REPORTING

Roselyn Tso, Navajo, has spent much of her nearly 40-year career with the agency in the Portland area.

Raynell Morris was the first Native American staffer to be appointed to the White House, one of many firsts in her distinguished career and life.

A 1972 executive order returned the sacred Pahto mountain to tribal lands, but disputes have continued to arise, including a recent challenge that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court affirming the tribe's standing in April.

The findings show the federal Indian boarding school system consisted of at least 408 federal schools across 37 states and that roughly 53 different schools had been identified with marked or unmarked burial sites.

The bills were the result of an unlikely agreement struck between conservation and logging stakeholders over expanding environmental protections.

Activists say overturning Roe v. Wade would be another move in a long history of federal policies that have impacted Indigenous people’s right to choose when and if they have children.

Bryan Newland, the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, says the money will help begin tackling a lengthy list of longstanding problems at in-lieu and treaty fishing access sites.

Sam McCracken works to bring sports resources to Indigenous communities.

As conversation shifts to prevention and intervention, events on May 2-6 include virtual powwows and panels, discussions on law enforcement, proclamations and an in-person community gathering at South Hawthorne Waterfront Park.

With the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria playing a key role, tribal citizens in California will be able to attend one of the state system campuses tuition-free starting this fall.

A restored chinook run there could add significantly to the number of anadromous fish in the entire basin.

A lawsuit filed in state court comes after an appeal from the United Nations failed to convince the U.S. to intervene in planned evictions.

Osage Nation joins with city, county for economic development projects.

Some families have royalty checks and second homes, while others just want their businesses to get a piece of the action.

A proposed lithium mine along the Nevada-Oregon border would produce critical materials for electric car batteries along with local jobs, but critics say the damage to the environment, including the ancestral lands of multiple tribes, isn't worth it.

Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s ranch and meat processing plant generate jobs, food security.

Tribes work to harness energy from sun, wind and water as demand for green energy grows.

Federal and tribal regulations cut benefits for people earning even poverty wages, but help is on the way to put people to work.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation makes history in Oklahoma with new professional basketball team.

A growing industry for environmental remediation needs local workers with the right training.

Tribes contemplate the future beyond gaming after pandemic shows risk of overreliance on casinos.

‘Stealth’ economy for tribes hides billions of dollars in jobs, growth and revenue for rural communities.

Following a March 31 signing ceremony attended by tribal leaders, community members and lawmakers, the new legislation will require statewide alerts similar to when a minor or vulnerable adult goes missing.

Leadership, including President Fawn Sharp of the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington state, met in Arizona to work on a ‘strategic direction’ for the organization.

Native groups organized a rally in Rapid City, South Dakota on March 23, while a federal civil rights class-action lawsuit was filed against Grand Gateway Hotel.

After a judge dismissed charges of shellfish trafficking on treaty grounds, tribes and treaty rights organizations say the case exemplifies how Washington officials are working to undermine treaty fishing rights and agreements, which the state denies.

The recent publication of a four-volume Kalapuya dictionary and a separate ongoing effort to build an expansive digital archive have brought renewed attention to an Indigenous language that has been dead in spoken form for more than a half century.

Benjamin Parker is one of only three dozen Indigenous mathematicians in the U.S. who have completed the field's most advanced degree, although that number is beginning to grow more rapidly.

Tribe says U.N. call for U.S. to stop evictions of disenrolled citizens is filled with ‘misinformation.’ 

In an unusual move, two U.N. Human Rights Council special rapporteurs ask the U.S. government to intervene in the tribal dispute.

Chief Seattle Club announced the completion of 80 housing units for homeless Indigenous people and veterans. The units are in a nine-story building that will also include a health clinic, café serving traditional foods, social services and Indigenous artwork.

A 2019 U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirmed off-reservation hunting treaty rights for the Crow Tribe. Wyoming officials have been resisting that decision ever since, despite recent losses in state courts.

After a successful start to the partnership, the Coquille Indian Tribe wants to be named a co-manager of the river, a proposal backed by local governments, watershed associations and business groups. The effort comes amid a broader push by Oregon tribes to gain more authority in natural resource management and water policy decisions.

