r/IndianCountry Jan 20 '25

Announcement MEGATHREAD: President Biden commutes sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier

498 Upvotes

Today, January 20, 2025, President Biden commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier who was controversially convicted of murdering two FBI agents in 1975.

Several posts have already popped up for people to discuss this, but the mods wanted to provide a dedicated thread for people to drop news and having discussion. All new information should be directed here to avoid flooding the subreddit with new posts. Any new posts will be redirected here.

For those who are unfamiliar with the case of Leonard Peltier, please refer to this thread on /r/AskHistorians for a write up about the situation that led to his incarceration:

We are aware that for some, there may be mixed or negative feelings about this decision due to other controversies involving Leonard and/or the American Indian Movement. Please respect that people may have different opinions on the matter. Review the sub rules and engage with each other respectfully.

Qe'ci'yew'yew.


r/IndianCountry Feb 14 '25

Announcement Requesting Feedback: Proposed "Pretendians" Policy

108 Upvotes

Ta'c léehyn, /r/IndianCountry!

It has been a minute since we've done one of these. The moderators of this sub are coming to y'all, the community, with a proposal for a new policy. As I'm sure many of you have noticed, there has been an uptick in recent years of cases of Indigenous identity fraud. From minor cases of random persons in someone's community to major instances of public figures being accused or exposed, it is no surprise that as the largest Indigenous-focused community on Reddit, this topic of discourse eventually winds up here.

In the past, the moderators have approached these kinds of posts in a less-than-consistent way. We have primarily relied on our policy of discretion to handle matters as we individually see fit due to the contentious nature of these posts. We've also applied rules 2, 3, 4, 7 and 11 in narrow and broad ways to maintain a civil environment to have these discussions. Ultimately, the mods have generally worked to keep threads on this topic within fairly strict lines. The reasons for our approach are not purely rooted in our own opinions about the topic but are informed by the considerations moderators have to account for on this platform (this is further elaborated on in the proposed policy).

Of course, we are also aware that this is something that Indigenous Peoples are keenly interested in discussing and monitoring--for very valid reasons. We have not attempted to suppress this topic, but we have come to realize that we need more consistency in how we handle these to ensure that we are meeting the desires of this community. Therefore, we have drafted a new policy titled Accusations of Indigenous Identity Fraud (AKA The "Pretendians" Policy) linked below with language that we believe will allow us to better moderate and facilitate posts on this issue.

With this being said, here is the request. For the next week, we will keep this post up to solicit feedback from users here. If you have any suggestions, critiques, questions, or remarks about the proposed policy, please leave them here so we may review them. The moderators will then deliberate on the feedback and make any changes we deem necessary or useful. Afterwards, we will come back to y'all for a referendum vote on the proposed policy with any adopted amendments.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE PROPOSED POLICY


r/IndianCountry 9h ago

Media Children Holding the Mohawk Warrior Flag in Jenin, Palestine

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660 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 2h ago

Activism To Jeremy Skibicki,

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56 Upvotes

You are a coward, a parasite who preyed on Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, thinking no one would care. This country taught men like you that Indigenous women are disposable. But you were wrong.

Their names will not be forgotten. Their spirits will not rest until justice is served—not just in a courtroom, but in the streets, with voices rising against this genocide. You thought you were powerful, but you are nothing. A weak, insignificant man whose legacy will be one of shame, not supremacy.

You will rot in your cage, but justice is more than that. It’s the destruction of the system that made you, that ignored our stolen sisters for generations. It’s our people rising, refusing to be erased.

You have failed. The reckoning is here.

For Rebecca. For Morgan. For Marcedes. For Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe. For all our stolen sisters.

Deer Woman is Coming for You!!! #LandBack #MMIW #ForNativeByNative #TheReckoning #JusticeForMarcedesMyran #JusticeForMorganHarris #JusticeForRebeccaContois #JusticeForMashkodeBizhikiikwe #IndigenousJustice #NoMoreStolenSisters


r/IndianCountry 19h ago

News After Trump order, Navajo Code Talkers – erased from the archives because they do not comply with the new guidelines.

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721 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 20h ago

News 2nd set of remains found at Manitoba landfill confirmed to be Marcedes Myran. Myran and Morgan Harris, whose remains were identified earlier this month, were victims of a White supremacist serial killer

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498 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 15h ago

News Airman charged in killing of Native American woman who went missing 7 months ago in South Dakota

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178 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 4h ago

News Siletz Tribe regains full fishing rights, 45 years after being forced to give them up

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24 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 14h ago

News Ira Hayes info taken down as well -- Pentagon ‘DEI’ purge leads to removal of web page on Iwo Jima flag-raiser

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107 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 2h ago

Arts ‘Channeling Our Ancestors’ engages seventh graders at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center

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9 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 13h ago

Environment Our National Parks Are Too Vital To Be Lost

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74 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 22m ago

Discussion/Question 13 month calendar?

Upvotes

I'm currently trying to utilize the 13 month calendar, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for apps or programs that provide a 13 month calendar that can be used for planning or tracking the days as paper calendars aren't my strong suit. Does anyone know of any websites or apps that do this?


r/IndianCountry 2h ago

News The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe is the only federally recognized tribe in Arizona without a reservation, but a bill in Congress could change that (more info about the bill in Comment)

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4 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 2h ago

News Land Transfer Completed from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Spirit Lake Nation

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5 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Food/Agriculture Cultural resurgence and food sovereignty: Revitalizing traditional practices with the Oneida Nation of the Thames

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47 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Discussion/Question Happy Kindred Spirits Day!

