Latest news with #tribalsovereignty
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
National Native Organizations and Tribal Leaders Respond to Ann Clouter's ‘We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' Remark
When conservative pundit Ann Coulter posted 'We didn't kill enough Indians' this past weekend, she wasn't just spreading hate speech—she was launching a direct attack on tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Native nations to exist. Since Tuesday, national Native organizations and tribal leaders have issued statements in response. While excerpts from some of these have appeared in previous coverage, we are publishing the full, unedited statements received by our newsroom here: Statement by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) emphatically condemns the hateful, genocidal statement of Ann Coulter on July 6, 2025, through a post on the social platform X, declaring: 'We didn't kill enough Indians.' There is no place in society for this direct incitement of hatred and violence toward American Indian and Alaska Native people. Never miss Indian Country's biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. 'These words are not provocative social commentary; they are a violent attack on Native people and Tribal Nations. Celebrating genocide against Tribal Nations crosses every moral line,' said NCAI President Mark Macarro. 'Careless comments like this glorify the darkest chapters of U.S. history and actively endanger Native peoples' lives today. We will not sit silently at attempts to normalize this abhorrent behavior. We demand an immediate retraction and public apology — and we expect leaders of every political persuasion to denounce this abomination without equivocation.' 'Free speech does not confer a license to advocate for or justify mass murder — past or present,' added NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. 'When a public figure with more than two million followers romanticizes extermination, it fuels harassment, hate crimes, and political violence. Silence from elected officials and media outlets will only normalize this genocidal history. We call on them to speak up now.' NCAI further demands that X enforce against vitriol like this and send a message that such inciting hate speech will not be tolerated by banning this individual from their platform. Instead of amplifying divisive and inhuman perspectives, let us turn our attention to celebrating the powerful, nation-building contributions of Tribal Nations to the United States. NCAI encourages all Americans to learn more about the many contributions that Native peoples and Tribal Nations have made and continue to make to this country. Visit a Tribal Nation near you, explore the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., or New York, read from abundant award-winning literature produced by American Indians and Alaska Natives. We encourage all media outlets, elected leaders, educators, and individual Americans to uplift these living stories of service, innovation, and cultural resilience. In centering these and other Native achievements, we reject hatred and misinformation, celebrate our Tribal sovereignty, and honor our shared community and history. Statement by John E. Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund Yesterday, pundit Ann Coulter stated on X (formerly Twitter) that 'we didn't kill enough Indians.' The post was shared more than a million times. As a writer and a lawyer, Coulter knows that words matter, especially for someone with her platform. Suggesting that Native Americans—whose communities and cultures persist and thrive despite the American government having systematically taken Native lands, children, religions, and lives—deserve to die or were not persecuted enough, is ignorant and abhorrent, this language is not new. Getting rid of Native Americans has been the stated goal of a slew of U.S. policies from the Trail of Tears to the Termination Era. One hundred years ago, policy makers engaged in cultural genocide: killing the Indian to save the man. Many advocated to just kill the Indians. Genocidal language aimed at Native Americans was supposed to be something of the past. It was something that mainstream society had rejected and moved past—until Coulter's call on all those who are decent, who have moral values, to denounce this type of hate speech. We should not treat each other in this way. The dark history of the United States' policies towards Native people should not be repeated. Join us in standing up for the rights of Native people and preserving our existence for generations to come. Statement by the National Indian Health Board The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) condemns the genocidal and hateful statement made by Ann Coulter: 'We didn't kill enough Indians.' This is not free speech, it is hate speech. And its consequences extend far beyond the digital space. This kind of language is not a joke. It is violence—violence that echoes through generations, reopens wounds, and contributes to the devastating rates of depression, suicide, and trauma that too many of our Native youth are forced to carry. Words like these are not abstract; they directly impact how young Native people see themselves, their safety, and their worth in a country that has already tried to erase them. Our communities are still healing from government-sanctioned boarding schools that attempted to strip Native children of their language, culture, and identity. These systems created lasting intergenerational trauma—trauma that Native families continue to confront and work through today. Reckoning with this truth is part of the healing process. READ Native News Online's Editor Levi Rickert's Opinion on Ann Clouter's Remark 'Our children hear these words. They internalize them. And far too often, they are left to wonder if their lives matter in the eyes of this country,' said NIHB Chairman William 'Chief Bill' Smith, Valdez Native and Alaska Area Representative. 