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
The Lumbee tribe, located in Robeson County, N.C., was recognized by the state of North Carolina as American Indians in 1884. In 1956, Congress recognized them as American Indians, but they did not receive the full benefits of federal recognition.
The Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe, all located in Virginia, received recognition from the state of Virginia in 1983. There are currently no federally recognized tribes in Virginia.
Federal recognition is usually handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, however, the process is difficult. One of the bureau's criteria for recognition is that tribes prove that they've been recognized as group or community of American Indians for a century, which is very hard for most tribes because states haven't always classified them as American Indians. For instance, members of the Virginia tribes were classified as "colored" in the 1920s.
Because the Lumbee tribe were partially recognized in 1956, full recognition must come from Congress.
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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.
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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
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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.
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