Oklahoma Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Cherokee Nation Strikes Down Language That Limits Citizenship Rights ‘By Blood’

By NPR News February 25, 2021

Rena Logan, a member of a Cherokee Freedmen family, shows her identification card as a member of the Cherokee tribe at her home in Muskogee, Okla., in this photo from October 2011. She is among the some 8,500 people whose ancestors were enslaved by the Cherokee Nation in the 1800s. CREDIT: David Crenshaw/AP

The Cherokee Nation's Supreme Court ruled this week to remove the words "by blood" from its constitution and other legal doctrines. The words, added to the constitution in 2007, have been used to exclude Black people whose ancestors were enslaved by the tribe from obtaining full Cherokee Nation citizenship rights. Read More

Supreme Court Rules That About Half Of Oklahoma Is Native American Land

By NPR News July 9, 2020

A map, from a Supreme Court exhibit, showing the pre-statehood area of present-day Oklahoma, with the eastern portion then called "Indian Territory."

"Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation. ... Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word," wrote Justice Gorsuch. Continue Reading Supreme Court Rules Read More

Judge Denies Request To Force Coronavirus Safety Measures At Trump’s Tulsa Rally

By NPR News June 17, 2020

Katrina Cotton, center, of Houston poses for a photo Monday with her daughter, Kennedy Cotton, 7, at the Black Wall Street Memorial in Tulsa, Okla. CREDIT: Sue Ogrocki/AP

The lawsuit says the rally, which is to take place at a 19,000-seat indoor arena, could act as a superspreader event for the coronavirus. Continue Reading Judge Denies Request To Force Coronavirus Safety Measures At Read More

On 25th Anniversary Of Oklahoma City Bombing, Officials Find Lessons For Today

By NPR News April 20, 2020

Lynne Gist stands at her sister's chair in the Field of Empty Chairs at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Sunday's anniversary was commemorated virtually, as the annual in-person gathering was canceled due to the coronavirus. Continue Reading On 25th Anniversary Of Oklahoma City Bombing, Officials Find Lessons For TodayRead More

Cherokee Nation Names First Delegate To Congress

By NPR News September 3, 2019

Kimberly Teehee is being nominated by Cherokee National Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. as a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. CREDIT: Sue Ogrocki/AP

The Cherokee Nation is appointing former Obama advisor Kimberly Teehee as the tribe's first-ever delegate to the U.S. House. The position is outlined in an 1835 treaty but has never been filled. Continue Reading Cherokee Nation Names First Delegate To Read More

Federal Legalization Of Hemp Creates Confusion For State And Local Police

By NWPB News March 29, 2019

Samples of hemp sit on a table in the conference room at Andrew Ross' office in Denver on Friday, March 22, 2019. Ross, a Marine who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, is facing 18 years to life in Oklahoma if he is convicted after he was arrested in January while providing security for a load of state-certified hemp from Kentucky. Federal legalization for hemp has created a quandary for police as authorities lack the technology to distinguish marijuana from agricultural hemp at a roadside stop. CREDIT: THOMAS PEIPERT/AP

Federal legalization of hemp arrived in the U.S. late last year and expanded an industry already booming because of the skyrocketing popularity of CBDs, a compound in hemp that many see as a health aid. But now, just a few months after Congress placed the marijuana look-alike squarely in safe legal territory, the hemp industry has been unsettled by an unexpected Read More

Washington Sent Brain Injury Patients To Oklahoma — Then All But Forgot About Them

By Austin Jenkins August 7, 2018

Regina Ibrahim and her daughter Nadja take a selfie together during a recent visit at Western State Hospital CREDIT: REGINA IBRAHIM

Everyone survived, but Laurie would never be the same again. She had suffered a severe brain injury that left her in a coma-like state for nearly a month. When Laurie emerged from the coma, her personality had changed — a common effect of traumatic brain injuries. Read More

Teachers Are Marching Ahead Of Their Unions, From Oklahoma To Arizona

By NPR News April 2, 2018

Oklahoma and Kentucky teachers are both walking out of school Monday, and teachers in other states are watching closely. In many states, teachers are organizing with and without unions. Continue Reading Teachers Are Marching Ahead Of Their Read More

Tough Talk As Oklahoma’s Wind Industry Becomes A Political Target

By NPR News March 6, 2018

Revenue from wind farms has helped Dewey County, Okla., pay for local schools and a new courthouse. CREDIT: JOE WERTZ

Though the wind industry was once a political darling in the state, some say Oklahoma can no longer afford the tax breaks that helped it thrive. Continue Reading Tough Talk As Oklahoma’s Wind Industry Becomes A Political TargetRead More