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Crooked Media

The award-winning documentary podcast This Land is back for season 2. Host Rebecca Nagle reports on how the far right is using Native children to attack American Indian tribes and advance a conservative agenda.

This Land

An 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader. A 1999 small town murder. Two crimes collide in a Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of one man and nearly half of the land in Oklahoma. Hosted by Rebecca Nagle, Oklahoma journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation, This Land traces how a cut and dry homicide opened up an investigation into the treaty rights of five Native American tribes. Tune in, beginning June 3rd to Crooked Media's 8-episode series to find out how this unique case could result in the largest restoration of tribal land in U.S. history.

This Land (coming June 3rd)

The Supreme Court is about to make a decision that will determine the future of five tribes and nearly half the land in Oklahoma, and it all starts with a murder on the side of the road in 1999. 

Learn more: thislandpodcast.com 

For a transcript of this episode, please go to: thislandpodcast.com

1. The Case

Muscogee (Creek) Nation's reservation spans 11 counties across Eastern Oklahoma. This land is now at stake, and the tribe’s legal team headed to D.C. to make its case in front of the Supreme Court.

Learn more: thislandpodcast.com

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/this land.

2. The Tribe

There are some very powerful groups set against Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Who are they? What's their motivation? And what arguments are they using to win their case in Court?

Learn more: thislandpodcast.com

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

3. The Opposition

A Cherokee leader is murdered in 1839 for signing a treaty with the United States, but the promise he died for was broken. Learn more: thislandpodcast.com

4. The Treaty

In a surprise twist, the Supreme Court announced that Carpenter v. Murphy will not be decided this term.

Update: Surprise announcement from SCOTUS

A murder case sparked an investigation into the treaty rights of five tribes. But another case -- a simple case about an adoption -- could actually dismantle America's tribes as we know them. 

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

8. The Next Battleground

ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued. Today, the lawsuit doesn’t just impact the future of one child, or even the future of one law. It threatens the entire legal structure defending Native American rights. 

In season 2 of This Land, host Rebecca Nagle investigates how the far right is using Native children to quietly dismantle American Indian tribes. 

Tune in beginning August 23rd.

This Land, season 2 (coming August 23rd)

ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued.

Show Notes:

 • This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/

 • Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/

 • Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/

 • Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/

 • Jennifer Brackeen’s Personal Blog https://web.archive.org/web/20201221201802/https://thebrackeens.blogspot.com/

 • "An Untold Number Of Indigenous Children Disappeared At U.S. Boarding Schools. Tribal Nations Are Raising The Stakes In Search Of Answers." https://theintercept.com/2018/09/25/carlisle-indian-industrial-school-indigenous-children-disappeared/

 • "My Relatives Went To A Catholic School For Native Children. It Was A Place Of Horrors" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/30/my-relatives-went-to-a-catholic-school-for-native-children-it-was-a-place-of-horrors

 • "Indigenous Children Finally Headed Home" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/indigenous-children-officially-headed-home

 • "Indian Boarding School Investigation Faces Hurdles In Missing Records, Legal Questions" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/indian-boarding-school-investigation-faces-hurdles-missing-records-legal-questions-n1273996

 • "U.S. Boarding Schools To Be Investigated" https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/us-boarding-schools-to-be-investigated

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

1. Solomon’s Sword

The Brackeens' case would have been a normal adoption dispute, but then one of the most powerful corporate law firms in the United States took it on and helped the couple launch a federal lawsuit.

Show Notes

 • This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/

 • Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/

 • Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/

 • Have a tip? Share it with our reporting team via SecureDrop https://criticalfrequency.org/securedrop/

 • Blood Memory documentary https://www.bloodmemorydoc.com/

 • “Indian Adoption Project Increases Momentum” April 18, 1967 press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior https://www.indianaffairs.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/indian-adoption-project-increases-momentum

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland.

Update: Surprise announcement from SCOTUS

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