A new history of the state traces early civil rights battles spearheaded by Black activists.
Race & Racism
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Black cowboys reclaim their history in the West
At an annual rodeo in Phoenix, the contributions of African Americans are finally recognized.
Posted inArticles
How anti-Indigeneity proliferates around the West and the world
Across the globe, anti-Indigenous organizations and sympathizers work to undermine the collective rights of Indigenous peoples.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Will Portland’s summer of unrest reshape city politics?
November’s election will test how protests shift political power.
Posted inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
When home is next to an oil refinery
All I knew about Wilmington, California, was poverty, so I long hid my connection to it.
Posted inArticles
‘It’s still my history, even when I choose not to know it.’
For as long as America has interned children, it’s chosen to look away.
Posted inArticles
How racism adversely affects wildlife, too
New research exposes how systemic racism physically alters ecosystems for the worse.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
The undeniable truths in literature
Four Colorado writers discuss empathy, systems of oppression and ‘the moment.’
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
The failures of U.S. immigration policies
Three new books challenge the way we imagine the U.S.-Mexico border.
Posted inArticles
Indigenous and Black Lives Matter activists join forces in Oregon
An acknowledged, shared history of oppression renews the fight for justice.
Posted inArticles
How big oil funds big brother
Some of the largest fossil fuel companies in the nation back police foundations that raise money for weapons, equipment and surveillance technology.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Patriot militia groups mobilize during a deadly pandemic and massive protests
‘That has a real chilling effect on democratic practice.’
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
New Mexico’s thin blurred line
Police in the state have long flirted with radical right-wing vigilantism.
Posted inArticles
Tribal courts should abolish cash bail
A European justice model was forced onto tribes and should be done away with.
Posted inArticles
Cherokee Nation adopted racism from Europeans. It’s time to reject it.
As our tribe debates Cherokee history and identity, Cherokee citizens with white privilege carry the most responsibility to move our tribe forward.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Am I an invasive species?
How COVID-19 and ‘murder hornets’ compelled a writer to rethink invasions.
Posted inArticles
How the ‘only family’ argument is used against Indigenous families
The phrasing was once deployed to keep Native families together under the Indian Child Welfare Act. Now, the narrative has been reversed.
Posted inArticles, En español
El Oeste tiene un papel en la reinvención de los Estados Unidos
Nuestra noción del ‘excepcionalismo Americano’ ha colapsado. ¿Qué lo reemplazará?
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Reimagining nature poetry
Benjamin Garcia’s ‘Thrown in the Throat’ uses plants and landscapes to think past oppressive structures.
Posted inArticles
Activists push for Black land ownership in Seattle
Protests over racial equity prompt investments in the city’s Black community.