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Author: Crooked Media

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The award-winning documentary podcast This Land is back for season 2. Host Rebecca Nagle reports on how the far right is using Native children to attack American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.
26 Episodes
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The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our society debates where policing is going, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD explores where the police came from.From Wondery, Crooked Media and PushBlack.Follow Empire City wherever you get your podcasts and listen to the second episode, available now. You can listen ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts.
BY THE FIRE WE CARRY, the new book by Rebecca Nagle, is a powerful work of reportage and American history that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation’s earliest days, and a small-town murder in the 1990s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Native rights to that land more than a century later Before 2020, American Indian reservations made up roughly 55 million acres of land in the United States. Nearly 200 million acres are reserved for National Forests—in the emergence of this great nation, our government set aside more land for trees than for Indigenous peoples. In the 1830s Muscogee people were rounded up by the US military at gunpoint and forced into exile halfway across the continent. At the time, they were promised this new land would be theirs for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran. But that promise was not kept. When Oklahoma was created on top of Muscogee land, the new state claimed their reservation no longer existed. Over a century later, a Muscogee citizen was sentenced to death for murdering another Muscogee citizen on tribal land. His defense attorneys argued the murder occurred on the reservation of his tribe, and therefore Oklahoma didn’t have the jurisdiction to execute him. Oklahoma asserted that the reservation no longer existed. In the summer of 2020, the Supreme Court settled the dispute. Its ruling that would ultimately underpin multiple reservations covering almost half the land in Oklahoma, including Nagle’s own Cherokee Nation.  Here Rebecca Nagle recounts the generations-long fight for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. By chronicling both the contemporary legal battle and historic acts of Indigenous resistance, By the Fire We Carry stands as a landmark work of American history. The story it tells exposes both the wrongs that our nation has committed and the Native-led battle for justice that has shaped our country.  Learn more: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/by-the-fire-we-carry-rebecca-nagle
Episode 1: The Police Officer and the Priest: One night back in the late 1970s, an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pulled over a suspected drunk driver. When he walked up to the vehicle, he came face-to-face with a ghost from his past: a residential school priest. That officer was journalist Connie Walker’s late father. What happened that night on the side of the road compelled her to return home to Saskatchewan nearly 40 years later to try to investigate a secret in her own family. What she uncovers is a much bigger story. Subscribe to Stolen to hear more episodes, wherever you get your podcasts.
Last week the Supreme Court made an historic ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act. Rebecca Nagle takes us inside the courtroom to break down the decision, how we got here, and what it all means.
8. The Heart Of It

8. The Heart Of It

2021-10-0432:29

While we wait to see whether the Supreme Court takes the case, we attend a ceremony run by a program that helps Native adoptees reconnect with their tribes. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
7. Before The Court

7. Before The Court

2021-09-2736:112

As the case heads to the Fifth Circuit - the last stop before the Supreme Court - we go inside the courtroom to hear the arguments and the decision.Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ Jennifer Brackeen’s Personal Blog https://web.archive.org/web/20201221201802/https://thebrackeens.blogspot.com/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
6. Trojan Horse

6. Trojan Horse

2021-09-2034:351

We know which law firms and think tanks are bringing these lawsuits, but no one has been able to figure out who’s funding them—or why—until now. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
5. Pro Bono

5. Pro Bono

2021-09-1331:141

The fight against the Indian Child Welfare Act is much bigger than a few custody cases, or even the entire adoption industry. We follow the money, and our investigation leads us to a powerful group of corporate lawyers and one of the biggest law firms in the country. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ Mashpee Wampanoag face double crisis: COVID-19 and feds https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/mashpee-wampanoag-face-double-crisis-covid-19-and-feds Interior takes reservation away from Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/interior-takes-reservation-away-from-mashpee-wampanoag-tribe Mashpee Wampanoag ruling a 'win for all of Indian Country' https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/mashpee-wampanoag-ruling-a-win-for-all-of-indian-country The Fight for Baby Veronica, Part 1 https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fight-for-baby-veronica-part-1 The Fight for Baby Veronica, Part 2 https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fight-for-baby-veronica-part-2 The Fight for Baby Veronica, Part 3 https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fight-for-baby-veronica-part-3 The Fight for Baby Veronica, Part 4 https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fight-for-baby-veronica-part-4 The Fight for Baby Veronica, Part 5 https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-fight-for-baby-veronica-part-5 Supreme Court Takes on Indian Child Welfare Act in Baby Veronica Case https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/supreme-court-takes-on-indian-child-welfare-act-in-baby-veronica-case For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
4. Supply And Demand