'When prominent voices glorify genocide, it sends a dangerous message—that Native people are less than human. That message threatens the mental health, identity, and future of Native youth everywhere.' NIHB joins with Tribal Nations and Native organizations across the country in calling for a full retraction, public apology, and immediate accountability from all levels of leadership and media. We further urge social media platforms like X to enforce community standards and ban voices that incite racial hatred and violence. From suicide prevention to cultural revitalization, NIHB and its partners work every day to help Native youth heal from historical and contemporary trauma. But we cannot do this work alone. We need a country that respects our children enough to condemn hate without hesitation. Native Nations contributed to the earliest forms of American democracy and continue to lead in public health, medicine, and community care. These truths must be honored. As Americans, we must not repeat or excuse past harms—we must learn from them and walk forward together in healing and truth. There is no health without respect. There is no healing without truth. And there is no excuse for celebrating genocide. Statement by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Jr., Cherokee Nation Ann Coulter's post this evening on X that 'we didn't kill enough Indians,' is beyond abhorrent. It is dangerous hate speech designed to inflict damage on a marginalized community and designed to arouse support in the deepest darkest gutters of social media. Although it is tempting to decline to dignify her regressive attack on Native Americans, I cannot and will not. This is no time for timidity. Coulter's statement, on its face, is a despicable rhetorical shot trained on the First Peoples of this continent, designed to dehumanize and diminish us and our ancestors and puts us at risk of further injury. We have faced enough of that since this country's founding. Such rhetoric has aided and abetted the destruction of tribes, their life ways, languages and cultures, the violation of treaty rights, violence, oppression, suppression and dispossession. It should not be lost on any of us that Coulter's lament that 'we didn't kill enough Indians' takes place against the backdrop of our relatively low average life expectancies, high suicide rates and the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous people, just to name a few aspects of our continuing struggle. The cruelty of Coulter's comments are, of course, self-evident to decent human beings from all quarters. We have made much progress in the United States as it relates to federal Indian policy. Conservatives, liberals, Republicans and Democrats have had a hand in advancing this cause, which is so special to me as Chief of the nation's largest tribe, particularly over the last half century. Coulter's statement tonight would be extreme even by 19th century standards (though I believe President Andrew Jackson would like and share her post if he lived among us today.) Though her star power has faded over the decades, Ann Coulter remains an opinion leader in the United States and beyond. Her account on 'X,' formerly Twitter, has 2.1 million followers. Her post has been shared over 1.4 million times as of this writing. She is a published author and appears frequently in television media. Her opinion, though peppered over the years with vitriolic attacks on marginalized populations, matters. It is not simply that Coulter chose to attack Native Americans that moves me to speak out this evening. It is my deep concern that these sorts of attacks aimed at minorities and other marginalized populations in the country is at risk of being normalized. Her attack does not take place in a vacuum and it is not an outlier. It occurs at a time attacks on marginalized populations seem to be on repeat, used to score political points, to advance policy agendas, and sometimes to scare people to advance all of that and more. The country frequently seems on the verge of political violence. Coulter's post implicitly encourages it. We can get used to the frequent attacks and watch silently as this group and that group is dehumanized and diminished. Hatred in the public will become white noise, accepted as 'just the way it is.' Alternatively, we can speak out against it. What Ann Coulter said is heartless, vicious and should be repudiated by people of good faith regardless of political philosophy or party. Some things are simply wrong and we cannot validate it through our silence. I will not and cannot chase every hateful social media comment aimed at Native Americans. But, at a moment when I remain optimistic that people of good will across parties, faiths, philosophies, regions, races, political status can work to unify the country, denouncing Ann Coulter's regret that we 'did not kill enough Indians' is surely the right thing to do. Please join me. Statement by Chief Ben Barnes (Shawnee Tribe), Chairperson, United Indian Nations of Oklahoma United Indian Nations of Oklahoma condemns Ann Coulter's comments on Native Americans Shawnee Chief and UINO Chairperson Ben Barnes today released the following statement repudiating conservative media pundit Ann Coulter's inflammatory statement regarding Native Americans. 'Ann Coulter's vile comment that 'we didn't kill enough Indians' is not only morally repugnant—it is a stain on the conscience of this country. As a Tribal Nation whose people endured forced removals, massacres, broken treaties, and generations of erasure, we do not need reminders of America's darkest chapters. We live with the consequences every day—yet we continue to stand, speak our language, raise our children in our traditions, and govern ourselves with dignity. Ms. Coulter's words dishonor every value this nation claims to uphold, and they have no place in any civilized let us be clear: we do not respond with hate. We respond with truth, resilience, and the strength of our ancestors. We are still here. We are still sovereign. And we are not going anywhere.' About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@ " Contact: news@
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor vetoes next change to Settlement Act, among other bills
Gov. Janet Mills gives the State of the State address on Jan. 30, 2024. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Gov. Janet Mills blocked legislation seeking to prevent the state from being able to seize tribal land for public use, one of several of her first vetoes this year announced on Monday. The Maine Legislature passed the bill, LD 958, with bipartisan support earlier this month, winning over many Republicans who generally were less supportive of previous attempts to provide the Wabanaki Nations greater sovereignty. However, a veto was expected and initial votes on the bill indicate there is likely not enough support to override it. Mills' legal counsel made her opposition clear while the bill was still in committee, arguing such a ban could prevent the state government from addressing unpredictable future infrastructure needs. Mills repeated some of the same reasons in her veto letter dated June 20, including that the bill would amount to a 'permanent and irrevocable change to state law' — a critique leaders of the Wabanaki Nations have refuted in light of the several recent changes the state has made to grant the Tribes more sovereignty. LD 958 was seen as the next piece of those reforms. Most other federally recognized tribes are already afforded protection against states being able to seize tribal land for public