Photo Essay: Celebrating Joy at NAYA’s Queer Prom
The Native American Youth and Family Center invited students from all over Portland to show up authentically at Queer Prom.
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Pope Francis prepares to deliver his apology to Indigenous people on July 25, 2022, in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada with chiefs of the four nations on whose land he stood.

THE LATEST

Shoni Schimmel to Plead Guilty in Domestic Violence Case

The former WNBA star will plead guilty at a sentencing hearing in August. Her sentence is unclear, but a similar case shows one potential outcome.

Revered Grand Ronde Leader Kathryn Harrison 'Walks On'

Kathryn Harrison was a key leader in efforts to restore Grand Ronde's federal recognition. At the time of her passing, Harrison was the oldest Grand Ronde tribal member, at the age of 99.

NEWS & FEATURES

Montana TikTok Ban Raises Questions About Digital Sovereignty

The new state law banning the social media app has prompted some in Indian Country to ask if tribal sovereignty extends to technology, specifically data.

A New Approach to Conservation: ‘Indigenize’ not ‘Decolonize’

Serina Fast Horse is helping the city of Portland change the way it thinks about environmental preservation.

Traditional Canoes Return to the Waters of the Pacific Northwest

The Intertribal Canoe Journey is back this year, after a three-year break during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Journey of Healing

The Native and Strong Lifeline provides mental health support to Native people in crisis across Washington state.

Lawsuit in Tribal Court Asserting the ‘Rights of Salmon’ Ends in a Settlement That Benefits the Fish

In an accord with the Sauk-Suittle Indian Tribe, the city of Seattle agreed to create passageways so salmon can swim past three hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River.

‘A Centerpiece of Our Community’

An idea sparked by Warm Springs teens culminated this spring in a new skate park enjoyed by community members of all ages.

Flexing Food Sovereignty

Flexing Our Sovereignty: An Introduction to Underscore's Food Sovereignty Project

Series Co-Manager Nicole Charley introduces a series of stories about traditional Indigenous knowledge and practices that honor and strengthen the relationship to the plants and animals that sustain all of us.

How Indigenous Nations Are Rebuilding Food Systems

Local food, grounded in cultural and spiritual values, forms the basis for a growing food sovereignty movement.

Root Down: At Warm Springs, a New Generation Leads the Feast

As the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs holds traditional first foods feasts in its ceremonial longhouses for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, tribal youth have stepped up to carry the knowledge of the many elders who passed during the pandemic.

Breaking the Law to Uphold it

Legal challenges protect tribal rights to traditional fishing, hunting and gathering.

How Acorns Carry Cultural Knowledge

An Indigenous writer reflects on learning to make acorns into San-chvn-tuu-’i’ or ‘juice of the acorn,’ a hot porridge and staple food.

When Food is Much More than a Commodity

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians leverages government-issued commodities to build a resilient food system that nourishes tribal members. It’s paying off.

SPECIAL SERIES
Sovereign Justice: Data-Driven Reporting Project

Sovereign Justice

The growing power of tribal courts is on full display at the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

On an Ancient Road, Tribal Elders Wage a Relentless Battle

The government bulldozed an Indigenous religious site along a busy Oregon highway, but tribal elders and their families still visit Ana Kwna Nchi Nchi Patat in order to satisfy their religious obligations. Now, the elders want the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their claim to restore the site.

The Chinook Nation’s Existential Fight for Recognition

Chinook people have fought for federal status for close to two centuries. This portrait shows what federal recognition means for the nation’s land base, healthcare, education and legal protections. But, more than anything, tribal members want to be recognized for who they are, and who they have been for millennia.

SPECIAL REPORT
Indigenous Survivors: Voices of Resilience

Justice Lags for Indigenous Survivors of Violence

For Indigenous families, the struggle to prosecute crimes committed by non-Natives on tribal land has created lasting trauma.

Desireé Coyote's Fight to Empower Survivors of Violence

Coyote's story, told through hours of interviews and documents, reveals how years of trauma and systemic failures drove her to advocate for survivors like her.

Indigenous Survivors: Voices of Resilience

Three Indigenous women in Oregon, all survivors of violence who have become advocates in the footsteps of Desireé Coyote, share their personal stories in an effort to inspire and help other survivors.

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