State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
North Dakota
Posted inArticles
Trump’s nominee for leading Interior attempted to rip up rules governing public lands
North Dakota sued the Interior Department at least five times under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now he’s set to run the agency.
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6 things you should know about the 2021 Native American Voting Rights Act
Indigenous communities face disproportionate barriers to voting, but the act would help protect this important right.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
All fracked up: A debut memoir wrestles with toxic masculinity in the oil fields
Michael Patrick F. Smith’s ‘The Good Hand’ offers sharp observations on North Dakota’s extraction industry.
Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown
Amidst North Dakota’s fracking boom, people keep disappearing
Journalist Sierra Crane Murdoch documents Lissa Yellow Bird’s search for the missing.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Explore a world of images at Standing Rock
The new book, Standing Strong, shows a spectrum of emotion from #NoDAPL.
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Standing Rock’s countdown to Election Day
With restrictive new voter ID laws, Standing Rock leadership is sent into overdrive.
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Tribes unite to combat new North Dakota voter ID law
After an eleventh-hour decision that could disqualify many Native American voters, tribal governments find their own solutions.
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Holding onto home in rural North Dakota
A new documentary explores progress and place in fracking country.
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The flash drought brought misery, but did it change minds on climate change?
North Dakota ranchers rely on the rain — and last year the rains failed.
Posted inJuly 23, 2018: Pay for Prey
‘No crime scene’: The search for Olivia Lone Bear
Native families grapple with scant support to locate their missing loved ones.
Posted inApril 16, 2018: Cashing in on Standing Rock
Cashing in on Standing Rock
How Veterans Stand squandered $1.4 million raised around the #NoDAPL protests.
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Why a team name is more than a (racist) word
If you don’t understand this one, ‘you don’t get any of them.’
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
A tale of two parks: How the Bakken boom transformed a landscape
While a North Dakota national park is an oasis from drilling, a nearby state park is thrown open.
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Keystone XL Pipeline gets a step closer to completion
An already-built section of the pipeline spilled 210,000 gallons of oil last week.
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Nationwide, oil pipeline spills are a near-daily reality
As Nebraska OKs Keystone XL route, a look at U.S. oil spills since 2015.
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‘Flash drought’ threatens crops and cattle
Exceptionally dry conditions in the northern Great Plains are devastating farmers and ranchers.
Posted inJune 26, 2017: Personal Pilgrimage
A network of trails that spans the country
The National Trails System, by the numbers.
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What’s really killing King Coal?
Rick Perry wants to save coal from solar and wind, but natural gas is the real culprit.
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Oil expected in Dakota Access Pipeline this week
What ongoing legal battles tell us about protections for religious freedoms and government consultation with tribes.