University of North Dakota
Mark Trahant is Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota. He blogs at Trahant Reports. A member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe in Idaho, he is a former president of the Native American Journalists Association.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is back in business The Army Corps of Engineers has done a 180 on the Dakota Access Pipeline, turning victory into another battle for Native Americans. Just two months ago, tribal leaders and many supporters were celebrating a victory when the Army Corps of Engineers ordered an environmental impact report on the Dakota Access Pipeline. Now, the Corps has reversed itself, and construction is under way again for a tunnel under the Missouri River just upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Mark Trahant is a professor at the University of North Dakota and an independent journalist. He updates us on what's happened over the past month and what's likely to happen next.
American-Indian wars, 21st century style The Thanksgiving holiday celebrates the supposedly peaceful partnership between early European settlers and the natives who lived in America first. But while much of the country sits down to dinner, a very different historical pattern is playing out again near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. A Native American protest against an oil pipeline has been met with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. It's aroused attention all over the world. As Jane Fonda plans to serve the protesters thanksgiving dinner, can President Obama make a lasting difference? We get an update.
Native American Reaction to the Oregon Land Protest So the major talking point for the Oregon protesters is about taking back the land from the federal government. The local Native American tribe there – the Burns-Paiute tribe – says the land belongs to them under an agreement they signed with federal officials more than a century ago. What’s more concerning is that the armed occupiers may have rifled through and tampered with traditional Native American artifacts stored in the refuge. The leader of the Burns-Paiute tribe is also concerned for her tribe members’ safety after some said they were harassed by protest supporters.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.