Indian Country Blog Posts

Nannakya ilánchi. Everything is changing. Everything has changed.  The election is over, and as we struggle with how we as a nation go forward, not back, our communities need compassion, and they need leadership. And as we continue as a nation to struggle with COVID as new infections surge, this winter promises to be as bad as or worse than the summer.  This virus has changed everything about our lives. Whether we like it or not, we are not going back to the world as we knew it.  But let me tell you why I am looking forward.
 
Many changes are happening in government and in Tribal governance. All necessitated by...

In a recent blog post, Google highlighted the work it has done with the Navajo Nation to adopt Google Plus Codes as an alternative to typical physical and mailing address options. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Navajo Nation has utilized Plus Codes to map community Wi-Fi hot spots, food distribution and COVID-19 aide locations, and has partnered with shipping companies for the delivery of essential products and goods. 

For many tribes, providing accurate physical and mailing addresses to homes and other buildings can be a major challenge due to geographical obstacles and infrastructure limitations. While some homes, businesses, and other structures may have a traditional address capable of...

Written by affiliate scholar Lawrence Roberts. 

Today, the Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, a case involving whether Oklahoma maintains criminal jurisdiction over crimes involving Indians within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation boundaries. The State of Oklahoma and the Trump Administration maintained that the Tribe's reservation no longer existed and therefore the State of Oklahoma possesed criminal jurisdiction over McGirt. The Court, by a 5-4 vote, reaffirmed the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s treaty reserved reservation boundaries and held that the State did not have criminal jurisdiction over McGirt.

Writing for the majority, Justice Gorsuch framed the case in historical context:

On the far end of the Trail of Tears was

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The Arizona Department of Education has formed a new task force to address the digital divide and the technology needs of schools. Technology inequalities existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the rapid transition to online school revealed the deep disparities between people with and without adequate broadband internet access. 

“Access to technology and broadband internet is an issue of educational equity,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman. 

“The group will work to find innovative solutions to address the extreme digital divide across Arizona,” according to the press release. It will also look for ways to expand public-private partnerships and support state Education Technology and Computer Science Standards. 

The Technology...