The NHL's newest franchise, the Seattle Kraken, is leading the way with art and youth programs to build Native American ties to a sport that traces much of its history to Indigenous peoples of North America.

In a sit-down conversation with Underscore.news, Chuck Sams, the country’s first Native American parks director, discusses the role his agency can play in better representing Indigenous people and their stories.

Federal government is investigating tribe's planned evictions of more than 60 disenrolled citizens.

More than 60 former tribal citizens in Washington are set to be kicked out of their homes in a years-long saga over disenrollment.

Oregon's Charles "Chuck" Sams III has a long list of challenges, while tribal leaders hope he will incorporate more Indigenous culture and history into the National Park Service's operations.

Aja DeCoteau becomes the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s leader at a pivotal time for the future of the river and salmon.

Three tribal leaders who started the case want the federal government to restore an important religious site they say the government unnecessarily destroyed for a highway-widening project in 2008 near Oregon’s Mt. Hood.

Canadian-based airline Iskwew Air launches inaugural scheduled flight after pandemic delay.

Critics say newly drawn state legislative maps in Oregon will make it more difficult for Native American voters to elect candidates who best represent their interests. In Washington, initial maps led to worries that the only Indigenous lawmaker in the state Legislature could lose her seat.

The summit will give tribal leaders a chance to hear about the Biden administration’s work in Indian Country and to tell the White House what they’d like to see happen.

Charles “Chuck” F. Sams III, who would become the first Indigenous person to lead the National Park Service, told senators that he would prioritize hiring more staff, addressing maintenance backlogs and consultation with tribal nations

City leaders in Oregon are partnering with nonprofits and tribes to promote first foods, which may hold clues to climate change resilience while connecting urban Native Americans to important ancestral knowledge and practices.

New federal-tribal partnership will deepen the Corps of Discovery journey with stories from the many tribes who helped the explorers find their way.

Several tribes announced vaccine requirements for tribal employees weeks before President Joe Biden’s announcement in early October.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation tried early and often to protect its members from COVID-19, but in this case, to no avail.

Chuck Sams’ nomination to lead the National Park Service is a source of pride for Umatilla Tribes.

In the aftermath of the Bootleg Fire, Klamath tribal leaders vow to persevere on the land where they have lived for millennia.

For the Klamath Tribes, the damage wrought by the Bootleg Fire is deeply personal.

The Klamath River flows through two states and the lands of several tribal nations. It’s home to First Foods and provides irrigation. And there’s not enough water to meet everyone’s needs.

Decades after saber-toothed cat bones were discovered in Oregon, two scientists realized they belonged to a previously unidentified species. Cayuse scholars helped name the feline, which they say shows their language persists.

Tribal nations in the Pacific Northwest leverage sovereignty and experience to fight the pandemic.

The Constitution of the Choctaw Nation bars enrollment for the descendants of enslaved Black people. Chief Gary Batton says enrollment is based on ‘a federal construct that has fueled division and racism.’

COVID-19 created a need for more internet access. On reservations, barriers remain to high-speed broadband.

Earlier this year, 17 members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation went on trial for violating COVID-19 restrictions. In court, they argued that they had a right to practice their traditions. Pandemic restrictions have made it harder for many Native Americans to maintain contact with their culture, some leaders say.

The COVID-19 pandemic and mismatched databases confound efforts to address failures investigating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Wednesday is a national day of action.

Oregon tribes are reintroducing a species that creates important habitat for First Foods. But the Beaver State’s laws don’t work in the animal’s favor.

The economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has hit Indian Country particularly hard. Entrepreneurs are turning to small, local lending institutions in a region that’s often outside the reach of traditional banks.

As employment by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation drives an economic engine, tribal members and reservation residents lack access to traditional banking. Nixyaawii Community Financial Services is trying to bridge that gap.

Once leery of federal health initiatives, Native Americans embrace COVID-19 vaccines as a way to protect communities and families.

