Indigenous Peoples
The fight for civil rights for the nation's more than 4 million indigenous peoples affects and reflects on all Americans. The fight to preserve tribal sovereignty and treaty rights has long been at the forefront of the Native American civil rights movement. Native Americans also suffer from many of the same social and economic problems as other victims of long-term bias and discrimination--including, for example, disproportionately high rates of poverty, infant mortality, unemployment, and low high school completion rates.
President Obama Commits to Greater Cooperation Between Federal Government and Tribal Nations
November 6, 2009 - Posted by Ron Bigler
Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Obama held a historic White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5 and made it clear that he is committed to ensuring that the needs and concerns of Tribal Nations are addressed by the federal government.
At the conference, the president signed a directive to every cabinet agency asking them to provide a detailed plan — within 90 days — on how to implement Executive Order 13175 — "Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments."
"In the final years of his administration, President Clinton issued an executive order [13175] establishing regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration between your nations and the federal government. But over the past nine years, only a few agencies have made an effort to implement that executive order — and it's time for that to change," said Obama upon signing the directive.
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Native American Tribes in Virginia and North Carolina Are Close to Achieving Federal Recognition
May 5, 2009 - Posted by Jessica Paquette
Congress is considering two bills that will give federal recognition to seven Native American tribes who have long sought recognition. The House Committee on Natural Resources approved both bills a few weeks ago by voice vote, sending them to the full House of Representatives for a vote.
There are currently 562 federally recognized tribes in the U.S. Federal recognition establishes a government-to-government relationship between the federal government and the tribe. Federally recognized tribes are eligible for federal assistance programs that fund initiatives like schools and health clinics and their lands, which are sometimes held in trusts by the U.S. government, are exempt from state and local jurisdiction.
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Comic Art Indigène Exhibition Shows How Comics Have Inspired Native American Artists
April 14, 2009 - Posted by Katie Kohn
 Katie Kohn, LCCR intern, standing in front of paintings from Rose Bean Simpson's "Objectification Series" at the National Museum of the American Indian. The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., is hosting an exhibition called Comic Art Indigène, which shows how American Indians have incorporated comics and comic-inspired art into their storytelling tradition.
The exhibition shows the many ways American Indians have historically told stories, from rock art to ceramics to the more recent comics and comic-inspired art.
Many of the artists, like Rose Bean Simpson and Diego Romero, use comic-inspired art to examine politics, Native American culture, and identity. Simpson's "Objectification Series" explores various portrayals of Native American women in the United States. Romero's paintings tell stories inspired by the Marvel Comics of the 1960s.
"Comic strips were the first accessible form of mass media made available on reservations, and there was this immediate connection between native people and that type of work. There was no language barrier, and the whimsical stories were a very familiar tradition," said Antonio Chavarria, curator of ethnology at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in New Mexico, who organized the exhibition.
The exhibition runs through May 31.
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Native Hawaiians Push for Federal Indigenous Status
April 2, 2009 - Posted by Maggie Owner
 Senator Daniel Akaka, D. Hawaii, is the lead sponsor of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act in Congress. The indigenous people of Hawaii have lived on the islands for thousands of years. But even though the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893 and the islands were annexed by the U.S. in 1898, Native Hawaiians do not have a federally recognized native governing body, like Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
Since that time the U.S. government gradually improved its relationship with Native Hawaiians. Legislation passed in 1974 made Native Hawaiians eligible for some, but not all, of the federal assistance programs available to Native Americans.
In 1993, Congress passed the Apology Resolution which "apologizes to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii."
There are many different proposals for dealing with the federal indigenous status of Native Hawaiians. A bill, the Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009, was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate that would initiate the process to create a sovereign Native Hawaiian government that will be able to engage in a federally recognized government-to-government relationship with the U.S. government, similar to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Different versions of the bill have been introduced in Congress since 2000.
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National Congress of American Indians President Gives Annual State of Indian Nations Speech
February 11, 2009 - Posted by Marcus-Alexander Neil
 A tribal leader hands NCAI President Joe Garcia a silver-headed cane called a "Lincoln Cane." The canes represent the recognition of tribal sovereignty, authority, and honor. Native Americans are hopeful that their concerns will be a part of the new administration's agenda this year.
During the annual State of Indian Nations speech yesterday, Joe A. Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) laid out the Native American community's four main priorities for the new administration in 2009:
- Include Native American communities in the economic recovery plan, particularly funds for tribes to build roads, schools, and health care facilities;
- Reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act;
- Ensure that the federal government helps Native Americans fight crime in their communities; and
- Ensure that the federal government invests in tribal community schools so that Native Americans children can get a good education, which will strengthen Native American communities.
Read the speech (PDF)
Listen to an NPR interview with NCAI's Jacqueline Johnson Pata on the impact of the recession on Native Americans
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President Obama Inspires Native American Community
February 9, 2009 - Posted by Jenna Wandres
 Bunky Echohawks's "Barack Black Eagle: He Who Helps People Throughout the Land" painting Native Americans in the United States have high hopes that President Barack Obama will bring long hoped-for policy changes on issues important to their communities.
While visiting the Crow Reservation in Montana last May, Obama was adopted as an honorary member of the Crow Nation and given a native name that means "one who helps people throughout the land."
"To extend adoption to someone means that [the tribe] recognizes you as an individual who is aligned with them," explained Richard Guest, senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to protecting and defending Native American rights.
Artist Bunky Echohawk, who was inspired by Obama's speech at the Crow Reservation and his "compassion for Native people," created a painting of Barack Obama entitled, "Barack Black Eagle: He Who Helps People Throughout the Land," at the Native Nations: Uniting for Change event during the Democratic National Convention.
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American Indian Museum Launches Online Collection
February 5, 2009 - Posted by Clarissa Peterson
 Dance fans at the National Museum of the American Indian. This week, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) launched the first phase of a project that will display all of its 800,000-plus item collection online.
The NMAI Collections Search, part of the museum's regular website, currently includes more than 5,500 items and photographs, along with information about each item such as origin, materials, and how the museum acquired the item.
The online display is part of the museum's "Fourth Museum" project, which will make the museum's collection available to people who are unable to visit its three locations in Washington, D.C., Suitland, Md., and New York City.
"Most Americans will never see the Smithsonian, and Native Americans aren't any different," said Kevin Glover, director of the NMAI.
The museum expects to have its entire collection online within four years. Items available online during the first phase include some of the museum's most popular items, such as photos of Geronimo, a Chiricahua Apache leader who fought against U.S. and Mexico expansion into tribal lands in the 1800s.
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