Underscore News

To cover the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis feels not so much like jumping into a rabbit hole, as much as it feels like entering a field riddled with rabbit holes. There is no overarching trend or thread with these cases, though all have a cloud of mystery, grief and hope hovering over each individual death or disappearance.

On a cloudy July day Thomas Wooten, chairman of the Samish Indian Nation reclined back in his chair with a smile planted deeply onto his face. He chuckled as his smile reached his eyes, crinkling at the sides, while recalling being a young boy, growing up on Guemes Island and walking across beaches with his family with an abundance of bull kelp washing ashore. Wooten used to have bull kelp fights with his brother and they’d whip each other playfully on summer days.

PORTLAND, Ore. — A group of Indigenous organizations around the Portland metro area felt inspired by the first Indigenous foods expo last year in the Northwest. They decided to bring something similar to their own city. Starting with a budget of zero dollars, and less than a year to plan, that dream has turned into a reality with the inaugural Indigenous Food Summit on Sept. 9 and 10.

Between last year’s passage of the tax and spending bill known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and federal cuts to agencies and staff, Natives across the U.S. are seeing diminishing support for healthcare, food assistance, and clean energy development.

To many Indigenous people and Twilight Saga super fans, it’s no secret the Quileute Tribe was not compensated for the representation of its people in the popular fantasy books and subsequent films. The Quileute people’s likeness is used throughout the franchise even as their traditional lore is misrepresented.

As a young kid, Lluvia Merello remembers many long days spent in marketplaces with her parents, who both made jewelry. They vended at markets in Peru, where Merello was born, and then eventually up and down the West Coast once they immigrated to the United States. Following in her parents’ footsteps, Merello began to make jewelry as well, looking for opportunities to sell at marketplaces in Portland.

In July, the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation released a set of proposed changes to rules implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. If the changes are approved, it could become optional to consult tribes about projects under consideration on culturally significant lands, as Underscore Native News reported earlier this month. On Aug.

Jason Smith knew the flames were coming fast. But he wouldn’t leave his ranch, even as others heeded the Level 3 “Go Now!” evacuation notice on July 25. To do so would have meant leaving his animals behind. In the weeks since, firefighters have worked to contain and extinguish wildfires across Oregon. Those affected by the state’s most destructive wildfire season on record continue to assess the damage, including Smith and others who care for livestock and horses.

In late July, at the start of  the huckleberry season, Trina Sherwood dropped her daughter and two grandchildren off to camp for several nights in southwestern Washington’s berry fields. It was bittersweet for Sherwood, as it was the first time she couldn’t stay with them. A 61-year-old food gatherer and member of the Ḱamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation, Sherwood balances a full-time job with gathering traditional foods like huckleberries.

For decades, Native people have pushed to remove Oregon’s derogatory place names. Current renaming efforts are moving forward with minimal tribal involvement. “It’s been decades of work, not just for the state, but for the tribes,” said Brenda Meade, Chairwoman of the Coquille Indian Tribe.