'We Are Still Here'

North Dakota. High noon. Plains browned by a long winter lie under the backdrop of a blue sky dotted with picturesque clouds. Suddenly, oil wells and fracking stations scar the tranquil scenery as one crosses the boundary onto the Fort Berthold Reservation. Semis routinely thunder by, their wheels spraying swirls of dust, blanketing the landscape […]

The history of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara ancestors in North Dakota’s Bakken region stretches back to long before the concept of a United States of America even began to emerge. “We were homestead people. We were gardeners,” said James Moren, a supervisor over the long earth lodges, a historical preservation area that studies and […]

A few short years ago, the Fort Berthold Reservation consisted of only a handful of sleepy towns. The population hovered beneath 10,000 people spread out among nearly 1 million acres. Few locked their doors and many of the country roads remained unpaved. Some families had 16 people living within the confines of a two-bedroom home. […]

At night, Fort Berthold loses its stars. Troika Yaskovic, an 18-year-old working at the Four Bears Casino gift shop, said, “You can’t see the sky because the smoke is so thick.” So it’s only fitting that Annita Lucchesi, called “Evening Star Woman” (Hetoevėhotohke’e) in her language of Cheyenne, would come to shine a light on […]

It isn’t just the oil boom. Native Americans disappear or are murdered at an alarming rate all over this nation. FBI statistics listed nearly 10,000 missing in 2018. Some eventually return to their families. Many don’t. These are a few of their stories. Kateri Mishow Kateri Mishow would call her father every day. The 22-year-old […]

Justice in Indian Country is a nebulous idea, mired in splintering jurisdiction, lackluster law enforcement, and severe tribal government underfunding. Poor tribal-government relations along with government mistrust and high declination rates have only exacerbated the lack of justice administered for Native Americans and their families. So when did this all begin? As with most current […]

When the face of a missing person flashes across a television screen, it sends a message to those watching: This person is valuable, someone misses them. But rarely, according to Zach Sommers’ 2016 report, is that message sent for Native Americans. After studying five news sources (the Atlanta Journal-Constitution without AP contributions, Atlanta Journal-Constitution with […]

The MHA people have a long, storied history that goes back centuries before any Europeans even settled on this continent. They have schools, families and communities much like what you might find in other American small towns. And many of them are actively working to preserve and celebrate the culture that keeps them who they […]

It was a cloudy and cold day in Mandaree. There was a silence, despite vehicles being out and about on the streets. Only the sound of the wind could be heard driving through the small North Dakota reservation town. There is a sign when entering Mandaree that says it’s the heart of the MHA Nation. […]

Kateri Mishow has been missing from Minneapolis for 12 years. Her mother and sister-in-law reflect on Kateri and the police’s handling of her case.

In Native American spirituality, a Deer woman is a spirit entity that is associated with fertility and love. It protects women. She’s an entity that beams light. Some tribes believed in a Deer Woman who transformed into a deer after being raped or who was brought back to life by the original Deer Woman spirit […]

Twenty-nine years ago, Susan Poupart vanished from a party on the Lac Du Flambeau reservation, forever altering the lives of her two children in their tumultuous quest for truth and justice. Alexandra (“Alex”) and Jared Poupart, now older with children of their own, struggled in the immediate aftermath of their mother’s disappearance and long after, […]

A look into the connection between missing and murdered Native Americans and the influx of oil workers in the Bakken oil region of North Dakota.

Students and staff in the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Eduction center at UW-Milwaukee host a weekly drum practice for students to help preserve the language by singing songs. Monea Warrington, member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and Maurina Paradise, finance and operations manager in the Electa Quinney office and they react […]

Traveling for work can be a pain for many and a good time for others. For some oil workers, it means being away from home for two weeks and coming back for one, repeat. Standing outside of Teddy’s Residential Suites in New Town, North Dakota stood three gentlemen oil workers having a chat. After a […]

It’s a warm Sunday morning and people gather at the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center located on the south side of Milwaukee. The event is called “Honoring Our Sisters: Red dress brunch” The room is filled with red clothing items and mostly women attendees. People throughout the Native American community of Milwaukee unite to […]

In New Town on the Forth Berthold, ND reservation lies a small beading store down the main strip.  Thomasina Mandan owns the Mandan’s Bead Supply Storea modest size building that holds a rich and cultural practice of their Native traditions.  Mandan opened the bead store once she noticed the lack of accessibility to bead material within […]

On a rainy, overcast day, many gathered for a powwow at the North Segment-Northern Lights gymnasium in New Town, North Dakota to welcome back the Merrick family. The gymnasium was filled with the sound of drums and voices of many as they sang to the beat. On that day, everyone was there to welcome back […]

The MHA nation of Fort Berthold, North Dakota is fighting to keep their culture alive.

It was around 7:30 in the morning of April 2016 when Devon Bateman was woken up and told to call the police station in New Town, North Dakota. Devon was in her Bismarck home when her brother, Danny Bateman, came home, asked about their sister Latasha and told her to call the New Town police, […]

Driving into New Town South Dakota is interesting. There are two brand new looking hotels when entering from east to west. There’s a new grocery store next to the two hotels. The new look of the buildings fades away just a few blocks into the small town. The main street through the town has an […]

It is almost the one year anniversary of missing woman, Jermain Charlo. She was with friends on June 16, 2018 before she disappeared without a trace. “She was with a person with whom she knew,” explained Lead Detective Guy Baker of the Missoula Police Department. Jermain was last seen at a bar in Missoula. Detective […]