use. However, the Wabanaki Nations are not, due to repercussions from the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. Governor opposed to latest change to Settlement Act backed by Wabanaki Nations The U.S. government can seize private property for public use, a principle known as eminent domain, however that authority is restricted by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which requires just compensation for land taken, as well as some federal laws. In 1834, the federal Indian Nonintercourse Act prohibited land transactions with tribes unless authorized by Congress, but the Settlement Act specified that that federal law was not applicable to the Wabanaki Nations. Overall, this land settlement agreement has resulted in the tribes being treated more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations like other federally recognized tribes. Overhauling this act in its entirety is the Wabanaki Nations' broader goal for greater recognition of their sovereignty — sweeping reform Mills has opposed, opting instead for some targeted, piecemeal changes. 'The Legislature cannot unilaterally repeal or amend the new language in the future, even if problems with that language become obvious later,' Mills wrote in her veto letter. She's referring to the fact that federal law authorizes the Maine Legislature to make changes to the act, but only with the consent of the affected Tribes. 'The Legislature should understand that this bill would permanently deny the state the ability to take even small portions of Tribal Lands abutting public rights of way for uses like road and bridge projects no matter what circumstances may arise many years into the future,' Mills wrote. However, in recent years, the Legislature has passed, and the Tribes have later ratified, changes to that act, such as expanding tribal authority to prosecute crimes, permitting the Tribes to handle sports betting and ensuring the Tribes receive the benefits and protections of the Violence Against Women Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act — several of which Mills highlighted in her letter. But Mills went on to write that she views the changes sought in LD 958 as counter to those other recent successes. Noting the legislative strides came as a result of numerous meetings and conversations, she wrote, 'Never once in these discussions did any Tribal leader mention the issue of state eminent domain authority as a problem that should be addressed.' The state has not exercised eminent domain over tribal lands since the Settlement Act. Mills pointed to this fact when arguing 'LD 958 is a solution in search of a problem.' However, Wabanaki leaders have argued it instead shows that the state's current ability to exercise eminent domain over tribal lands is not actually clear and that any such attempts would likely result in litigation, providing more reason to clarify rights now in the bill. The Legislature will have a chance to override Mills' veto, but after the Maine House of Representatives voted 86-60 and the Senate 20-12, it looks unlikely the chambers can secure the two-thirds threshold that is needed to do so. Mills has vetoed four other bills so far this session. LD 588 sought to give agricultural employees the right to engage in certain concerted activity, which includes talking about wages, working conditions and other employment matters with other employees or the employer. LD 1802 aimed to clarify when an indigent criminal defendant is entitled to counsel at the state's expense. LD 1731 would require the state ferry service to consult with an advisory board on matters related to the service, budget, strategic planning and major operational decisions. LD 1328 sought to create culturally appropriate and trauma-informed residences to provide services to underserved, underrepresented or disparately impacted individuals in recovery from substance use disorder. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moorhead, St. Cloud getting retail cannabis stores from White Earth Nation tribal company
The Brief White Earth Nation announced its tribally-owned cannabis company, Waabigwan Mashkiki, will open off-reservation retail stores in Moorhead and St. Cloud. The stores will be the first tribal cannabis enterprise shops in the state to operate off-reservation under the new compact. Grand opening dates have not yet been announced. WHITE EARTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - Waabigwan Mashkiki, which directly translates to "flower medicine" in Ojibwe, will open cannabis shops in Moorhead and St. Cloud after the White Earth Nation announced the signing of a "landmark cannabis regulatory compact with the State of Minnesota." READ MORE: Minnesota tribes may soon create cannabis businesses off reservations Big picture view Waabigwan Mashkiki is a tribally-owned cannabis company that will be the first tribal cannabis enterprise shop in Minnesota to operate off-reservation, according to a news release from the White Earth Nation. Opening dates have not yet been announced. White Earth Nation officials said the compact was authorized under Minnesota's 2023 adult-use cannabis law and allows the tribe to run cannabis businesses statewide. The agreement states that oversight will be run by the Minnesota Office of Management, but the tribe's jurisdiction and sovereignty will still be honored. Tribal officials say one of the stores is set to open in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area with the goal of providing "safe, legal cannabis to western Minnesota." The other store will open in St. Cloud and focus on "education, harm reduction, and responsible use." What they're saying The Office of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the law will enhance public health and safety, ensure a lawful and well-regulated cannabis market, encourage economic development and provide financial benefits to both the state and Tribal Nations. Waabigwan Mashkiki CEO released a statement saying "This is a proud moment for The White Earth Reservation. The ability to open stores in cities like Moorhead and St. Cloud, means we can bring White Earth's mission of healing and wellness to a broader community while asserting sovereign rights and building sustainable economic futures for the people of White Earth." Chairman of the White Earth Reservation Business Committee Michael Fairbanks said "Waabigwan Mashkiki is more than a business — it is a reflection of our values as Anishinaabe people. This compact shows what's possible when tribal sovereignty is respected and supported. We are leading this effort not only for economic development, but for the health, healing, and future of our people." The Source This story uses information shared by the White Earth Reservation Business Committee and past FOX 9 reporting.
