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Robyn Beck/AFP
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Native Americans protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in September 2016
This year, the
Reader has curated a list of noteworthy lengthy stories (including some from our own archive) to get you to ruminate on the origins of Thanksgiving: the arrival of European colonizers on the shores of a land already rich with history and culture. If at some point you're sick of talking to your family about the election—or sick of talking, period—follow us on this nonfiction-narrative journey.
Even if you have no idea what sorts of problems are affecting Native Americans today, you've likely heard about the ongoing battle by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota to prevent the Dakota Access oil pipeline from traversing their holy sites and potentially contaminating their water. One of the deepest dives so far
is by Vogue's Rebecca Bengal. Lots of powerful photos and videos to boot.
In this
2014 story for the
Wall Street Journal, reporter Michael Allen examines the legacy of his grandfather—he participated in the slaughter of Native Americans in Colorado.
And, Chicagoan, lest you forget that the land this city occupies used to belong to someone else, check out
Eula Biss's moving 2008 tribute to the origins and history of Rogers Park. Also worth a read are these
Reader oldies on
the theft of Native American children by Illinois's Department of Children and Family Services, the
discrimination against Native American kids in Chicago Public Schools, and the
state's mishandling of a tribal burial site near Peoria.
For those trying to just focus on sports over the holiday, check out the
Hoop Dreams-like story of a
Wyoming high school basketball team, or
this long read about football legend Jim Thorpe's family's long struggle to lay his body to rest.
People frequently associate Native Americans with the gambling industry. To find out how this came to be and what's at stake for a tribe that wants to open a casino, read
Ariel Levy's 2010 New Yorker story about the Shinnecock Indian Nation of Long Island—they wanted to open one in the Hamptons—or this
2000 Reader feature on a Potawatomi quest for a casino outside Chicago.
Finally, if you, like us, have wondered "Why do so many people pretend to be Native American?"
Here are some answers.
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