Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 15d

Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations are suing social media giants for their role in the growing mental health crisis for Indigenous youth. The nations argue that using social platforms can replace human interaction and give rise to cyber-bullying, body dysmorphia & suicide. www.kosu.org/news/2025-09...

Chickasaw, Choctaw Nations wage legal fights against social media companies for roles in mental health crisis

The Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations are suing social media giants for their role in the growing mental health crisis for Indigenous young people.

www.kosu.org

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone

Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 22d

New UN Commission of Inquiry report reinforces the consensus among experts around Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

As the Israeli govt escalates its assault on Gaza City & destroys Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure, states have a duty under Genocide Convention to act.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 22d

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry

Commission’s 72-page legal analysis cites examples including scale of killings, aid blockages and forced displacement * Middle East crisis – live updates A UN commission of inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts. It cited examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding, adding its voice to rights groups and others that have reached the same conclusion. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 26d

Understanding federal Indian law means better reporting under the Trump administration. We want to know what issue(s) you're most interested in. Click here: mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#in...

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone

Alleen Brown @alleenbrown.bsky.social · Jul 18

My new massive piece on the Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace trial includes never-reported details of the settlement ET offered GP. It would have thrown the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe under the bus. For @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social

grist.org/project/indi...

Standing Rock was an Indigenous-led movement. Why did Greenpeace take the fall?

The inside story of how Greenpeace stood with water protectors — and got hit with a $666 million court judgment.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jul 18

In March, a jury ordered Greenpeace to pay $666 million to the companies behind the Dakota Access pipeline. But Indigenous leaders, water protectors, activists, and court records agree: Greenpeace played a bit part in the Standing Rock movement, at best. grist.org/project/indi...

Standing Rock was an Indigenous-led movement. Why did Greenpeace take the fall?

The inside story of how Greenpeace stood with water protectors — and got hit with a $666 million court judgment.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jul 15

The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida joined environmental groups on Tuesday to sue the federal and state agencies that constructed an immigrant detention center known as the “Alligator Alcatraz” and located in the Everglades National Park.

grist.org/indigenous/a...

A tribe in Florida joins the fight against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention center

The Miccosuki tribe alleges that both state and federal agents failed to conduct an environmental review of what the camp would to the Everglades.

grist.org

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone

High Country News @highcountrynews.org · Jun 18

Excited to announce that the #landgrabu investigation at @highcountrynews is posting a correction.
It's a little unusual for reporters to get excited about corrections, so check this out ⬇️

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jun 9

Amid a current trade war with China, proponents for Oak Flat are scratching their heads at conflicting national security interests: “Resolution Copper is a major threat to U.S. national security given China’s significant financial influence over BHP and Rio Tinto.”
grist.org/indigenous/o...

The transfer of a sacred site to a copper mine is delayed once again

An Indigenous religious site in Arizona has been granted a delay, as advocates hope to stop Trump's plan to turn it into a copper mine.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jun 5

More than 17,000 acres around the Klamath River in Northern California, including the lower Blue Creek watershed, have returned to the Yurok Tribe, completing the largest landback deal in California history. grist.org/indigenous/i...

In California's largest landback deal, the Yurok Tribe reclaims sacred land around Klamath River

More than 17,000 acres around the Klamath River in northern California,have returned to the Yurok Tribe, completing the largest landback deal in California history.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jun 4

Mining, including the extraction of transition minerals, leads every sector in attacks on environmental & human rights defenders. 40% of those killed were Indigenous, a reflection of the fact that more than half of all critical minerals lie in or near Indigenous land. grist.org/indigenous/i...

Indigenous land defenders face rising threats amid global push for critical minerals

The past decade has seen “a consistent, sustained pattern" of violence against Indigenous people who oppose corporate human rights abuses.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Jun 4

The Trump administration's recent cuts to USAID are putting Indigenous peoples at risk. In the Amazon, for instance, no USAID support may lead to a resurgence of the cocaine market, increased threats to Indigenous land and potentially violent challenges to human rights. grist.org/indigenous/c...

Cuts to USAID severed longstanding American support for Indigenous peoples around the world

Without U.S. funding, Indigenous communities in Peru and elsewhere face increasing threats to their land, livelihoods, and human rights.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 15

Many communities that rely on disappearing ice roads sit atop lucrative minerals. And where mining is approved, road permits and government funding soon follow.

You can read more here: indiginews.com/features/cli...

Climate change is melting ice roads — a lifeline for remote Indigenous communities

As the key winter connectors disappear, First Nations are looking for all-season solutions amid a push for mineral extraction on their lands

indiginews.com

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 15

But the climate crisis is making it harder to build and maintain the ice roads. Winter is arriving later, pushing back construction, and spring is appearing earlier, bringing even the most robust frozen highways to an abrupt end.

