The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes worked with federal agencies to complete a first of its kind plan to address the crisis.
Justice
Posted inArticles
How activists fought Joe Arpaio’s immigration roundups
Latino-led opposition brought down the Maricopa County sheriff.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Will COVID-19 vaccinations mean more prison overcrowding deaths?
California’s decades-old ‘tough on crime’ laws still fill prisons, creating disease danger zones.
Posted inMay 1, 2021: Beauty and Biodiversity in the Borderlands
Geographer Diana Liverman explains how to tackle the climate crisis fairly
The first step? Don’t panic.
Posted inArticles
What tribal sovereignty means for Freedmen citizenship
Is Congress coercing the Choctaw Nation into doing away with discriminatory policies?
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Did James Plymell need to die?
How homelessness is criminalized in small cities and towns across the West.
Posted inArticles
Western lawmakers lead a movement to protect natural hair
A recent wave of legislation fights for Black women’s right to wear natural styles and have safe hair products.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Mustafa Santiago Ali describes the path forward for environmental justice
Former EPA program leader shares ideas for federal action in the Biden administration.
Posted inArticles
How the Biden administration can reverse Trump’s environmental policies
And what actions the President-elect should prioritize.
Posted inArticles
How Indigenous voters swung the 2020 election
In Arizona and Wisconsin, Native turnout — which often leans liberal — made the difference in Biden’s slim but winning margin.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Trump gutted NEPA regulations, but a Biden presidency could restore them
An environmental lawyer discusses the future of the country’s bedrock environmental law.
Posted inArticles
The Alaska Native village of Kake defends their right to hunt
The state of Alaska sues the Federal Subsistence Board for approving an emergency hunt for the Organized Village of Kake, despite the tribal community’s dire food shortage.
Posted inArticles
Tribes defend themselves against a pandemic and South Dakota’s state government
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe’s COVID-19 checkpoints are at stake.
Posted inArticles
How Portland’s mutual aid supports local Indigenous communities
In a time of crisis, communities come together to engineer their own response.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Tribal nations face continued voter suppression
A new book explains barriers at the ballot box.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
Tribal nations are decolonizing cultural protection
A new book looks at a ‘third way’ for Indian law.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Federal boots on city streets
With Congress gridlocked and courts restrained, public opinion confronts authoritarian tactics.
Posted inArticles
Indigenous and Black Lives Matter activists join forces in Oregon
An acknowledged, shared history of oppression renews the fight for justice.
Posted inArticles
Thousands forced from their homes despite California’s eviction moratorium
Without clear state orders, a loophole in the law allows sheriff departments decide whether to evict.
Posted inArticles
Is ‘dismal’ the best education New Mexicans can expect?
Families fight for multicultural, bilingual and educational equity in the face of governmental evasion.