After some cringe-worthy coverage from non-Native outlets, here is a run down of Native journalists covering last week’s #scotus oral arguments in Haaland v #Brackeen.

@jourdanbb & @Pdineclah covered protests outside #SCOTUS for @IndianCountry

indiancountrytoday.com/news/indigenou… And here is video of Wednesday’s rally at #scotus from @ndncollective.

ndncollective.org/video-ndn-coll…

During the #SCOTUS oral argument in #Brackeen several Justices seemed to think #ICWA takes Native children from foster parents they attached to & that’s bad.

So here’s a list of every time the foster parents in this case moved a foster kid or fought for a kid to be moved: We’ll start with the Brackeens.

The first child they ever fostered was not an ICWA case bc the kid was not Native. After 5 months, they asked CPS to take the child back bc the 3 yr old was “difficult” and “suffocating”.

Native leaders, advocates and citizens traveled from across the US to attend oral arguments in Brackeen. Samantha Maltais (Aquinnah Wampanoag) is a law student at Harvard who wanted to attend bc tribal sovereignty is one the line. Leaders from ICWA Law Center, White Earth and Casey Family Programs got in line at 5am this morning.

The story of YRJ—a little Navajo girl, being raised by the white couple suing to overturn ICWA—was shared by @JanHoffmanNYT for @nytimes, @NinaTotenberg for @NPR & Fox News this week. But their coverage left out some really important info. 🧵: The Brackeens say ICWA discriminated against them bc it wouldn’t let them adopt Native kids. But in 2019, a family court judge awarded them custody of YRJ over a blood relative. At the time, they weren’t fostering her. She was being raised by some one else.

This article is a great example on how the @nytimes coverage of Indigenous issues doesn’t meet the basic standards of journalism. This article grossly misrepresents what happened in the underlying custody cases and the people behind the lawsuit.

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1589696707839029250

The placement didn’t “fall through”. The Brackeens brought a legal arsenal that you never seen in Family Court—the corporate law firm that represents Walmart, Amazon, and Chevron and the State AG of Texas. Only then, did the tribes agree to the adoption.

If you are still observing #ColumbusDay instead of #IndigenousPeoplesDay today here is your annual reminder of what you are celebrating...

CW: violence, sexual assault Christopher Columbus's army used Indigenous people as dog food. They were known to feed live babies to dogs in front of their horrified parents.

Feels like a good time to revisit the Doctrine of Discovery: the Christian legal theory with which Europeans gave themselves the right to colonize the globe.

It asserted that Christian Nations became the rightful owner of any land they found occupied by non-Christian people. It was really that straightforward: because Christian nation were seen as superior, they could claim whatever they wanted.

There is a shortage in the “domestic supply of infants” in the US.

For decades, the adoption industry has filled this gap disproportionately with children from communities of color—first through international adoption and now foster care. After Roe and the pill, the number of babies available for adoption in the US decreased dramatically. Adoption agencies solved this problem by going overseas.

But US demand started creating some unethical—and even illegal—adoption practices.

Tomorrow #SCOTUS will hear oral arguments in a case that could limit the scope of its 2020 #McGirt decision.

Using alarming facts & figures, #Oklahoma claims McGirt led to criminal justice chaos. But we looked into it, & their numbers don’t add up.

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/… In its CERT petition in Castro, OK claimed up to 76,000 past convictions could be impacted according to district attorneys. The governor‘s office confirmed the estimate came from DAs. But when we contacted the DAs, they didn’t know what the governor was talking about.

In 2020, only 0.4% of funding by large U.S. foundations was directed to Native communities.

During this “season of giving”, please don’t forget to include Native orgs.

Here is a list of Indigenous-led foundations/ grant-making orgs that re-invest $$ into Native communities. .@ndncollective gives grants to Indigenous change makers, creatives and community self-determination projects.

@DecolonizWealth is transforming philanthropy to put more money and power into Indigenous and Black led organizations.

For #IndigenousPeoplesDay2021 here are some of my fav Native voices on here. Get Indigenous content more than 1 day a year by hitting that follow button!🧵:

@MelaninMvskoke @nickwestes @LucasBrownEyes @Ruth_HHopkins @Ruth4Nd @alisonaher @grahambrewer @Pdineclah @tanayawinder .@ChoctawFreedmen @jnoisecat @DinaGWhit @janaunplgd @sierraornelas @AzieDee @stacyleeds @MaggieBlackhawk @PepePierce @echohawkd3 @native4data @YazzieSays @kstsosie @DeondreSmiles @savannah_maher @TrippCrouse @LakotaMan1 @NickA_Martin @ABecenti @MsKellyMHayes @NatalieGDiaz

On this HISTORIC day it’s important to remember the history that got us here.

