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  • Trump to Naval Academy Grads: ‘Our Ancestors Tamed a Continent’

    I don’t know whose “ancestors” Donald Trump was referring to when he said that they “tamed a continent,” but certainly not mine—nor those of the other hundreds of millions of Americans whose ancestry is not European (pdf). On Friday at a Naval Academy commencement address, your president gleefully proclaimed that “our ancestors tamed a continent,” adding…

    By

    Angela Helm

    Published

  • Tracing Your Roots: Did Grandma Have Creek Indian Roots?

    An ancestor identified as black reportedly spoke a language of the Creek people. The family’s paper trail reflects the complicated history of the American West. Dear Professor Gates: I am seeking more information about my paternal grandmother Matilda Jane Tillman and her origins. Matilda Jane (or Tilly) was born on Dec. 26, 1895, in Marlton…

    By

    Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    Published

  • Trump Honored Native American Code Talkers at the White House. What Could Go Wrong?

    I want a wall. I’ve never wanted the wall before, but I do now. I want to build a wall around the White House that doesn’t allow anyone of color inside, because once inside, we can’t keep you safe. There is a good chance that you are going to be subjected to racist jokes from…

    By

    Stephen A. Crockett Jr.

    Published

  • 6 Ways to Make Your Thanksgiving as Unproblematic as Possible

    Ah, Thanksgiving. Everyone’s favorite official-yet-unofficial holiday. Retailers don’t really know what to do with it, since they tend to jump from a Halloween marketing blitzkrieg straight into Christmas marketing overexposure, but that doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that Thanksgiving is that in-between holiday that chiefly exists for us to nearly and unabashedly…

    By

    Clarkisha Kent

    Published

  • Columbus’ Ain’t the Only Legacy Stained by Slavery—So Is That of the Hero Many People Want to Replace Him With

    Philosophical question here: Does anyone actually celebrate Columbus Day? Granted, most 9-to-5 workers enjoy it as a day off, but does anyone actually celebrate the accomplishments of old Cristoforo Colombo? Even Los Angeles’ vote Wednesday to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day passed the City Council with relatively little serious opposition—though there was a…

    By

    Ian Graber-Stiehl

    Published

  • Obama Designates 1.35 Million Acres in Utah to Protect Native Lands

    In yet another move meant to cement his legacy as an environmental advocate, President Barack Obama recently designated 1.35 million acres of land in Utah for a new national monument, one meant to protect Native lands and precious environmental resources. The Bears Ears National Monument is 1.35 million acres of public land, “redrock country rich…

    By

    The Root Staff

    Published

  • #NoDAPL: Demonstrations Take Place Around the World on Planned Day of Action

    Demonstrations against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline took place across the country Tuesday as part of the #NoDAPL planned day of action. “Indigenous leaders are calling on us to take to the streets and disrupt ‘business as usual’ one week after the election to demand that President Obama’s Army Corps of Engineers and…

    By

    Monique Judge

    Published

  • #NoDAPL: Stanford Students Rally and March in Support of Standing Rock

    Students at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., took part in a rally and a march Thursday in a show of solidarity for Native Americans fighting against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. As previously reported on The Root, resistance to the $3.8 billion pipeline has been strong from the beginning. The Standing Rock Sioux…

    By

    Monique Judge

    Published

  • #NoDAPL: Company Refuses to Halt Construction, Prepares to Drill Under Lake Oahe

    Although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not granted a permit, the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline announced Tuesday that it is preparing to drill under Lake Oahe on the Missouri River in the next two weeks. As previously reported on The Root, resistance to the $3.8 billion pipeline has been strong from…

    By

    Monique Judge

    Published

  • Report: More Than 100 Militarized Police Raid #NoDAPL Resistance Camp

    Hundreds of militarized police were deployed Thursday to a resistance camp built by Native American water protectors in the path of the proposed $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline in Cannonball, N.D. Democracy Now! reports that photos and multiple videos posted to Facebook Live show over 100 officers in riot gear—flanked by multiple mine-resistant ambush-protected military…

    By

    Monique Judge

    Published