Happy #InternationalCatDay! In honor of our favorite four-legged companions, enjoy a selection of frisky feline photos and curiosity-inducing stories Long before cats took over the internet—and long before there was an internet to conquer—one photographer spent months in the sitting rooms of America’s well-to-do, capturing elaborate staged photos of some very pampered pussycats on.natgeo.com/3Qnp7dy

The culture of the Siksikaitsitapi is intertwined with buffalo. Millions of bison once roamed North America but were almost killed off by hunters in the late 19th century. Restoration programs have begun to reestablish buffalo to roam free on their tribal lands The Siksikaitsitapi are a confederacy of four nations, three in Canada and one in Montana, U.S. The Native nations have intimate human-animal relations

The Haudenosaunee are comprised of six nations, whose homelands are in what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario. They are skilled farmers—who transformed their landscape into an agricultural powerhouse. The foundation of that powerhouse: corn on.natgeo.com/3nrPMcK The U.S. takeover of Indigenous societies is often described in terms of land. But it also was an assault on culture, including making it ever harder for Indigenous peoples to grow and eat their own foods. Now, the Haudenosaunee are reviving their agriculture

California’s Klamath River used to be home to the third largest salmon migrations in the continental U.S., celebrated for its Chinook salmon. Now their numbers have been reduced by 90 percent, leaving the Karuk and neighboring tribes in California with diminished salmon runs Dams along the Klamath River—which is sacred to Klamath societies—have blocked salmon from reaching spawning grounds and harmed the water quality. The California tribes battled to have the dams removed, protesting their environmental impact

In the 1830s the federal government forced members of the Chahta (Choctaw) and dozens of nations to resettle in Indian Territory, which became part of the new state of Oklahoma—most reservations eventually dissolved. on.natgeo.com/3HYZmgQ The Indian Self-Determination Act in 1975 was a turnaround in Native America—creating mechanisms for tribes to establish and direct their own programs. It meant bringing back Chahta dance and Chahta language, and reviving the traditional team sport of ishtaboli (stickball)

The Tla-o-qui-aht—one of the 14 nations of the Nuu-chah-nulth on Vancouver Island—are reclaiming their land through conservation, renewal of artifacts, and revitalization of language. on.natgeo.com/3u6VAMy For nearly two decades, the Tla-o-qui-aht have been in negotiations over their homeland, over which they have asserted control—protesting that they had never signed a treaty with British Columbia, and thus had given up none of their rights or land

On #WorldElephantDay, a contentious court battle over Happy, a 50-year-old elephant at the Bronx Zoo, poses an important question: Is an animal a person or a thing? Wildlife Trade Investigative Reporter @rfobar breaks it down on.natgeo.com/2VFQBo4 🧵 In the eyes of the law, animals in the U.S. are considered ‘things,’ but earlier this year, New York’s highest court agreed to hear the case for declaring Happy a legal person. The @NonhumanRights Project wants her transferred to a sanctuary, where she'd be with other elephants.

Happy #WorldElephantDay! 🐘 🎉

We'll be watching these baby elephants on repeat Did you know: Elephants recognize themselves in a mirror—something few animals are known to do on.natgeo.com/2VPZQSP

Have you ever thought about how easy it is—or isn't—for you to access something as simple as shade? Take a city like Los Angeles: its identity was built on sunshine—in photos, in Hollywood, and even in our imaginations. By midcentury, "sunshine had become one of our central commodities," says L.A.'s chief design officer Christopher Hawthorne.

Happy #DisabilityPrideMonth! We're doing a Q&A with @insidenatgeo Explorer and musician Feliciano dos Santos (@felician_santos), who uses his band, Massukos, to spread messages of sanitation and hygiene to the most remote villages in Mozambique. on.natgeo.com/3BMiPOo Q1: How did you first become interested in music and what inspired you to use it to spread the message of clean water and sanitation?

Happy #InternationalTigerDay! The tiger might be the largest of the wild cats, but their populations still need protection on.natgeo.com/3l4MbS9 Photographer and big cat advocate Steve Winter hopes to inspire conservation efforts through his photographs of tigers—to preserve them in the wild for generations to come on.natgeo.com/377lhAR

On June 10, millions of people across large parts of the Northern Hemisphere will be able to witness the majesty of a solar eclipse on.natgeo.com/3pBZt8N For many observers in the northeastern United States, the sun will already be partially eclipsed as it appears above the horizon, creating a crescent sunrise

Four oceans or five? It's #WorldOceansDay🌊 and National Geographic is making a change to recognize the Southern Ocean as a fifth official ocean in our atlases and maps! on.natgeo.com/2SmpJb3 I'm Alex Tait (@taitmaps), the Nat Geo Geographer! I work on @InsideNatGeo's mapping projects (including mapping Mount Everest), and I keep our Map Policy up to date

Ten years ago, @michele_norris launched the Race Card Project, which asks people to describe their feelings on race in just 6 words. She thought few would respond. Here are some of the responses—out of half a million so far—that she’s received. on.natgeo.com/3z5EBeL “Black Boy. White world. Perpetually exhausted.”

Happy #APAHM! Today we're hearing from astronomer Munazza Alam about her work, contemplating the cosmos, and inspiring young people in STEM! on.natgeo.com/3bXij4W QUESTION 1: How did you become interested in astrophysics and astronomy, and what inspired you to pursue this career path?

How is America reckoning with its past today?

Artist @KadirNelson 's painting “Tulsa”—featured on the cover of our June issue—evokes both what flourished and what was destroyed in the #TulsaRaceMassacre in 1921 on.natgeo.com/34iV4hl Greenwood Avenue was a street so prosperous it would later be remembered as Black Wall Street. But 100 years ago, a white mob descended on the all-Black community in Tulsa and burned it to the ground. Here’s how the city is coming to terms with that night on.natgeo.com/3vu3RJq

What does it mean to belong somewhere? #APAHM on.natgeo.com/3vkZHDn "That question of belonging is at the heart of our essay exploring how Asian Americans across generations navigate the balancing act of their identities and carve out a place for themselves in this country," writes Elaine Teng (@elteng12) email.nationalgeographic.com/H/2/v600000179…

They've arrived. #BroodX With cicadas, though, there’s nothing to fear.

“It’s a phenomenon that ought to generate awe and respect and wonder” on.natgeo.com/3ozseml

Every week throughout #WomensHistoryMonth, we'll be passing the mic to someone from the @NatGeo family who will be highlighting an aspect of women's history or their work. Today we're hearing from Nat Geo Explorer and Multimedia Storyteller @LillygolS. 1/35 Hi everyone! My name is Lilly Sedaghat and I’m a Nat Geo Explorer & Multimedia Storyteller. I share stories to connect people to the planet, the systems we’re a part of, and the cultures that make life beautiful and diverse. 2/35

Every week throughout #WomensHistoryMonth, we'll be passing the mic to someone from the @NatGeo family who will be highlighting an aspect of women's history or their work. Today we'll be hearing from Chemical Biologist @rosavespinoza. 1/19 There is a hidden world deep in the Amazon Rainforest that we only recently began to explore. Understanding it could help us better protect our endangered jungle, teach us about evolution of Amazonian life and EVEN... 2/19

Hi I'm @dabeard, and after a year of helping curate @natgeo's editorial newsletters, I'm taking you through some defining moments in journalistic coverage of the pandemic—and the reactions it sparked on.natgeo.com/2OfbR0v "I was nervous. ... No one quarantines whole cities if they don’t think they have to." That's what infectious disease reporter @helenbranswell was thinking when she wrote her first #COVID19 stories in early January 2020. on.natgeo.com/3cfZlpa