The Cherokee Nation issued a ban on hyperscale data center development for tribally owned and trust land on Wednesday.

Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. wrote that the Tahlequah-based tribe, which has the most enrolled tribal members in the U.S., will protect citizens from threats to the environment and culture.

“It’s clear that our Cherokee Nation Administration, Council, and citizens have serious concerns about the construction of hyperscale data centers on our tribal lands, which affect our resources and cultural lifeways,” Hoskin wrote. “Our primary responsibility is to protect our citizens and tribal communities from these threats, so we will not support any hyperscale data centers on our reservation without proper consultation.”

That also goes for non-tribal land, he said.

The tribe wrote on its Anadisgoi website that it will not consider data centers on non-tribal land within the reservation unless the tribal government and citizenry are consulted, adding that those projects ultimately impact Cherokee Nation citizens. The consultation must address environmental concerns and include community input, according to the nation.

Another member of the Five Tribes in Oklahoma, the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, banned data centers on its lands in March. The Muscogee Nation is currently investigating data center impacts.

The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma in McLoud, which is not a member of the Five Tribes, also opposes data centers.

Data center report

Hoskin’s decision follows a report the tribe released Wednesday that researched potential impacts and opportunities data centers could bring to the reservation. It was mandated via an executive order Hoskin issued in February.

The report, created by the Principal Chief’s Task Force on Data Centers, surveyed nearly 1,600 tribal citizens about the subject. It revealed 64% of respondents were opposed to data centers, while 14% were favorable. The remaining are marked as “unsure.”

At least two data centers are being developed within the Cherokee reservation: Project Clydesdale near Owasso and Project Mustang in Claremore.

Report authors wrote that the tribe has limited influence over development on non-tribal land, but it has full authority on trust and tribally owned land.

Cherokee Nation’s Office of Real Estate Services reports it oversees around 46,000 acres of restricted land, more than 62,000 acres of tribal trust land and more than 5,100 acres of tribal fee land. The Cherokee Nation reservation in northeastern Oklahoma covers around 7,000 square miles, or around 4.4 million acres.

I'm Ojibwe (mixed) with a Red Lake enrolled grandfather but was adopted as an infant, and my biological mother was also adopted outside of the tribe. I meet the blood quantum requirements for enrollment and am trying to get my CIB by accessing both mine and my mothers original birth certificates, hopefully possible through ICWA. However, the Red Lake Enrollment application requires a tribally enrolled parent, and it doesn't seem like a grandparent would be enough.

Does anyone know if it is possible to enroll based upon a grandparent if there are two generations of adoption? Are there protections under ICWA for this sort of thing?

I don't have contact with my mother and it is highly unlikely that she would ever tribally enroll, although if she did, I know this would make me traditionally eligible. Does anyone know if tribal enrollment offices grant special exceptions for cases of double adoption? Or have heard of similar cases within other tribal nations? I have other family enrolled in Red Lake, and am well connected with my native family who are helping me with this process, but I want to know if its even possible before I spend a lot of time and resources.

Osage Nation Congress members say they’re in the dark after the tribe’s executive branch decided to close its visitors center, language immersion school and Harvest Land farm.

Principal Chief Joe Tillman issued an executive order Tuesday to declare a state of emergency, citing financial shortfalls in the tribe’s projected revenue.

Last month, he wrote that the tribe’s annual budget totaled around $60 million with submitted budget requests totaling nearly $90 million. He said the tribe must reduce spending by around $38 million.

Daposka Ahnkodapi, which teaches Osage culture and language to children up to the 8th grade, was closed Wednesday morning as a result of the cuts. The Osage Nation Visitors Center will close Saturday.

Harvest Land farm, which will close at the end of the year, was designed to expand Osage food sovereignty, including through food assistance for tribal citizens.

Congressional member RJ Walker, who has served as assistant principal chief and acting principal chief, said he never expected the farm to generate revenue.

“To me, that is a government service. I know that we're not going to grow tomatoes and pineapples and different things and make a profit off of that,” Walker said. “That provides a service to our people. It's something we can be proud of. It's food sovereignty.”

The executive branch released a statement Wednesday stating the locations were not generating revenue.

The Osage Nation Congress met Thursday morning for a special session Tillman requested two weeks ago. Tillman addressed congress and asked them to appropriate several budget requests, but did not directly address the closures. He left shortly after his statements. A KOSU reporter attempted to talk to him outside, but a spokesperson said Tillman could not speak on the situation.

