State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
Justice
What it’s like to be an incarcerated firefighter
Eddie Herrera, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, talks about the job and how he sees what’s happening in Los Angeles.
President Biden to apologize for federal Indian boarding schools
The U.S. government hopes to assuage cynicism and begin a new chapter of healing for Native people.
In rural Washington, a ‘constitutional sheriff’ and his growing volunteer posse provoke controversy
Where some see a ‘rural neighborhood watch’ that saves money, others worry about liability and ties to extremism.
The mother-daughter duo fighting fossil fuels in Colorado
How Madhvi and Lalitha Chittoor teamed up against a proposed oil and gas development.
Will exploratory lithium mining continue near a sacred hot spring?
A judge will decide the fate of Ha’Kamwe’ as the Hualapai Nation fights the drilling in court.
What the Bundy Bunkerville standoff foreshadowed
Ten years after the impasse between the Bundy family and the BLM, the doctrine of white oppression is widely embraced.
Supreme Court curtails agencies’ ability to enforce regulations
The repeal of the bedrock Chevron doctrine throws climate and conservation laws into doubt.
Supreme Court gives cities and towns power to criminalize homelessness
The Oregon case has been closely watched by Western cities and states.
Meet the women fighting to end detention and deportation in Washington
La Resistencia is working alongside people in immigrant detention to shut down the Northwest Detention Center.
Conozca a las mujeres que luchan por acabar con las detenciones y las deportaciones en el estado de Washington
La Resistencia, un grupo de base en el noroeste del Pacifico, trabaja junto a personas detenidas para cerrar el Centro de Detención del Noroeste.
Youth are leading the way on climate action
Start thinking like young people to secure our future.
Who are the real Black superheroes?
A photo exhibition captures the courage of Mamie Till surrounding the lynching of her son, Emmett Till.
Fighting climate change by fighting racism
Hop Hopkins, the new executive director of WildEarth Guardians, explains how the two movements are connected.
Disaster disparities in the West
The risk of climate catastrophe is complex, but people of color often face ‘unnatural hazards.’
A proposed bottle-deposit bill in Washington would help the environment — and low-income communities
The legislation would add a premium for bottles returned by organizations supporting people who rely on deposit refunds.
Stolen Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system. Climate change is its legacy.
Extractive industries are filling public university coffers on stolen land.
New DNA technique could bring closure for families of missing and murdered Indigenous people
But experts say this risks DNA sovereignty.
The Northwestern Shoshone are restoring the Bear River Massacre site
The tribe is reclaiming their gathering place and returning water to the Great Salt Lake.
Will the Supreme Court allow agencies to continue interpreting ambiguity in laws?
If the ‘Chevron deference’ is overturned, federal enforcement of key environmental and health care regulations will be sharply curbed.