Fellow Reflections
Reclamation, Revitalization, and Indigenous Futurity Through Storytelling
ILI Alum Loren Waters reflects on her ILI Year 4 experience and draws connection and meaning to her own Indigenous peoples perspective.
Author: Loren Waters
McGirt v. Oklahoma overturned
In 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of child rapist Jimcy McGirt on the grounds that the Creek Nation’s reservation was never disestablished for criminal jurisdiction. State courts no longer have the authority to prosecute crimes committed by or against Oklahomans who are also tribal members. Hundreds of criminal cases are now being dismissed because the state does not have the ability to try and convict criminals on historic tribal lands.
Chief Hoskin announces the appointment of a Cherokee Nation delegate to Congress
Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. announced that the tribe is taking a historic initial step to enact the Cherokee Nation’s treaty right to send a delegate to the U.S. Congress. The Cherokee Nation delegate is referenced in both the Treaty of Hopewell from 1785 and the Treaty of New Echota from 1835 between the Cherokee Nation and the federal government. The Treaty of 1866 also reaffirms all previous treaties between the Cherokee Nation and the United States. For nearly two centuries, Congress has failed to honor this promise. Yet the obligation to seat a Cherokee Nation delegate remains..Read More
Loren Waters
Filmmaker Loren Waters is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the Kiowa Tribe. Focusing her art on the intersection of film and Indigenous storytelling,