4. Supply And Demand

2021-09-0635:20

The private adoption industry has been fighting against the Indian Child Welfare Act the longest. We learn why by following one couple’s journey to adopt and their mixed feelings about the process.Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ Blood Memory documentary https://www.bloodmemorydoc.com/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
The Brackeens aren’t the only ones suing to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act. So are Danielle and Jason Clifford, a foster couple from Minnesota.Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
2. Behind The Curtain

2. Behind The Curtain

2021-08-2346:421

The Brackeens' case would have been a normal adoption dispute, but then one of the most powerful corporate law firms in the United States took it on and helped the couple launch a federal lawsuit.Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ Blood Memory documentary https://www.bloodmemorydoc.com/ “Indian Adoption Project Increases Momentum” April 18, 1967 press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/indian-adoption-project-increases-momentum For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
1. Solomon’s Sword

1. Solomon’s Sword

2021-08-2347:311

ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued.Show Notes: This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/ Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/ Jennifer Brackeen’s Personal Blog https://web.archive.org/web/20201221201802/https://thebrackeens.blogspot.com/ "An Untold Number Of Indigenous Children Disappeared At U.S. Boarding Schools. Tribal Nations Are Raising The Stakes In Search Of Answers." https://theintercept.com/2018/09/25/carlisle-indian-industrial-school-indigenous-children-disappeared/ "My Relatives Went To A Catholic School For Native Children. It Was A Place Of Horrors" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/30/my-relatives-went-to-a-catholic-school-for-native-children-it-was-a-place-of-horrors "Indigenous Children Finally Headed Home" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/indigenous-children-officially-headed-home "Indian Boarding School Investigation Faces Hurdles In Missing Records, Legal Questions" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/indian-boarding-school-investigation-faces-hurdles-missing-records-legal-questions-n1273996 "U.S. Boarding Schools To Be Investigated" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/us-boarding-schools-to-be-investigated For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued. Today, the lawsuit doesn’t just impact the future of one child, or even the future of one law. It threatens the entire legal structure defending Native American rights. In season 2 of This Land, host Rebecca Nagle investigates how the far right is using Native children to quietly dismantle American Indian tribes. Tune in beginning August 23rd.
Check out a brand new episode from our friends at Snap Judgment!Last year, tribal government worker Cheyenne Brady was given a new job: to count everyone on her reservation. Writer Julian Brave Noisecat follows her through the ups-and-downs of the 2020 census, culminating in the first-ever Census Powwow.To hear more incredible stories like this one, listen and subscribe to Snap Judgment wherever you get your podcasts. Website: https://snapjudgment.org/ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SnapJudgment Twitter: https://twitter.com/snapjudgment Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snapjudgmentradio/ 
10. The Ruling

10. The Ruling

2020-07-1634:41

The Supreme Court has ruled, delivering a historic decision on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle talks to the lawyer who argued the case at the High Court, Native law professors, scholars, and journalists to break down the significance of this decision and share what it means to the future of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and all Five Tribes.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
Today, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle is here to break down the decision, talk through the implications, and hey, celebrate a little. Because this win -- it’s huge.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
8. The Next Battleground

8. The Next Battleground

2019-07-2234:421

A murder case sparked an investigation into the treaty rights of five tribes. But another case -- a simple case about an adoption -- could actually dismantle America's tribes as we know them. For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
7. Still Bleeding

7. Still Bleeding

2019-07-1530:47

Tribes are asking that the Supreme Court keep the promises that it made to them, because what's lost when those promises are broken is much more than just land.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
6. The Postponement

6. The Postponement

2019-07-0825:27

The Supreme Court punted a decision on Carpenter v. Murphy to the next term. What does this mean for the tribes?For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.
5. The Land Grab

5. The Land Grab

2019-07-0131:23

The geography of this country was reshaped in the late 1800s and depending on who tells it, it's either a story of good intentions...or one of outright theft.
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Comments (55)

ncooty

Again, the series gets bogged down in vague bleating (with up-talk) rather than clear exposition. The series has a habit of wallowing in individual examples that, by virtue of their particular details (often including the negligence or complicity of tribal members), obfuscate the central questions. The series focuses on criticizing the arguments against tribal sovereignty, but doesn't actually make a positive case or assertion. It's just a constant focus on identity-based victimhood. For example, the central question of this episode was: How is tribal membership determined or established? The host has previously scoffed at the idea that a person could be a tribal member with 0% tribal blood, yet has also scoffed at the imposition of "blood-quantum" criteria from Dawes. So which is it? She says that tribal membership is a legal status, but seems oblivious to the question of how that status is determined (especially for establishment, but presumably also for revocation). She just

Oct 13th
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ncooty

This episode seems to shift the focus of the series. It's not clear how the legal questions related to the USSC case are relevant to these land-use issues. First, it's not clear how the anticipated ruling would affect these land-use issues. (In fact, the insinuation that it would seems to contribute to myths you've previously derided about the purview of tribal governance.) Second, the issues being discussed seem generally associated with land-use, zoning, NIMBY-ism, the legitimacy of community-based controls on development, environmental protections, etc.--all of which seem to make the local concerns sound just like concerns in any other community.

