Leaders of Native nations and representatives of the United States have signed many treaties over the centuries, including the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.
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Native American lands contain 30% of the nation’s coal, 50% of its uranium and 20% of its natural gas, as well as copper, lithium and rare earth elements.
There are fewer than 100 speakers of the Arapaho language today.
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Many Native American languages only have a few native speakers left.
Billy Frank Jr., left, a Nisqually tribal elder, was arrested dozens of times while trying to assert his native fishing rights during the ‘Fish Wars’ of the 1960s and 1970s. In this 2014 photo, he stands with Ed Johnstone of the Quinault tribe.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Tribal governance takes a long view based in Native peoples’ deep history with these lands.
Native Americans taking part in the Longest Walk, heading from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., march past the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1978.
AP Photo/Prouser
Movements like the Journey of Nishiyuu walk the land to reclaim culture and push for Indigenous nations’ rights.
Indian boarding schools intentionally separated Native children from their families and taught them to be ‘model American citizens.’
Humboldt County Collection Photos. Special Collections, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt Library