The Pentagon recently removed references and articles to Native American service members, including Ira Hayes, the Navajo Code Talkers and others from its website. The erasure didn’t stop with Native veterans and their contributions though, as other minority groups have mentions of their contributions wiped from mentions within the Department of Defense.
Read MoreLast week, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians hosted a welcome home celebration for Leonard Peltier, 80, who spent 49 years in maximum security federal prison for the convictions of a two FBI agents were fatally shot in the summer of 1975. His release is a result of a commutation signed by former President Joseph Biden in his last hour of his presidency on January 20, 2025, where Peltier will serve the rest of his sentence in home confinement. Peltier, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa citizen and an American Indian Movement activist, was arrested in Canada, in February 1976, and extradited to the U.S. from a shooting incident on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that left FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams dead on June 26, 1975. On June 1, 1977, Peltier was convicted for two counts of first-degree murder of the FBI agents and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Read MoreThe Trump administration’s effort to eliminate government spending resulted in layoffs across several federal agencies that serve Indian Country. However, the Indian Health Service was exempt from the executive order aimed at eliminating federal employees within their probationary period by order of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr.
Read MoreLeaders of the Native American Church of North America convened for the third consecutive year to advocate for peyote habitat conservation with leaders in Washington. Leaders and supporters met with Congressional leaders and staff to share progress of advocating for the conservation of peyote, a plant where only enrolled members of federally recognized tribes are permitted to possess and ingest for traditional ceremonial purposes.
Read MoreThe Chief Seattle Club, CSC, has long since tended to and nurtured the seeds for growth, sowing opportunities, and holding space for healing. I
Read MoreIn light of the severe health conditions and medical needs of longtime Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier, NDN Collective and Native Organizers Alliance are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to free Peltier through compassionate release.
Read MoreIndigenous authors featured in new anthology, ‘The Haunted States of America’.
Read MoreA U.S. District Judge in Wisconsin denied a motion to dismiss a federal discrimination lawsuit involving a Native American Church chapter and a local bank on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley issued a 9-page opinion on the court’s denial of the defendant’s motion, upholding the protected use of peyote in traditional American Indian ceremonies.
Read MoreA Kansas County issued a public statement on Friday, April 5, that a death investigation in Johnson County identified Cole Brings Plenty, 27, as deceased in a wooded area. Brings Plenty had been reported missing on April 1 and many have responded as a result including his family and friends. After his death was announced, thousands of people, including his family, news sources, and leaders in Indian Country, have shared words of condolences on social media.
Read MoreSouth Dakota Tribes again face off with Governor Kristi Noem after she made disparaging comments while signing bills last week in Mitchell and Winner, SD. Tribal leaders are demanding an apology for suggesting that Tribes are safe-harboring and partnering with Mexican cartels.
Read MoreA group of Lakota youth from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation representing the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) Oglala Lakota Chapter were banned from attending the Denver March Powwow over the weekend, for displaying solidarity with Palestine. Many community members cited that the Denver March Powwow, one of the country's largest, was originally created to celebrate resistance after forced relocation to many urban cities.
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