Oct 13th
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ncooty

@26:52: Wait, so they saw the notice of acquisition via squatters' rights and they STILL didn't do anything?! What the hell?

Oct 12th
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ncooty

It would have been far more useful if this episode had explained the governance of tribal lands rather than harping on victimhood and misrepresentation. Saying what is untrue does not indicate what is true, nor does it describe the governance structures that are not mischaracterized. I'm listening to this podcast precisely because I'm concerned about the historical and on-going mistreatment of American Indians, the abbrogation of treaties by the U.S., etc. However, the series seems bogged down with a self-pitying tone while upbraiding outsiders for portraying American Indians as victims. (Which is it?) Stick to facts and educate rather than constantly slathering every issue with self-righteous, bitter melancholy. Moreover, some of the claims and explanations are unnecessarily inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading.

Oct 12th
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ncooty

@13:11: Hearing Kavanaugh fret over _stare decisis_ and consistency is both risible and disgusting in the wake of over-turning Roe. The conservative justices always offer mere pretext and misrepresentations (sometimes as lies), as can be seen in their convenient shift from one judicial theory to another--or none at all--in order to "justify" how they'd planned to rule all along. If you want to know how the conservatives will vote, it will be in favor of Christian theocratic fascism.

Oct 11th
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Wahoo Wahoo

Generally I think the podcast has related accurate information, though not without editorialization. However, one statement was incendiary and false. The narrator alleges that non-natives can commit violent crimes on reservations against Native people "with impunity" because Indian Tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. While the Tribe's do not have criminal jurisdiction, the federal government does. In fact, for serious crimes, such offenders are exposed to much more severe punishments than they would be in a tribal justice system because Congress has imposed sentencing limitations in Tribal courts. Certainly I believe that holding perpetrators of crime against Native people on and off reservation falls short of what victims deserve. But it is entirely false to allege that non-Indians can commit crimes with impunity.

Dec 30th
Reply (1)

Suey

This podcast is teaching me so much about the issues Indian Nations/Indigenous People face. I'm completely embarrassed that I didn't know/ didn't think to seek it out sooner and I am upset and angry that this is the state of affairs. I knew it was bad, but not to this head-spinning level bad! The blatant hypocrisy, abused definitions and malicious ignorance/ handling of the law by people in power is beyond stunning. Myself, as a former immigrant and now naturalized citizen of the USA, I want to do better at understanding and try combat these intricate wrongdoings, to challenge and test my elected federal officials on these issues. Thank you for making this podcast so I can move through this country with more information and history under my belt. I know there's plenty more to learn and this is just the beginning for me, but I promise to keep informed. I hope to share this podcast with everyone I know--honestly, this should be required listening to all US citizens.

Oct 27th
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Morgan Besozzi

I can't play this episode. It says something is wrong with the file. Anyone else having issues?

Oct 11th
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patricia Buckingham

Love love love the knowledge bringing in this pod!! Kleco kleco🙏🏾 to the creators!

Sep 17th
Reply

Alex Mercedes

this story is breaking my heart, pissing me off, and filling me with disgust. but the info is riveting and the reporting is flawless. I must keep listening. another winning Crooked Media production.

Aug 24th
Reply

For The Love Of a HORSE

Ohhh HOW much more money is being sent to a special fund for you. Whatever you have, its getting worse. Although, this IS good for some serious and much needed laughter. Really!! For everyone.

Aug 17th
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Maria Jouravleva

This entire show is phenomenal and this episode is no exception. Please put out more content!

Jul 2nd
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hollarhooter

wow great work . this should be part of every high school student's curriculum.

Sep 22nd
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BC

This must have been so meaningful for the hosts

Aug 8th
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Stefanie Coxe

Excellent podcast. I learned so much and as heartbreaking as portions of it were, I ended it with hope for indigenous people.

Aug 6th
Reply

Alex Mercedes

what?!?! please. I want to hear the end.

Jul 21st
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Bruce I. W.

nnnnnnnnoooooooo whhhhyyy!!!!? what a tease!

Jul 17th
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Rachel Dixon

Seems like the end of the episode got cut off.

Jul 16th
Reply (1)

Phoenix Jumpp

the end of the episode doesn't play

Jul 16th
Reply (1)

Promaxius

FINALLY! 🥰

Jul 16th
Reply