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Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: Slowly but surely

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This semester, I have tackled relevant, breaking news stories as they have occurred. From the Bad Bunny Superbowl Halftime Show to the horrific acts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the immediate issues of the day have been my major ...


Through Indigenous Eyes.jpg
Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: Slowly but surely

This semester, I have tackled relevant, breaking news stories as they have occurred. From the Bad Bunny Superbowl Halftime Show to the horrific acts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the immediate issues of the day have been my major focus. While I believe this coverage is vital, I also recognize that the vast majority of Indigenous issues lie beneath the surface because they have remained issues for years, decades, even centuries. Progress on these issues happens in spurts and often is covered through a non-Indigenous lens. As this is my last column for this semester, I want to bring attention to one of those issues: NAGPRA, or the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act.


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The Death of Education: The death of vocational education

I’m sure for a wide variety of students my age, our high school experience was dominated by a never-ending focus on preparing for college applications. The endless SAT tests, AP credits and college counseling all tell us there is only one real path forward after high school: college or university. But there has always been other choices. One of these choices, which has increasingly disappeared from the public eye, is vocational education.


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Another Bites The Dust: The Timothée Chalamet backlash really isn’t that deep

With the Oscars closing out the awards season earlier this month, one of the most heated controversies leading up to the ceremony was Timothée Chalamet’s infamous comment about ballet and opera. I stumbled across his statement in the many clips and videos cut from his Variety & CNN Town Hall conversation with Matthew McConaughey. There were thousands of comments and online discussions about his remarks, with the majority criticizing Chalamet. However, upon taking a closer look at the video, as well as Chalamet’s Oscar campaign for his film “Marty Supreme,” I feel as if the internet’s reactions toward him are coming from a place other than simple criticism.


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Through Indigenous Eyes: Why Columbus still reigns

On March 22, 2026, President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Basil Russo, national president of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America. In this letter, Trump announced that a statue of Christopher Columbus, gifted by the organization, would be displayed at the White House. He referred to Columbus as “the original American hero” as well as “one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth.”


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Another Bites The Dust: J.K. Rowling and Potterheads

J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” book series, has been a controversial figure online in recent years. Her cancellation has been of great interest to me because of my attachment to the aforementioned “Harry Potter” series growing up. So it is monumental to witness someone of such immense cultural and financial success fall from the public’s eye to such a degree.


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The Death of Education: Lunch should not put students into debt

At noon in schools all across the United States, a familiar scene unfolds. First graders through seniors in high school line up in cafeterias, grab a tray and receive a square of pizza meant to fuel them for the rest of the day. For many students, this is a part of their everyday routine. For others, it carries a quiet burden: lunch debt.



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Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: On that Taíno beat

I, like at least 128 million others, spent Feb. 8 watching Bad Bunny perform in the Super Bowl halftime show. And like most of those 128 million, I loved the performance; it was rich with cultural references, amazing visuals and a message of love. What Bad Bunny did was celebrate Puerto Rico, with all of its beauty and struggles. He also showcased an important cultural legacy: the Indigenous Taíno peoples and their survival, which is part of the broader story of Puerto Rican culture.


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Through Indigenous Eyes: Revisiting Greenland

Last year, I published an article about the colonial history of Greenland, exploring why it and its Indigenous people would want to be independent from Denmark. Since then, the people of Greenland voted Demokraatit, a center-right, moderately independent party, into power. At the same time, President Donald Trump has intensified his effort to buy Greenland from Denmark, Greenland’s former colonial owner. Greenland has achieved autonomy from Denmark, but is not fully independent. Trump had made it clear that he would consider violence as a tactic to annex Greenland, but walked back such statements earlier this month.



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The Death of Education: Follow Mississippi

As the spring semester picks up, it’s important to remind ourselves that the average National Assessment of Education Progress scores in math, reading, science, civics and U.S. history for students in the United States are now back to what they were in the 1990s. This decline in student performance has been occurring since 2013; it has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic inability to curtail chronic absenteeism. Presently, 74% of tested countries outperform U.S. students in science, and a staggering 86% outperform them in reading.


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Through Indigenous Eyes: Let’s talk about ICE

On Jan. 8, an Indigenous man named Jose Roberto ‘Beto’ Ramirez was dragged from his vehicle in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Despite insisting on both his U.S. and tribal citizenship, he was beaten, detained and then sent to an ICE detention center for questioning. After being told he would facecharges for assaulting a federal officer, he was released over six hours after his initial encounter with ICE.


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Through Indigenous Eyes: Vanishing, Surviving

As my mom and I left Arkansas, we traveled north through Missouri and Illinois to Chicago, then east to Detroit and up through Canada to Niagara Falls. At all of these stops, we never really ran into anything that had obvious Indigenous ties. Once we crossed back into the United States, we still didn’t run into anything explicitly Indigenous. While this may be surprising to you, it was anything but surprising to me.




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Through Indigenous Eyes: Side by side

As my mom and I crossed out of the Southwest into Arkansas, we came face-to-face with Fort Smith. For those who don’t know, Fort Smith is widely considered the last stop on the Trail of Tears, a genocidal displacement of southeastern Indigenous people. At Fort Smith, Indigenous people were sent into what is now known as Oklahoma, which the U.S. government deemed “Indian” territory at the time. While I was nervous to explore this site, my Mom and I thought it was important to sit with the pain of this place.



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Through Indigenous Eyes: Our American responsibility

My mom and I share a love of Indigenous history and a good hike. Thus, when my grandmother recommended Bandelier National Monument as a stop on our road trip, we both jumped at the chance. Located near Los Alamos, N.M., Bandelier is home to ancient Pueblo ruins. When we arrived, we were both ready to get our hiking boots on. However, the second we got to the park, I knew something was wrong.



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Through Indigenous Eyes: Native authenticity

On every road trip, there’s a point where you get a bit bored. The scenery outside looks identical for hundreds of miles. The playlist you’ve made? You’ve already listened to it twice. You’ve spent so much time with the people you’re driving with that there’s nothing left to talk about. ...



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