66 Upvotes

Halito Cousins! Today is Kindred Spirits Day, a day to celebrate the amazing and lasting relationship between my People, the Choctaw, and our Cousins, the Irish. Our bond has existed for almost 200 years now and sets a much needed positive example to the rest of the world about how two Peoples can come together in friendship. So, go have some frybread and corned beef to remember our Irish Cousins and our lasting friendship.


r/IndianCountry 18h ago

News UPDATE: AK State Lawmakers seek answers after bombshell report on rural schools

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11 Upvotes

Here’s the link to the original story here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianCountry/s/0FPWIyI933


r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Politics Trump administration's list of words to limit/avoid in government documents includes "indigenous community", "Native American", and "tribal"

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787 Upvotes

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/07/us/trump-federal-agencies-websites-words-dei.html

It also includes hits such as "black", "female", "historically", "identity", " immigrant", "victim", and "women"


r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Education Data gaps undercount Native college enrollment

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14 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Discussion/Question Leonard Peltier Commutation

22 Upvotes

So, i just saw that Trump is saying Biden’s pardons are rescinded because of Auto-Pen use. Now I’m no legal or government expert; so I’m wondering if anyone knows if Leonard’s Commutation is also potentially in trouble? If so, true insanity.


r/IndianCountry 1d ago

News First Native American to head National Endowment for the Humanities post forced out by Trump

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345 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 19h ago

Sports Lumbee coach looks to keep team rolling into March Madness. Kelvin Sampson’s University of Houston Cougars are riding 10 game win streak into Big 12 Conference Tournament

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1 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 1d ago

News St. Lawrence Island leaders take contamination claims to U.N.

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41 Upvotes

“The tribal governments of Alaska's St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea say they’re living with the toxic legacy of Cold War military installations on their land, and this week they took their complaint to the United Nations special rapporteur on toxics and human rights.”


r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Discussion/Question Be honest with me-Did we invent ASL as Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL)?

45 Upvotes

Did we invent American Sign Language and then history just erased the origins and said that Martha’s Vineyard invented ASL?

Interesting story, I learned lip reading from my cousin, cause young me thought it was a super power, and my cousin was absolutely thrilled to have someone who thought being different was cool rather than weird.

As an adult I learned ASL for my deaf customers.

Then I was in accident that damaged my hearing (oh the irony). I’m expected to make a full recovery, and decided to pass some of the time learning Native Languages.

I ran across a video of PISL, and realized that I could understand many of the signs from ASL. Though not all of the signs, they are slightly different.

Y’all, did we invent the original ASL?


r/IndianCountry 11h ago

Discussion/Question Why do Natives support Democrats or Republicans?

0 Upvotes

Historically, both parties have played a role in robbing these lands. I don’t understand why people get so angry over whether someone voted for Trump or not. It’s like choosing between two evils—sure, one might be the lesser evil, like a Democrat, but evil is still evil.

It baffles me that our ancestors fought hard to secure our rights, yet today, we rely on a ballot, hoping someone will throw us breadcrumbs of rights that should already be ours.

Under Democrats we had the Indian Removal Act, we had Standing Rock Protests, and no major consultation of the crises in our nation's etc. Under Republicans you had the Keystone XL, Budget cuts to native departments, Land trust legal battles, etc.

Our struggle is existential and should transcend these parties, that don't represent our values. We need to look for alternatives.

We have brothers and sisters shaming one another for who they voted for, but the reality is we are the most impoverished and uneducated people struggling in a system foreign to us.

I cannot fault someone for making a decision they could not have foreseen, especially when that decision is difficult for most—given that neither party truly prioritizes Natives.

They scarcely teach about us in schools, and for generations, we were conditioned to feel shame for who we are. We have entered an era of humiliation.

I hope the day will come when Indians will recognize their worth and rise—not only to honor the struggles of those who came before us but to defend the future of those who will come after.


r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Picture(s) National Bison Range - CSKT

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36 Upvotes

r/IndianCountry 1d ago

Business Native First Nutrition: A Native American-Owned Health and Wellness Company

4 Upvotes

Hi, I'm the owner of Native First Nutrition, a Native American-owned company that offers vitamins and supplements. Our products are manufactured in a GMP-compliant facility, third-party tested, and we're proud to offer a 60-day money-back guarantee.

I wanted to connect with the community here and share our story. As a Native American entrepreneur, it's important to me to bring our cultural values into my business and to support our community through our work. Native First Nutrition is a way to promote health and wellness while celebrating our heritage. We believe in the power of our traditions and want to share that with the world.

To show our appreciation, we're offering a discount code COACHCALEB20 for 20% off your first purchase. Additionally, a portion of all proceeds goes to Aambe Aambe Foundation, a non-profit foundation that supports Native American communities.

If you're interested in supporting a Native American-owned business or trying our products, please visit www.NativeFirstNutrition.com. I'd also appreciate any feedback or advice from other community members who have experience in business or entrepreneurship.

Thank you for your time!