Today on the blog, Jennifer explains the Federal Indian Boarding school program, the origins of Orange Shirt Day, and the relationship of the U.S. Federal Indian Boarding school program to Canada's residential school program.
This July, the Indian Defense League of America (IDLA) and local community members will cross the border at Niagara Falls. This event is an annual celebration of the rights of all Indigenous peoples of North America to cross the border between Canada and the United States freely. Indigenous people lived, worked, and socialized throughout the …
This Women’s History Month, we look back to women who worked to advance women’s suffrage. One such notable figure is Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin, who worked to advance the rights of Native peoples and women, particularly Indigenous women. Born in 1863 in Pembina, North Dakota as a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of …
Some of the founding fathers– Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton—met at a dinner party on June 20, 1790, to discuss options for the siting of the capital of the new Federal government. On July 16, 1790, the founders formally selected a spot on the Potomac River as the permanent capital (Washington, D.C.), after 10 years of siting …
Felix Cohen noted that, “[f]rom the earliest years of the Republic the Indian tribes have been recognized as “distinct, independent political communities’” (Cohen 1941, 122). Despite the early nation-to-nation relations between tribal nations and the United States, self-determination was not codified. After termination policies of the 1950s were put in place, many tribal nations and …
This Native American Heritage Month, we honor the significant figures in history who contributed to civil rights and the law. Ada Deer, Menominee, was an activist, tribal leader, social worker, government official, professor, and community activist, all in service to her community. In the process of trying to make improvements in the quality of Native …