Bill Tripp, Karuk, has been a cultural fire practitioner nearly his entire life. He remembers being 4 years old, cracking acorns as he waited for his great-grandmother to wake up so they could talk in the mornings. Eventually he turned his attention toward the woodstove and tried to build a fire. His great-grandmother heard him […]
Indian Country Today
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Historic Apology: Boarding School History a ‘Sin on Our Soul’
President Joe Biden delivered an historic apology Oct. 25 on behalf of the United States for the nation’s dark past with Indian boarding schools, which sought to wipe out Native people, culture and language. Calling the federal boarding school policies “a sin on our soul,” Biden drew cheers, tears and at least one protester among […]
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Gold Rush Outpost Now in Native Hands
Founded during the mid-1800s gold rush, the Salmon River Outpost is situated along a winding road in the mountains of Northern California. Once, it was a gathering place where miners and settlers bought supplies while pursuing a dream that had brutal consequences. One of only two grocery stores for miles, the store has served the […]
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New Federal Program Aims to Strengthen MMIP Investigations
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced plans to address the country’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples crisis with new, nationwide initiatives aimed to increase cooperative investigations. According to the department’s press release, the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Regional Outreach Program allows departments from various levels of government, including federal, state and tribal, to collaborate […]
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Harvard Announces Return of Native Hair Samples
Tucked in hundreds of envelopes is the hair cut from Native children as they arrived at boarding schools. Hidden away for nearly 100 years in the recesses of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, the collection of hair samples offers tangible evidence of the trauma of assimilation. According to the hygiene practices of the day, […]
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Deaths at Chemawa
Charlie Feister, a citizen of the Klamath Tribes, was a runaway from Chemawa Indian School when he was shot dead in 1907 while trying to steal food from a store in Chemawa, Oregon. A short article in the Weekly Chemawa American student newspaper describing the incident fails to mention that Charlie was 11 years old […]