Letter to the editor

The scientific name for the orca is Orcinus orca. To my tribe, the Lhaq’ te’mish of the Salish Sea, they are people. In our stories, they have societies and a culture similar to our own. Quad Finn, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Orca culture.

This is the Trump administration’s environmental shock doctrine (“Reg wreckage,” June 2020): Ramping up the killing of poor, Black, brown and Native peoples, and poisoning the world for profit. Alyosha Goldstein, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Poison for profit.

One of the smartest moves in this story is that the reporter included comment from a foreign terrorism and radicalization researcher. The story is about heavily armed men running a poaching ring in Washington and Oregon. Ian Morse, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Radicalized poaching.

While the nation is distracted by a pandemic, the Trump administration is rolling back health and environmental protections at a breakneck pace. Susan Stone, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rollbacks at a breakneck pace.

The culling of human beings is what I am heartbroken about — our old, our houseless, our vulnerable. Natalie Hirt, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The crisis is culling our vulnerable.

Rena Priest does an effective job in her story, drawing parallels between captive orcas and missing and murdered Indigenous women (“A captive orca and a chance for our redemption,” April 2020). Fifty years on, how do we justify the conditions Tokitae lives in, let alone the fact of her captivity itself? Lance Martin, via Facebook […]

The interview provides a view on the armed reopen “protests,” from an interesting point of view. It’s a chilling analysis summing up three centuries and their original sins: guns, profits and a culture of privilege. Maybe a tad bit radical, but makes you think. Jürgen Kraus, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition […]

The Gadsden flag has become a symbol of ignorance and hate (“Who’s Treading Now?” June 2020). Worse yet, the purveyors of this image represent the darker elements of human nature, including selfish, violent and anti-democratic sentiments, often under the guise of Christianity. They live in a fantasy bubble where there are no rules, no regulations […]

Graham Lee Brewer’s interview with Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz provides some historical framing for current socio-political happenings (“Armed and contagious,” June 2020). When things don’t make sense, dig into history to find out why. Alan-Michael Foucault, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline America’s historical violence.

Such a tragic story. Poor sweet Tokitae, imprisoned for 50 years in a tank that’s illegally too small. In 2005, southern resident orcas finally received protection under the Endangered Species Act and were never to be kept captive again. But the law excluded Tokitae. She is made to perform circus tricks and be USED as […]

The architect of President Trump’s environmental rollbacks, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, has spent most of his career serving industry, anti-regulation ideologues. J.K. Sloan, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Anti-regulatory architect.

Thank you for the eye-opening article on land-grant universities. However, High Country News failed to state what the tribes would have been entitled to had their treaties been ratified. Coercion and duress may be used to set aside a modern contract, but even though coerced, the tribes may want to enforce the treaties to receive […]

For three years, Cornell had a faculty-led project on land grabs, some domestic and most abroad. I co-led the project and investigated U.S. Indian land grabs, but I resoundingly overlooked what you’ve uncovered. I’m both humbled and grateful. Today, I forwarded a message to scholars and lawyers around the United States who share this interest. […]

This is the best thing I’ve ever read about Los Angeles, and one of the best things I’ve ever read about anywhere.  Lara Disney, via Twitter This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The best thing I’ve ever read about Los Angeles.

I found Lynell George’s piece “No Trick of Light” (May 2020) profoundly moving. As an expatriate Californian living in Colorado, I was stirred by her references to a certain play of light, the peculiar sound of wind among native and non-native trees, the cooing of doves, and the ever-changing topography of desert and hills going […]

We’re actually covering settler colonialism and some of its ramifications now in my class, specifically related to water resources and ecology, as it problematizes ideas of ecological restoration, stakeholders, historical water rights and other things we treat as givens in the dominant culture. And I totally agree with this last statement: “ ‘You can’t go […]

The way forward requires a new norm. As David Sloan Wilson writes in The Neighborhood Project, “If you’re undermining the commons, you’re degrading your soul.” —Wesley Rolley, via Facebook This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline New norms.

This is sad news indeed, but after working with the Forest Service on bighorn sheep range studies for three summers in the backcountry, it comes as no surprise (“Competitor of conscience,” Outdoor Rec & Travel 2020). Bighorns are a sensitive and easily spooked genus. Researchers need to make sure their data is rock-solid, do additional […]

This is a much-needed deep dive into the issue of land “grant” universities. Let’s hope this sparks real dialogue and action today as we move forward with true partnerships with Indigenous people, education of Indigenous students, hiring of Indigenous faculty and staff, and ethical research to support (and in collaboration with) Indigenous communities. —Michael Dockry, […]