2 things to note:
-Tribes are not subsets of states, as press release implies.
-States cannot choose whether tribal rights, including tribal rights, are constricted or not.
Tribes are sovereigns that precede the states.
(Yes, there are tons of nuances here. But remember the fundamentals.)
13.02.2026 19:41
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Iβm teaching Vine Deloria, Jr.βs Custer Died for Your Sins this week. Itβs a beautiful mix of joy, optimism, and outrage. Iβve now read it about 20 times and it still makes me laugh.
12.02.2026 22:15
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π₯in this case. And it can help instructors avoid the charge that to call out the racism in territorial governance is an edgy woke leftist idea.
10.02.2026 21:08
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Counter China by Making Guam a State
More than a partisan move, statehood would be a foreign-policy masterstroke.
Finally, I must unfortunately note Freymannβs 2020 article on Guam as an illustration that imperialism is alive and thrives today.
foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/14/c...
10.02.2026 21:04
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Also, Mariely Lopez-Santanaβs scholarship and public commentary on Puerto Rico is great. Iβve drawn lesson plans from them.
10.02.2026 20:59
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Nothing in it authorizes judges to engage in the sordid business of segregating Territories and the people who live in them on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion.β
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10.02.2026 20:57
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βThe flaws in the Insular Cases are as fundamental as they are shameful. Nothing in the Constitution speaks of βincorporatedβ and βunincorporatedβ Territories. Nothing in it extends to the latter only certain supposedly βfundamentalβ constitutional guarantees.
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10.02.2026 20:57
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There, Justice Brown contended, βthe administration of government and justice, according to Anglo-Saxon principles, may for a time be impossible.ββ
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10.02.2026 20:56
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But it would not do for islands βinhabited by alien races, differing from US in religion, customs, laws, methods of taxation, and modes of thought.β Id., at 287.
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10.02.2026 20:56
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βEmploying arguments similar to those advanced by Professors Lang dell and Thayer, Justice Brown saw things in the starkest terms. Applying the Constitution made sense in βcontiguous territor[ies] inhabited only by people of the same race, or by scattered bodies of native Indians.β Id., at 282.
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10.02.2026 20:55
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The Insular Cases have no foundation in the Constitution and rest instead on racial stereotypes. They deserve no place in our law.β
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10.02.2026 20:54
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βA century ago in the Insular Cases, this Court held that the federal government could rule Puerto Rico and other Territories largely without regard to the Constitution. It is past time to acknowledge the gravity of this error and admit what we know to be true:
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10.02.2026 20:54
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If teaching US modern territorial politics for the first time, may I suggest using US v. Vaello Madero
Gorsuch concurrence details how the entire basis for territorial governance today is racist.
Here are highlight quotes
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10.02.2026 20:53
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Jobs and Internships
If you or someone in your network is interested in working at @brookings.edu on issues affecting Native Americans and Tribal economies, I am hiring for a (paid!) summer intern. You can find more info or apply here:
03.02.2026 21:57
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It says a lot that theyβd rather kill the things they love rather than accept change. Boy Scouts had become so outside mainstream values that it was no longer viable financially. Going back = going bankrupt.
03.02.2026 18:36
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The leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe have a helluva lot more courage of conviction than a lot of mealy-mouthed politicians out there.
29.01.2026 22:36
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I say yes. Uniforms assert norms and narratives. Here, they model appropriate military-civilian relations.
26.01.2026 01:12
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Precisely. SCLC chose Birmingham based on Bull Connorβs record. They avoided other cities with less monstrous police. This was the lesson learned from the unsuccessful outcome in Albany, GA.
(documented in Aldon Morrisβ book and in many others.)
d28hgpri8am2if.cloudfront.net/book_images/...
25.01.2026 20:12
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Cuddles and coffee. We all need a dose of unconditional love right now. These pups are future Guide Dogs for the blind.
25.01.2026 16:32
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Remember that at this point, the Trump Administration has researched the best arguments they have available to justify Prettiβs murder. Their best wonks and analysts were up all night designing a strategy.
Itβs telling that their best arguments are devoid of fact and reason.
25.01.2026 20:03
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If Prettiβs gun accidentally discharged, π― guaranteed they would have secured the scene and searched for the bullet and casing.
25.01.2026 19:55
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Genuinelyβcan someone explain to me Bondiβs request for MN voting records?
In every state I know, itβs already public record whether youβre registered, for which party, and which elections youβve participated in.
Are Bondiβs staff so incompetent that they donβt know this? Or is MN law unusual?
25.01.2026 19:50
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And I am intrigued by the idea that the US government would transfer billions of dollars to Greenlanders for a sovereign wealth fund, since itβs only fair.
End
25.01.2026 18:40
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Sources:
anthctoday.org/epicenter/publications/Mortality2021/AN_MortalityReport_web.pdf
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti....
www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices...
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25.01.2026 18:36
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Cancer rates in US:
Alaska Natives: 205.9
Overall population: 155.3
(Per 100k)
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25.01.2026 18:31
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These claims are patently false. Hereβs the data on Native health
Native Life expectancy
Greenland: 74.0 for women, 69.2 for men
Alaska: 72.8 for women, for 68.1 men
Share of Native women involuntarily sterilized in US in 1970βs: one quarter
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25.01.2026 18:27
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Heart-shaped whale spray, for anyone who needs something good and beautiful to sustain them.
24.01.2026 20:12
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Greenland is a global model for Indigenous self-governance. Trumpβs demands for the island threaten that.
Historians say underpinning Trump's talk of national security lies a longstanding pattern of American entitlement to Native land.
Helpful explanation of why itβs important to think about US power plays over Greenland through the lens of Native politics.
Too much other news coverage has been built on a lot of presumptions about the people of Greenland and their desires.
grist.org/global-indig...
23.01.2026 21:35
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Ah, old familiar speech that non-Christians are monsters who donβt love children.
23.01.2026 17:48
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