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 15

Most of the year, small planes are their only lifeline. But in winter, the lakes, creeks, and marshes around them freeze, allowing workers to build a vast network of ice roads for truck drivers to haul in supplies at a lower cost than flying them in.

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 15

From @hilarybeaumont.bsky.social & @jessieboulard.bsky.social for @grist.org & @indiginews.bsky.social: More than 50 First Nations depend on approximately 3,700 miles of winter roads. There are no paved roads connecting these Indigenous communities to the nearest cities. 🧵
grist.org/indigenous/i...

Ice roads are a lifeline for First Nations. As Canada warms, they're disappearing.

Indigenous peoples are navigating the slow collapse of winter roads — and an even slower pace of help.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 14

I had no clue Pope Francis was as involved in the Indigenous world as much as he was. This story looks at his legacy and the direction of the church under Pope Leo XIV. grist.org/internationa...

What Pope Leo means for global climate action and colonialism

Pope Francis made a strong moral case for addressing climate change and respecting Indigenous rights. Will Pope Leo do the same?

grist.org

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone

Assigned Media @assignedmedia.org · May 13

The law is clear: Americans are protected from being compelled by the government to engage in speech with which they disagree.

By making passports ideological, argues attorney Miles Whitney, the Trump administration has turned them into government-compelled speech.

Read more on Assigned Media:

The First Amendment Should Protect Trans People’s Passports — Assigned

Trump’s executive order defining sex made it clear that passport sex markers will now carry an ideological message. The constitution protects Americans from being forced to endorse ideological message...

www.assignedmedia.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · May 7

You can support @indiginews.bsky.social here: indiginews.com/support-us?u...

Cara McKenna @caramck.bsky.social · May 7

We're disappointed that a new model such as the CJC — founded on commitments to fairness, inclusivity and a robust future for Canadian media — has already demonstrated it is not capable of fulfilling these ambitions.

Editorial from the @indiginews.bsky.social team:

indiginews.com/first-person...

Why you won’t see IndigiNews among those sharing in the $100M Google news fund

As the CJC hands out millions to ‘Canadian’ media under the federal Online News Act, our Indigenous newsroom is left behind

indiginews.com

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 21

The Eastern Shoshone this month voted to classify buffalo as wildlife instead of livestock. The vote indicates a growing interest to both restore buffalo on the landscape and challenge the relationship between animal and product. The latest from @siisiiko.bsky.social. grist.org/indigenous/w...

Wildlife, not livestock: Why the Eastern Shoshone in Wyoming are reclassifying buffaloes

(This story was published in partnership with The Associated Press.) In Wyoming, the Eastern Shoshone want to redefine how we see buffalo.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 21

A number of people hoping to attend the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues have encountered visa delays or denials this year. Their difficulties entering the U.S. come as the Trump administration seeks to tighten border controls and increase deportations. grist.org/global-indig...

Your guide to the 2025 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

The Trump administration's border policies are expected to have a big impact on this year’s largest gathering of Indigenous leaders, activists, and policymakers.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 17

“The dam removal that took place last fall is one of the biggest victories for Indigenous environmental justice in North American history,” @ahofschneider.bsky.social said. “It was brought about because of the persistence of tribes and their allies.” www.boisestatepublicradio.org/environment/...

How decades of Indigenous activism led to the Klamath Dam removals

Last year, four dams on the Klamath River were removed. For Indigenous nations in Oregon and California, it was a victory decades in the making.

www.boisestatepublicradio.org

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone

indigenousnews.bsky.social @indigenousnews.bsky.social · Apr 11

Follow some of Indigenous reporters and outlets covering the United Nations Permanent Forum On Indigenous Issues this year. go.bsky.app/2eBZ9cy

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 8

Read more here: grist.org/updates/gris...

Grist organizes international pooled coverage of the 2025 UNPFII

High Country News, Mongabay, ICT, APTN, Whakaata Māori, IndigiNews, Osage News, the Associated Press, and Grist will report together and share their journalism among newsrooms.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 8

Hailing from three countries and reporting for hundreds of Indigenous nations and peoples worldwide, the partnership also marks the launch of the Indigenous News Alliance, or INA (@indigenousnews.bsky.social): an international initiative to support cross-border collaborations and story sharing.

Grist organizes international pooled coverage of the 2025 UNPFII

High Country News, Mongabay, ICT, APTN, Whakaata Māori, IndigiNews, Osage News, the Associated Press, and Grist will report together and share their journalism among newsrooms.

grist.org

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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · Apr 8

@highcountrynews.bsky.social, @mongabay.bsky.social, @aptnnews.bsky.social, and ICT will once again be part of this collaboration. New members include @indiginews.bsky.social, Whakaata Māori, Osage News, and @apnews.com.

Grist organizes international pooled coverage of the 2025 UNPFII

High Country News, Mongabay, ICT, APTN, Whakaata Māori, IndigiNews, Osage News, the Associated Press, and Grist will report together and share their journalism among newsrooms.

grist.org

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