Members of Congress are threatening to hold up housing funds for tribes. To the chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, it’s infringing on tribal sovereignty. For those seeking citizenship, it’s a chance to change a ‘system of hidden anti-Black racism.’

If Rep. Deb Haaland is appointed by Congress, she will oversee the Department of Interior, managing “the earth, mountains, forests, rivers—and Indians”, a federal agency that has upended life for Native Americans for decades.

Incomplete data show academic slippage as many K-12 students learned from home. The push is now on to return to the classroom — safely.

The novel coronavirus outbreak is making it harder for Native Americans to fish along the Columbia River. Depleted salmon runs and the federal government’s failure to improve fishing sites had already impacted culturally and economically important harvests.

Teachers in the Central Oregon school district have gotten creative and put extra energy into engaging their students online.

The small, high-desert district, one of the few to host in-person classes, has a 94% attendance rate.

At Banks High School, teachers employ a variety of strategies to ensure that students don’t log in and then tune out.

Estacada school officials branch out to connect with students in rural Clackamas County.

Based on a couple key indicators, students of color are lagging behind white students during distance learning, although the disparity seems smaller in rural districts.

In Oregon, few academic benchmarks are being kept at the state level, and even fewer being shared. But the data that is available indicates that many students are regularly missing classes, particularly at the upper grades and that many high schoolers are failing at least one class.

As high school students juggle responsibilities of a job or child care, one school district experiments with evening tutoring.

Relief money provided by the CARES Act must be spent by Dec. 30. With Congress fighting over additional stimulus, Oregon tribal governments are left wondering how they’ll provide services next year.

The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered facilities at Portland’s Native American Youth and Family Center. Now the organization is finding ways to offer services remotely, including getting food to families who are at a high risk of going hungry.

And why I'm lucky

The two middle-aged white men shared a common backstory: Both were raised in the rural Pacific Northwest and found a sense of greater purpose and belonging on opposite sides of radical politics. Then both ended up dead.

“I’ve been emailing my fourth grader’s teacher saying, ‘Hey, we’re lost.’ But it’s after-hours, so he can’t really help me.”

A look at events that led up to the Columbus Day proclamation that arose from racist attitudes and how Native Americans face similar racist demons. 

Local law enforcement officers deputized as U.S. Marshals have given conflicting accounts of the shooting. Witnesses say they heard no warning before the agents shot Michael Reinoehl dead, an outcome President Trump termed “retribution.’’

Federal regulators have given a Canadian oil company the power to seize property from Oregon landowners for a gas pipeline that will help … Canada.

For Native American high school graduates, COVID-19 has derailed plans—but not resolve.

The Census has long failed to accurately tally populations in Indian Country. COVID-19 is hampering attempts to fix that.

In response to COVID-19, the state closed its classrooms in spring and will keep kids at home to start the new school year.

Jefferson County school officials are working to ensure recent graduation rate gains don’t falter with a shift to distance learning.

Officials at the Central Oregon school district say a focus on individual student needs has helped almost everyone, particularly Latinos and Native Americans.

On the Warm Springs Reservation, residents have been without clean drinking water for three summers in a row. Where is the fix?

Native American activists see purpose with Black Lives Matter.

With the arrival of militarized federal officers, questions arise among the local protest community.

The Native American experience with COVID-19 is only the latest chapter in a centuries-long tragedy.

In the midst of a pandemic, tribes adapt in their preparation for fire season.

While their home islands drown, Micronesians living in Oregon struggle to save their heritage.

Pandemic has forced the cancellation of events everywhere. But in Indian Country, not congregating comes with added cost—and risk.

Courts are experimenting with novel approaches to gang activity. Can they be applied to right-wing extremists?

Casino closings affect thousands of Oregon jobs.

Native American dancing celebrates life at a distance

Coronavirus numbers for Native Americans begin to climb.

Collaboration and multiple partnerships built “Our Place” to change the financial bottom line.

Former right-wing radicals are leading efforts to counter violent extremists. But do they work?

Patriot Prayer leaders insist they’re not racists, but they continue to draw praise from white supremacists