A federal appeals court has upheld an Oklahoma law prohibiting minors from accessing gender-affirming treatments, reinforcing a growing trend of legal support for such bans across the country. www.kosu.org/health/2025-...

BREAKING: The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians is sounding the alarm over a draft of Congressional language. UKB leaders say the language would terminate the tribe’s right to trust land as well as its basic economic development rights. www.kosu.org/news/2025-08...

As a citizen and employee of the Muscogee Nation who lives on its reservation, Alicia Stroble believed she was exempt from Oklahoma's income tax. But the state's Supreme Court ruled against her. The case could alter tribal sovereignty post-McGirt. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

A new migrant detention center in Florida coined "Alligator Alcatraz" sits on historic Indigenous land. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma is joining forces with two tribes in Florida to fight the construction. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

⚡️The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA championship, and fans celebrated loudly in downtown OKC. A parade celebrating the historic victory is set for Tuesday morning. #thunderup 📸: @kosuradio.bsky.social

A nickel refinery in Lawton, Oklahoma, hoping to help solve America’s critical minerals crisis, has spurred questions over the strength of Indigenous sovereignty. KOSU's @smliese.bsky.social dives into the debate. www.kosu.org/energy-envir...

Indigenous representation continues its momentum in the entertainment industry, and the 25th deadCenter Film Festival has a lineup of films to show it. KOSU's @smliese.bsky.social spoke with @joeytainment.bsky.social about his short film "Pow!" ahead of the event. www.kosu.org/arts-culture...

The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, headquartered in Anadarko, and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California filed a legal complaint last week to hold the United States accountable for the federal Indian boarding school system and its policies. www.kosu.org/news/2025-05...

Heirs of over 17,000 deceased Individual Indian Money account holders have until June 30 to claim compensation. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, known as NABS, is losing critical grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities due to cuts made by the Trump administration. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

'Medicine River' reckons with the legacy of Indian boarding schools — through a daughter's eyes

Jimcy McGirt, the man behind the landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma U.S. Supreme Court case, which reaffirmed the sovereignty of several Oklahoma tribes, will face a jury in the Eastern District Court of Oklahoma under felony charges. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

More than a century after U.S. Indian boarding schools attempted to erase Indigenous cultures and languages, tribal nations in Oklahoma are working to reclaim and teach their languages to the youth. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is lobbing accusations at the Muscogee Nation, saying the tribe and others worked together to kill Senate Bill 675, which died in committee on Wednesday.

In a case now before SCOTUS, the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board and a Catholic charter school cited to federal Indian boarding schools without any historical context to support their argument that the U.S. has a history of funding religious education. Read:

The first Native American Poet Laureate in the U.S., Joy Harjo, is releasing two illustrative books this month, centered around two universal milestones: coming of age and loss. Listen to her interview with KOSU's Sarah Liese. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

PSA: Though the Not Invisible Act Commission’s final report has been taken down from federal websites, it can still be accessed. The Turtle Talk blog has preserved it here >> turtletalk.blog/2025/02/13/n...

A federally funded database helps track long-term, missing-person cases. Yet an NPR investigation finds that even in states legally required to use it, more than 2,000 people haven't been added.

Last week, wildfires raged across Oklahoma, claiming thousands of acres of land and hundreds of buildings. KOSU's @smliese.bsky.social reports that the flames also destroyed a historic church in Kiowa County, leaving a congregation to rebuild. www.kosu.org/show/stateim...

BREAKING: Drought and extreme winds across Oklahoma have resulted in more than a dozen named fires burning across the state by mid-day Friday. This article will be updated with more information as the situation evolves. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

Tribal Nations have a unique political status under U.S. law, based on sovereignty, treaties, and trust obligations. This briefing paper explains the legal foundations of Tribal self-governance, the U.S. responsibility to Tribal Nations, and why these obligations are political, not race-based.

Three tribal nations and five affected students are suing over slashes to the Bureau of Indian Education. The Cheyenne and Arapaho of Oklahoma said they have joined this fight because they have tribal citizens at schools affected. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

19 Seminole, Cheyenne and Arapaho children who were subjected to assimilation at Carlisle Indian Boarding School will finally return to the earth on their homelands in the fall. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled two programs providing tribal governments, states, schools and food banks money to buy local food from producers. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

Happy International Women's Day from Ada Limon

Bureau of Indian Affairs offices are undergoing unexpected layoffs and closures across Oklahoma. Amidst uncertainty, some tribes are taking matters into their own hands to find solutions for their citizens. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

I spoke with a BIE employee who was one of many let go in the wave of federal employee layoffs. Katie Hallum and I reported how these layoffs will impact local Indigenous communities.

The story of Aubrey Dameron lives on as people from across Oklahoma are taking the time to remember her. Dozens attended a memorial service for Dameron held over the weekend by the Indigenous non-profit Matriarch in Oklahoma City. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

The new Secretary of the Interior is exempting tribal nations from cuts to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. Some tribal leaders are responding positively, noting the order acknowledges them as sovereign nations. www.kosu.org/race-culture...

In Red Rock, Oklahoma, sacred sites of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians are threatened by natural disasters. But with efforts to limit erosion and preserve traditional ecological knowledge, the tribe is working to change that. www.kosu.org/energy-envir...

Phil "Joe Fish" Dupoint, a prominent Kiowa elder, walked on last week and is being remembered by those who loved him. During an interview last summer, he expressed an obligation to pass on Kiowa knowledge to the next generations. www.kosu.org/local-news/2...

The Osage Nation is again trying to convince a federal judge in Tulsa to reaffirm its reservation. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals found in 2010 that the 1906 Osage Allotment Act disestablished it. www.kosu.org/news/2025-01...