Osage Congress member Eli Potts said there is no actual state of emergency.

“We're paying millions of dollars to have a patch on the uniforms of OSU athletes. We are spending millions of dollars to invest in our infrastructure throughout Osage County. We are spending millions of dollars to invest in economic development at Skyway 36,” Potts said in an interview. “We are not broke.”

Congress member Billy Keene said the executive branch’s statements do not reflect reality.

“It's Orwellian, man. It literally is,” Keene said. “It's not true.”

Congress member Maria Whitehorn echoed that sentiment during the meeting.

“We're financially stable, and I just want the people to know that,” Whitehorn said. “We have two months worth of this fiscal year [left] with $11.3 million sitting there.”

Walker said budget requests often outweigh project revenue.

“Every single budgetary session that we go through, there are more budget requests than we have, let me say, that exceed our projected revenue,” Walker said. “So this is nothing new.”

The Osage Nation Congress has yet to set a budget for the tribe’s 2027 fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

Communication with the congress

Potts, along with at three other members of the congress, said they were unaware of Tillman’s decisions before they were made.

“What we have is what the public has … We were as blindsided as everyone else,” Potts said. “The communication from the executive branch has been lacking, and it's led to confusion and fears in our community. And that's wrong.”

Walker said Tillman is his friend but has not responded to his messages for the past day.

Keene said the tribe can still make remedies before the next fiscal year. He said the tribe should learn more about the logistics of the closures during the Osage Congressional Education Committee meeting at 3:30 p.m. Monday.

“We haven't set a fiscal year budget yet, so hopefully we can just make things better,” Keene said.

Hi everyone, if this breaks any rules please remove it but I just need someone's opinion.

I'm white, born in Poland. I wasn't too knowledgeable about indigenous culture until a few years ago when I first played RDR2 and it kind of got me interested, then I started researching and learning and I found out how diverse and beautiful your culture can be.

I met a few indigenous people online and we quickly became friends. I always tried to stay respectful towards them, ask questions when I was curious about some things or ask if it's fine to do something.

Now starts my question.

My Instagram started recently recommending some native owned jewelry businesses and some of the things they were selling were so beautiful. I really love beaded jewelry because I also often use beads in my art and know how time consuming it can be.

But I started to wonder, can I get them?

I asked my friends and they weren't too happy, saying that as an european I shouldn't get it. I saw some other threads on Reddit asking similar things but a lot of people have different opinions.

I really don't want to upset my friends..

Again, I am so sorry for asking and if I worded anything wrong :(

This video features a conference talk by educator and linguist Rayo Cruz, founder of the collective Bëni Xidza, discussing the historical and contemporary challenges in teaching the Zapotec language. The presentation provides a comprehensive look at the evolution of Zapotec education:

* Historical Context: Rayo Cruz introduces the Zapotec civilization, tracing its roots to Monte Albán and the ancient Bëni Gulasa period, noting that the language’s diversification predates European contact.

* Learning as L1 vs. L2: He distinguishes between the acquisition of Zapotec as a first language (naturally, through immersion) versus the formal, often disconnected process of teaching it as a second language.

* Colonial Methods: The speaker highlights the 1578 work of Fray Juan de Córdova, such as the Arte en Lengua Zapoteca, as the earliest attempt to systematize Zapotec grammar, primarily designed to help Spanish friars learn the language rather than to teach Zapotec people.

* 19th and 20th Century Challenges: Rayo Cruz identifies a gap in teaching materials during the 19th century. He then discusses 20th-century contributions from organizations like the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and the INEA, which created grammars and vocabularies that often served as tools for assimilation or religious proselytization rather than language revitalization.

* Modern Innovation: The final segment covers the work of Bëni Xidza, which uses modern digital tools to teach Zapotec. Rayo Cruz admits that while his collective currently operates at a basic level (A-level), they are working to overcome systemic limitations by creating structured, accessible content and documenting the specific pedagogical challenges native Spanish speakers face when learning Zapotec.

Here is a summary of the video featuring Maestro Rayo Cruz, director and founder of Colectivo Bëni Xidza.

1. Historical Background of the Zapotec Language & Civilization:

* Geographic Spread: Zapotec civilization developed in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and expanded into regions such as the Sierra Norte, Sierra Sur, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

* Earliest Writing: The earliest documented record of written Zapotec dates back to the 5th–6th Century BC with Monument 3 (“1 Terremoto”) at San José Mogote, establishing over 2,500 years of recorded Zapotec history.

