the Indigenous peoples of North America? Meanwhile, back at the ranch, while Boo eats his breakfast one morning, Ashley plucks some of his mane to send off to a genetics lab to find out what Boo’s genes can tell us about the history of wild horses.

The second season of Native America arrived this fall with some fanfare. Native Public Media has done some polling about the series and says it shows the reaction in polled states has been extremely positive.

Dallas Goldtooth, the acclaimed Indigenous activist, comedian and actor, just gave the keynote address at a Harvard conference exploring the university’s history of enslavement of Native peoples and its role in colonization. At times irreverent and hilarious, and at others unsparing and sincere, Goldtooth shared his thoughts on how accountability for institution’s like Harvard could be achieved.

The federally created Not Invisible Act Commission is calling for a “decade of action and healing” to address the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons. The commission released a 212-page report with recommendations.

Researchers at the University of New Mexico have found that COVID-19 hit American Indian and Alaska Native patients hard — even inside the university’s hospital.

Nationwide, millions of barriers, like dams, are plugging up rivers and streams. These man-made barriers make it hard for fish to move freely and lay eggs. Now, the federal government is spending more than $200 million to reopen spawning grounds for fish, which includes an effort to recover an endangered species sacred to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada.

New data shows a dramatic rise in the U.S. suicide rate, especially for Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

The land and its waterways have long been sacred to Indigenous people and they know how to care for it well, considering the land used to be theirs. Now, some groups are recruiting indigenous youth to restore and protect these areas.

A recent ceremony in our region dedicated a garden that provides spiritual, medicinal and nutritional sustenance. It's called the Northern Cheyenne Medicinal Garden and it has more than 100 different plants.

A nonprofit has released a new interactive map that sheds more light on the history of boarding schools that traumatized Indigenous children in the U.S. and Canada for decades.