In Mendocino County, ‘guerrilla gatherers’ risk fines and jail time to keep food culture alive.
Debra Utacia Krol
Posted inArticles
California governor apologizes to tribal nations for past atrocities
‘It’s called genocide. There’s no other way to describe it.’
Posted inArticles
California wildfires weren’t always this destructive
Indigenous residents say traditional practices and careful burns could temper blazes.
Posted inMarch 5, 2018: Drilling Chaco
A shrinking supply of abalone shells affects coastal tribes
Climate change and overfishing have pushed the prized mollusk to perilously low numbers in California.
Posted inArticles
Paiute Tribe elders navigate a faltering health care system
As federal funding dwindles, remote Nevada tribes struggle for access.
Posted inArticles
Northern California tribes face down massive wildfires
Some evacuees return home as clean-up begins and resources are stretched thin.
Posted inArticles
Problem-solving in the West
A conversation with Lucy Moore, one of the Southwest’s premier environmental mediators
Posted inFebruary 18, 2013: Farming on the Fringe
Economy, distrust complicate allocation of tribal settlement money
When the Obama administration announced in April that it would pay 41 tribes some $1 billion to settle a lawsuit over federal mismanagement of trust funds, many saw it as a sort of stimulus package for Indian Country — a chance to invest in long-term development and infrastructure, such as schools, clinics and roads. “The […]
Posted inNovember 8, 2010: Dr. No
The dark side of Indian law
In his new book, In the Courts of the Conqueror, Walter Echo-Hawk discusses the 10 worst Indian law cases ever decided.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2010: 'The environment ... is where we live'
How the West was really won
Savages & Scoundrels: The Untold Story of America’s Road to Empire through Indian TerritoryPaul VanDevelder 352 pages, hardcover: $26.Yale University Press, 2009. Paul VanDevelder, author of Coyote Warrior, digs deeper into the rotten core of the American experience in his new book, Savages & Scoundrels: The Untold Story of America’s Road to Empire through Indian […]
Posted inJuly 20, 2009: Thinking Outside the Timber Box
Cultural blight
Plant disease threatens traditions of California tribes.
Posted inFebruary 2, 2009: Non-navigable River Blues
Blood quantum myth
Regarding your “Blood Quantum” story, back before the first European contacts, marriage outside the tribe was the norm (HCN, 1/19/09). In my studies on biology and genetics, I learned that our Native elders did have extensive knowledge of biology, ecology, genetics, lethal recessives and the like. The only difference is that Western science quantifies, categorizes […]
Posted inSeptember 9, 2008: Reclaiming the low country
Cheewa James: Chronicler of the ‘Tribe That Wouldn’t Die’
Modoc: The Tribe That Wouldn’t DieCheewa James352 pages, softcover: $19.95.Naturegraph, 2008. With song and prayer, soil and prairie grass, Native American author Cheewa James recently honored the memory of her long-lost great-great uncle. Frank Modoc left his Oklahoma reservation for a Quaker seminary over 120 years ago, fell victim to tuberculosis and never returned. While […]
Posted inSeptember 9, 2008: Reclaiming the low country
A Western primer
The Rocky Mountain Land Library asked a panel of Western writers a simple question: What books would you recommend to the next president? What does the next administration need to know about the American West? Our respondents were both generous and inspired with their suggestions. Although I’m sure they would all agree with author Rick […]