U.S. launches national strategy to address missing and murdered Indigenous people — finally

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For years, Native communities in the U.S. and Canada have been trying to raise awareness about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Statistics show that Indigenous women go missing and are murdered at rates far higher than any other demographic, and the issue has only recently come into mainstream consciousness.

Canada launched an inquiry into MMIW in 2017, and released a historic report—in which the epidemic was called "genocide"—this past summer. Now, the U.S. is formally launching a federal task force and strategy of its own to address the issue—only broadening the scope to include all Native Americans, not just women.

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He thought his T-shirt would turn a few heads, but he wasn't expecting so much backlash.

The Washington Redskins are one of the most controversial teams in professional sports, and it has nothing to do with what's happening on the field.

For one, unless it's meant to describe a type of potato (which, while that would be delicious, it is not the case), the team's name is a racist slur, and not one that many Indigenous people are super excited about. The logo, meant to be some sort of chief with — you guessed it — red skin, compounds the problem. When you add in the fact that many of the team's fans like to dress up as that logo, it creates kind of a perfect storm of racism.

Arguments over whether the team should keep the name have gone on for years. Those in favor of keeping it often cite tradition (the team was established in 1932), while those who'd like to see it changed often cite the, you know, racism. But this is not an article about that. Not exactly, at least.

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Elizabeth Warren takes on 'Pocahontas' slur in speech to Native Americans.

Donald Trump is fond of giving people insulting nicknames that, presumably, have gotten more than a few people to crack a smile: "Crooked Hillary." "Sloppy Steve." But the name he calls Elizabeth Warren has never been funny.

The Massachusetts Senator is a political lightning rod known for "persisting" in even the most heated situations. On Feb. 14, she did it again — pushing back against the "Pocahontas" slur given to her by Trump and conservative critics.

"Our country’s disrespect of Native people didn’t start with President Trump," Warren said. "But now we have a president who can’t make it through a ceremony honoring Native American war heroes without reducing Native history, Native culture, Native people to the butt of a joke."

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A huge win for the people protesting at Standing Rock — and for all of us.

The federal government stepped in to put plans for a pipeline on hold.

After a months-long standoff, Native Americans at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota got some great and unexpected news from the federal government.

On Sunday afternoon, the Army Corps of Engineers put plans for the Dakota Access Pipeline on hold while it explores alternate routes for the $3.7 billion project.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement that the decision "underscores that tribal rights reserved in treaties and federal law, as well as Nation-to-Nation consultation with tribal leaders, are essential components of the analysis to be undertaken in the environmental impact statement going forward."

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