“Hi, my name is Pam and I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what my people did to your people” stated my white coworker by way of introduction. It was my first summer after high school graduation and I was working as a grocery bagger at a Safeway in Boulder, Colorado. The afternoon rush of customers ...... Read More
The short answer to this question is: Of course they do. Eye-opening as it might seem, about three quarters of our Native population subscribe to some form of secular or religious faith, with Catholicism being the most common. The long answer is that the contemporary American Indian has a distinct tendenc...... Read More
This image comes to us from Richard Whiteford, an environmental communications consultant in Pennsylvania. He writes: “Do you know that the Okehockings, a tribe of the Lenape were the only Native Americans to receive a land grant directly from William…
Guilty of Being an Indian The shocking shooting death of woodcarver John T. Williams, who was merely crossing the street when killed, could be the tragedy that finally forces the Seattle Pol... read more
Stargazers will get yet another celestial show when Venus and the sliver of the crescent moon flirt in the western sky just after sunset on December 26. NASA says the show will begin between... read more
Cobell’s Final Toll The long legal battle is finally over, but the hard sell—and low-ball settlement—of the Cobell lawsuit against the Interior Department for its mishandling of trusts... read more
As winter wraps its icy fingers around much of Indian Country and we prepare to say goodbye to 2011, we’ve got a few pow wow stories that’ll help warm your heart from this past year and... read more
The Spanish arrived in South America in the early 1500s in search of land, slaves, souls and riches. They were not disappointed with what they found, especially when it came to gold. Indigen... read more
Distances stretch for miles on end and Internet access may be virtually nonexistent in many pockets of the nation�... Read More
Even if Uncle Sam is short on cash, the government may have to pay—or not—contract support costs (CSC) under a ... Read More
During the cold winter months it’s very easy to rationalize your way into over eating, not exercising, and genera... Read More
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak frankly on national Canadian television about his intention of selling tar... Read More
Many people in Indian country thought it would be hard to top New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s racist comments ... Read More
Numbers may be a challenge for some college students, but for Paula Bremner, who attends Blackfeet Community Colleg... Read More
“Mr. Eagle, what is wrong with you?” the little boy Rain That Dances asks the great eagle when he comes across ... Read More
With Santa’s reindeer in the limelight for the past few days, everyone has caribou on the brain. But whet... Read More
Stargazers will get yet another celestial show when Venus and the sliver of the crescent moon flirt in the western ... Read More
Update: The deadline for this writing competition has been extended to March 1, 2012 and a second prize, an iPad, h... Read More
Growing-up on the Indian-Negro color line (I am the daughter of a European mother and a black and Indian father), I lived with mixed signals and coded information by the dominant culture. It had determined that white European culture and people were superior in contrast to those who were generally classi...... Read More
In a recent column, Charles Trimble found fault with an adjunct professor in the Syracuse University College of Law, who also happens to be a Mohawk from Akwesasne. Mr. Trimble took issue with Professor Carrie E. Garrow’s view, recently expressed in an opinion piece, that Indian students in the first y...... Read More
The National Indian Council On Aging (NICOA) needs the help of the gaming tribes, especially the wealthiest 20 percent of the gaming tribes. (It is estimated that just 20 percent of the 565 recognized tribal entities control 80 percent of the gaming wealth in Indian country.) The Alaska Native Corporatio...... Read More
I’ve been writing a lot lately about the Era of Contraction—the shrinking of the federal government—and what that policy means to Indian Country. Only not this year. Last week Congress finally approved money for fiscal year 2012 (three months into the spending year) and many programs serving Ame...... Read More
The traditions of my people teach that acting unjustly toward others will cause blowback. This is famously illustrated in the story of how disease came to man in retaliation for what he had done to parts of creation he could dominate. Man had mistaken the power to do something for the morality of doi...... Read More
I didn’t think much of a phone message I received when checking my voicemails at my office last week. The other voice on the line said something to the extent that they just wanted to verify a recent purchase. It’s the holidays, so I put it into my mental to-do list and called back a day or so l...... Read More
Click below for Indian Country Today Media Network Opinion columns organized in relevant categories such as Politics, Business, Education, Language, Health, History, Legal and the powerful Circle of Violence Series. Regular columnists include Suzan Shown Harjo, Steve Newcomb, Mark Trahant, Ruth Hopkins, Steve Russell, Chuck Trimble and Crystal Willcuts. Published regularly online and weekly in print in This Week From Indian CountryToday, Opinion commentary sheds light on common struggles for Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
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Indian Country Today Media Network’s home page is the digital gateway to the world’s most comprehensive and innovative online Native news and entertainment site, serving Native and American Indian tribes nationwide. It features Native American Journalism Association award-winning writers and reporters, and a team of columnists composed of tribal leaders, members of Congress, and the foremost Native thinkers, writers, and artists in Indian Country. ICTMN’s featured articles cover a vast array of subjects such as Native and American Indian opinions, politics, arts, environment, genealogy, and more. Updated many times a day, this site delivers to our audience rich, fascinating articles with captivating pictures and videos and daily late-breaking news alerts featuring the most-up-to-date current events about Native and American Indian culture throughout the web. (NOTE: ICTMN prefers not to use Native American as a general descriptive term, as indigenous peoples predate the formation of the United States and are distinct from ethnic categorization.)