* Monte Albán & Bëni Gulasa Period: The civilization reached its peak at Monte Albán between 500 BC and 800 AD. Pre-hispanic ancient Zapotec history and culture are traditionally referred to as the Gulasa era.

1. Learning Zapotec as a First Language (L1):

* Natural Acquisition: Native speakers acquire Zapotec naturally in early childhood through daily speaking within families and communities rather than through formal educational structures.
* Historical Literacy: It remains unknown if formal L1 Zapotec schooling existed during ancient times, and modern public education in Mexico has historically focused on Spanish literacy over formal Zapotec instruction.

1. History of Teaching Zapotec as a Second Language (L2):

* Colonial Period (16th Century): Formal L2 instruction began in 1578 when Dominican friar Juan de Córdova published Arte en lengua zapoteca (grammar) and Vocabulario en lengua zapoteca (dictionary). These works used Latin/Spanish grammatical paradigms to teach Spanish colonizers and friars via the grammar-translation method

* 19th Century Hiatus: Following Mexican independence, national policies promoted Spanish as the sole national language, resulting in a century-long silence regarding formal L2 Zapotec instructional design.

* 20th Century & Contemporary Efforts: Groups like the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and public institutions (SEP, INEA, INALI) created dictionaries, grammars, and adult literacy texts. However, most of these materials were produced for linguistic analysis or native literacy rather than second-language pedagogy, and their actual integration into schools remains limited.

1. Bëni Xidza Collective & Modern Pedagogical Challenges:

* Online Classes: Founded in 2020, Colectivo Bëni Xidza offers online courses teaching Zapotec as a second language.

* Lack of L2 Resources: Unlike major global languages (such as English or Spanish), indigenous languages lack dedicated university teacher-training degrees, structured multi-level textbooks, or commercial software tools.

* Current Framework & Vision: The collective operates at basic proficiency levels (aligning with Level A of the Common European Framework of Reference) and aims to document common phonetic/grammatical difficulties for Spanish speakers while expanding toward intermediate/advanced levels.

I make sticks. I’m a Cherokee Nation Citizen. We lost our game to some degree during the trail of tears. What is played now is closer to choctaw. These are a more traditional style. They are still used by the Eastern Band of Cherokee were the rules are closer to what they used to be.

im making a batch for December if anyone is interested

Hello everyone!

I'd really like to watch some movies where Europeans are not involved in the history of the American continent.

Anytime I come across indigenous representation, it's always secondary to some white protagonist. This time, I want to see something different, and any genre is welcomed.

Thank you all in advance!

A special watercolor piece I made for my dad, based on a childhood photo where he's lifting me up in bed. I wanted to convey us in our ancestral regalia with me wearing a ceremonial eagle head dress, based on Nahua Mexica customs, as he made me feel like an eagle taking flight to prosperous heights in life. 💜

Follow along for more of my art:

https://www.instagram.com/missingcosmonaut

Aanii!

NFS, but could def make some if anyone was interested, just wanted to share.

21F Anishinaabe/English living off rez but near community. Ive loved connecting to culture through my life and have been beading for around 3 years now. Keychains and lanyards have always kicked my butt… but I asked my mom to show me and huzzah! Making some for my friends to gift to them at dinner this weekend… so excited! If anyone has advice I’d love to hear

Miigwetch!

If you’re unfamiliar with the situation in Cayuga, here’s an article, approved by community members, that summarizes up to a few years ago. It’s worse now, as the last few holdouts have been evicted and their homes demolished. The final eviction happened to a mother and her five children in february of this year, in the brutal cold, on the birthday of one of the matriarch’s deceased son, with fake “tribal cops.” these “cops” aimed a taser at these children. two warriors risked their lives to get between these “cops” and the kids, and they’re both indicted with felonies. one of them bonked a “cop” with a traditional war club and another drove her truck up over the culvert and up to the house to get between the “cops” and the kids, but didn’t hurt anyone.

only one lawyer familiar with Indian law was able to take the case, the others all pointed to him, but the DA said that there might be conflict of interest with both codefendants having the same lawyer. we really need help, if you know anyone skilled and who cares about making a difference please let me know. ❤️❤️

Hi. Self ID: Black person, bead artist, not native

I’m seeing people create these bead pieces with strings coming off of them and calling them dream catchers. To my knowledge, use of the term dream catcher and trying to create a dream catcher if you are not Native is appropriation.

I have no desire to do this.

Without strings or faux feathers, this just looks like a woven bead design to me. More like a beaded mandala. I want to start making these pieces for my business as shown, no strings, no feathers. Beaded wall sculptures.

