I am still trying to catch my breath. Five days ago, I walked into a gathering of writers in Santa Fe. I thought I was a guest. Then my name was called. Deeply grateful.

Want to help with the project? You can give us feedback about the website! Follow the link in our bio or click on the address below to access our site survey: forms.gle/uFxYYU2Y1Vbt...

Thank you for amplifying the project @geraldo-cadava.bsky.social @newyorker.com

We have added a new StoryCorps featuring Dr. Deborah Trujillo Terracino and her cousin Leonard. They talk about their ancestors Juan Estevan Trujillo and his son Lorenzo Trujillo from Abiquiú, New Mexico. Check it out on our website at nativeboundunbound.org/stories/view...

This heartbreaking account of Bob enslaved by Claude Marshall and taken to Scotland is now on the site.

NO GREATER ACT: Pueblo Resistance I was honored to participate in this wonderful documentary. It will be aired on NMPBS tonight, Thursday, Jan 29, at 7, and tomorrow, Jan 30 at 9. vimeo.com/1147115144?s...

Yesterday I woke up to this wonderful essay by my friend David Treuer. David and I were in graduate school together and no doubt had many a conversation about identity. It is fascinating, and the story embedded in this essay is relevant to the work of @natboundunbound.

Gracias a todas las vidas!

There is still time to help us reach our year end goal for fundraising! Please help us recover the names and histories of those Indigenous enslaved individuals still waiting in the pages of the archives and the whispers of their stories. givebutter.com/jaV6NO

Two days left - please support our continued ascendance.

Please share and help us reach our goal

December 21, 2025, marked the ninety-nine-year anniversary of the day that Francisco Valdez crossed over and became an Ancestor. His burial followed on December 23.

The Native Bound Unbound site has launched. Your support helps us recover the histories of Indigenous slavery and strengthens the teams and partnerships behind this effort. As a new 501(c)(3), we invite you to visit www.nativeboundunbound.org/donations and consider supporting this work.

Thousands of documents are moving through our workflow: locating, digitizing, transcribing, translating, & encoding before they appear on the site. If you’re searching for something specific, more is on the way. Come back and join us in this ongoing work of recovery. www.nativeboundunbound.org

We are launched

Join us

Register now to attend Native Bound Unbound's premiere event at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque with the link below: my.nmculture.org/50247/50248

We are thrilled to invite you to the premiere of the project that we have been building—a collective effort that reflects the dedication, care, and collaboration of so many. Please visit linktr.ee/natboundunbo... for more information and RSVP

AIDA - at the Opéra national de Paris with the staging by the great artist, Shirin Neshat I had the privilege of attending the Paris Opéra production of Verdi's Aida. At the center of the story is Aida, the enslaved Ethiopian woman & Neshat makes it unfold like an eloquent, deeply resonant poem.

I was honored to have been invited to participate in a workshop to present @natboundunbound.bsky.social The workshop was convened by Schmidt Sciences at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.

Thankful to @505omatic.bsky.social for the interview with executive director Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez! youtube.com/shorts/VEfFQ...

It was such an honor to work with @ceciliaalemani and the whole team on this amazing exhibition at @SITESantaFe. I love that Patricia Leigh Brown @nytimes suggested that I served as a “whisperer” of NM Stories.. And that @NatBoundUnbound was mentioned. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/a...

We are excited to announce that we are exactly 100 days out from our official launch! Visit us at nativeboundunbound.org

From the very beginning to this moment - we ask- Freedom for Whom?

🎬 Hollywood Westerns like Two Rode Together sold myths as history.

We’re thrilled to welcome Camila Carreon as a new intern at Native Bound Unbound. A student at Santa Fe Prep, Camila brings a deep passion for storytelling, research, and justice. Please help me welcome Camila to the team.

Visited the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. Dr. King’s last speech, supporting Black sanitation workers, still echoes: “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity.” In a time of attacks on truth and justice, the Museum’s work is more vital than ever. #MLK #LaborJustice

In the Basin of Memory- lavozcolorado.com/2025/05/14/i...

Thank you Latin@s in Heritage Conservation!

Thank you Dr. Susan Johnson @unlv.edu and Dr Wilkinson and Fawn Douglas at NuwuArts

Big news! A stolen 16th Century manuscript—signed by Hernandarias in 1598—was returned to Paraguay after a failed $28K sale. It outlined rules for treating Indigenous people. Some were early reforms—but captivity persisted. Shoutout to NBU’s Dr. Guillaume Candela, who helped confirm it was real.

I returned to the University of Michigan Law School this past week and reflected on the trajectory of my life’s work and the enduring influence of the law—particularly my time as a student at Michigan Law. My education in law school was interrupted but this opportunity allowed me to let that go.

I was humbled by being able to visit this site, all thanks to my dear friend Barbara Rodz for taking me out to Salem and Danvers. As Maori scholar, Linda Tuhiwai Smith has observed, “In order to decolonize our histories, we must revisit site by site.” #Tituba #venezuela #indigenousslavery

I am personally so incredibly grateful for the collaboration with Ball State University. I am also humbled by the organizations, communities, and individuals who shared their stories, their artifacts, their communities #communityarchives

Remembering my grandfather’s birthday today, the man that survived an Indian boarding school and I know would stand beside me today in my work to tell our stories, centering social justice and fighting for equity. #callingontheancestors #SocialJustice #AncestralPower #papapower

Millions of indigenous people were enslaved in the Americas, including the United States. Most were women and children, in contrast with the African slave trade -- and evidence suggests such practices lingered into the 20th century. Two projects aim to tell the story. My article from @usatoday.com.

Committed to the good work!

Wow @jeremyjojola.bsky.social thank you for finding these, I think ;) That was so long ago, and the beginning of a friendship.

✨ Redimido/a = “redeemed.” But under the Spanish empire, this term symbolized more than spiritual salvation—it reflected systemic control. #History

During the Creek War, Andrew Jackson took two Creek children, Lyncoya and Theodore, captive and brought them to his plantation. Their stories reflect the tragic consequences of U.S. expansionism. 🧵

🎉 Big news from Native Bound Unbound! Professor J. Michael Francis, Hough Family Chair of Florida Studies at USF St. Petersburg and Research Associate for NB/UB, is teaching a course fully aligned with our project!

Marginalized Voices of 1606 The enslaved are often sidelined in records like wills, land deeds, or trials—such as a 1606 witchcraft case in New Mexico.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum clapped back at President-elect Trump on Wednesday and said parts of the U.S. should be called "América Mexicana," in response to Trump's proposal to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" www.axios.com/2025/01/08/m...

ENSLAVED BY ANY OTHER NAME ~ CRIADO As the researchers of Native Bound Unbound work to document the captivity & bondage of Indigenous people of the Americas, they recognize that the language of slavery was drawn from an entire vocabulary.

Unveiling a Complex Legacy Hernando de Pizarro & Sebastián de Benalcázar shaped the conquest of Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, & more—but their involvement in Indigenous trafficking reveals a darker legacy.

✨ Centering Humanity Beyond the Data ✨ How do we relate to data that identifies a specific enslaved person? Jamelle Bouie warns that digital tools risk "abstracting the human reality away from the story." This caution is crucial for those working with historical archives.

Welcome to the official Blue Sky account for Native Bound Unbound! We are creating a digital archive of the Indigenous enslaved across the Americas, name by name, place by place, event by event and story by story. Supported by Mellon Foundation. ED: Dr. Estèvan Rael-Gàlvez @raelgalvez.bsky.social