Originally the Bureau of Indian Affairs—the agency tasked with managing the US gov’s relationship w/ Indigenous Nations—was housed in the War Department. In 1849 it was transferred to the newly formed Department of the Interior. So diplomatic relations w/ Indigenous Nations went from being managed by the military to being managed alongside land, fish and animals.

If you are observing #ColumbusDay instead of #IndigenousPeoplesDay2020 here is a list of what you are celebrating...

1. Christopher Columbus's army used Indigenous people as dog food. They were known to feed live babies to dogs in front of their horrified parents.

CW: SA 2.) His "voyage" initiated the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade when he captured 1600 Taino people and shipped them to Spain for gold. Most died on the journey.

In less than 10 days the federal government is scheduled to execute the first Native American in modern history.

Against the wishes of his tribe AND in violation of federal law. When Congress passed the Federal Death Penalty Act (FDPA) in 1994 it included the “tribal option”, which gave tribes the authority to decide whether or not their citizens could be sentenced to death for crimes committed against other Indians.

"The federal government promised the Creek a reservation in perpetuity. Over time, Congress has diminished that reservation. It has sometimes restricted and other times expanded the Tribe’s authority. But Congress has never withdrawn the promised reservation.... As a result, many of the arguments before us today follow a sadly familiar pattern. Yes, promises were made, but the price of keeping them has become too great, so now we should just cast a blind eye. We reject that thinking...

"On the far end of the Trail of Tears was a promise. Forced
to leave their ancestral lands in Georgia and Alabama, the
Creek Nation received assurances that their new lands in
the West would be secure forever... In exchange for ceding “all their land, East of the Mississippi river,” the U. S. government agreed by treaty that “[t]he Creek country west of the Mississippi shall be solemnly guarantied to the Creek Indians.”

Between Trump visiting Mt Rushmore, racist mascots, and DAPL getting shut down Natives have been in the news A LOT this week.

But... newsworthy events are *always* happening in Indian country. Which is why u should follow and subscribe to Native news outlets 👇🏻 @IndianCountry: Breaking news and commentary
@ndncollective: Podcast and blog
@indianz: breaking news on court cases & legislation
@najournalists: Association of native journalists
@powwows: mostly powwow circuit, other stuff too
@Native_NewsNet: News and commentary

Got a bunch of new followers recently, which is exciting!! But if I am the only native account you follow #onhere that’s a problem. Like one you should solve right now.

Here are some other handles to follow: Strong voices on racist mascots, #NoDAPL, #BlackLivesMatter & COVID in NDN Country

@MelaninMvskoke @BigIndianGyasi @blackhorse_a @_IllumiNatives @_NativeInLA @John_A_Little @dallasgoldtooth @QueenYoNasDa @Joyhenderson78 @chipotalosa @echohawkd3 @PresFawnSharp @allieyoung13

I wanna talk about the historical context of this line of the Declaration of Independence and how the British not meeting the colonists demand for more and more Native land was explicitly one of the underlying reasons for the Revolutionary War. #IndependanceDay When #4thofJuly2020 insurrections amongst us, & has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction...” that shit wasn’t abstract. #FourthofJuly

Why is it important for Warren to publicly and directly retract her family story of having Cherokee heritage?

Because its rooted in White Supremacy.

#Thread #StepUpWarren #CherokeeTruth The ancestors Warren claims were Cherokee are not only well documented White ppl, they participated in the dispossession and genocide of Cherokee ppl.

Imagine a public leader claiming their family survived genocide, when they actually perpetuated it. Thats what Warren did.

After a month of organizing, over 200 Cherokee citizens and Native voices published an open letter to @ewarren calling on her to refute her claims to Cherokee heritage bc it normalizes White ppl appropriating our identity.

#StepUpWarren #CherokeeTruth

medium.com/@ewarrenisnotc… Warren and her supporters claim she is the right candidate because she listens, responds and changes to criticism. Today, we'll see if that virtue holds true.

If you're part of @TeamWarren I hope you stop, listen to Cherokee voices, and hold your candidate accountable.