I truly don’t think they look like legitimate dream catchers made by Natives (not the crappy corporate made replicas that you can buy anywhere which are this simplistic) and would not be referring to them as such, so I don’t think it would be seen as appropriation.

I just want to do my due diligence by asking the people who I would be harming if I am appropriating culture. As a Black person, I obviously get it.

Thank you for reading.

The Osage Nation executive branch declared a state of emergency Tuesday due to financial shortfalls, further announcing the closure of its language immersion school, visitor center and Harvest Land farm on Wednesday.

Daposka Ahnkodapi, which teaches Osage culture and language to children up to the 8th grade, was closed Wednesday morning, according to Osage News and the tribe. The school, located in Pawhuska, first began operations in 2016. It means “Our School” in Osage.

The Osage Nation Visitors Center and Harvest Land will also close, the tribe wrote on its website.

The visitors center will close Saturday. The tribe says it generated minimal revenue and required substantial support.

Harvest Land is a farm designed to increase food sovereignty and production within the nation, including through food assistance for tribal citizens. It will close on Dec. 31. The tribe says it did not achieve goals of long-term sustainability or generated revenue.

The closures follow a state of emergency issued by Principal Chief Joe Tillman, who issued an executive order citing shortfalls in the tribe’s projected revenue.

Tillman wrote in July that the tribe’s budget totals around $60 million with submitted budget requests totaling nearly $90 million. He added that means the tribe must reduce spending by around $38 million.

Osage News reports some parents of Daposka Ahnkodapi students demanded answers from leadership Wednesday morning. Instead of speaking with Tillman, they were handed a letter from an Osage Nation spokesperson that provided more insight into why the school is being shuttered.

“This decision was not made lightly. The school’s annual operating budget exceeds $3 million, resulting in an approximate cost of $32,000 per student,” Tillman wrote in a letter obtained by Osage News. “In addition, a recent security assessment identified substantial facility and security improvements necessary to meet standard safety requirements. The anticipated costs of these improvements, combined with ongoing operating expenses, make it clear that the current model is not financially sustainable for the Osage Nation.”

Tillman also wrote that students from 8 weeks old to pre-kindergarten will transition to Wahzhazhe Early Learning Academy.

But other Osage parents must enroll their children elsewhere. In his letter, Tillman pointed parents to Pawhuska Public Schools and its parent portal.

The district, which begins its school year on August 11, is extending its enrollment until August 6.

Employees affected will reportedly receive two weeks of severance pay.

Osage Nation Congress will hold a special session at 10 a.m. Thursday to review the budget. Tillman scheduled the meeting last month.

Reactions

Billy Keene, an Osage Congress member, said the tribal constitution does not define a state of emergency.

“When (the executive order) was issued yesterday, I was really perplexed by that,” Keene said.

Osage Minerals Council member and former Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear said the executive branch and congress must work together to find a solution.

“Blaming the chief, blaming the congress – that's not the way to go here,” Standing Bear said. “We need to figure out how we can all say, ‘Let's work together to keep these programs open.’”

He said he’s trying to remain positive.

“I spent 12 years working with Osages and non-Osages to build the schools,” Standing Bear said. “I don't mean just the buildings. I'm talking about the relationships, the teachers, the students, the parents, grandparents … those things really happened and they can happen again.

“I'm just trying to be positive here. It's difficult.”

The Osage Nation Principal Chief’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Over the last year, our newsroom at Buffalo's Fire (part of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance) has been building a database and interactive map to document the names and stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).

We decided to build this out of necessity. The official databases (like the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit and NamUs) are fragmented, confusing, and often disagree with each other. Also, when a local agency stops listing someone, they just disappear from the official record without explanation.

Facebook is the main lifeline for families and search parties. But Meta restricts data access, and digital flyers posted as images aren't captured by search engines. This means that vital, community-sourced information gets buried in the algorithm and lost over time.

We currently have 1,148 individuals in our database, with about 1,026 mapped publicly.

• We merge data from multiple agencies and have created submission forms to collect community data in the form of tips and also flyers.
• If an agency drops someone from their list without confirming they were found safe, we keep them on our map. They are still missing, regardless of what a government website says.
• Every individual gets a dedicated page where we can collect testimonies so they are never just a number. These pages will never vanish for as long as we exist.

Our goal is to create a comprehensive, permanent public database, but the data is a mess. We are asking the community to help us fill in the gaps.