Connecting Circles

06/01/2026

in 1921, the two-day Tulsa Race Massacre began.

A white mob attacked the predominantly Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, destroying homes, businesses and entire city blocks of what was known as “Black Wall Street.”

As many as 300 people were killed, thousands were left homeless, and generations of Black wealth and opportunity were erased.

The Tulsa Race Massacre remains one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in U.S. history and a reminder of the lasting impact of white supremacist violence.

06/01/2026

The South Sierra Miwuk Nation, a Native American tribe originally displaced from Yosemite National Park, has recently regained nearly 900 acres of land bordering the park, marking a significant step in Indigenous cultural and land restoration. This land transfer, facilitated by Pacific Forest Trust, comes 175 years after the tribe was forcibly removed from their ancestral lands. The reclaimed area represents a small portion of Yosemite’s 1,169 square miles but holds immense cultural and ecological importance for the tribe. Tribal leaders, such as Sandra Chapman, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation's Tribal Council Chair, have expressed deep gratitude, stating that the land will serve as both a sanctuary for their people and a space for healing and cultural renewal.

The Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation’s traditional ecological practices, particularly their use of fire to manage forests and prevent wildfires, are a cornerstone of the tribe’s stewardship. These practices, once dismissed by European settlers as primitive, have now been recognized for their value in controlling wildfires and maintaining forest health. Over the years, there has been a shift in U.S. forest management policies, with agencies like the National Park Service and the Forest Service incorporating prescribed fires into their strategies. The transfer of land will allow the Southern Sierra Miwuk people to once again practice these vital techniques, bringing their cultural knowledge to the forefront of fire management and conservation efforts.

This land transfer not only holds cultural significance but also serves a practical purpose in addressing modern environmental challenges. By restoring traditional fire practices, the tribe is contributing to the management of California’s wildfires, which have become increasingly destructive. The land’s location, just west of Chinquapin/Badger Pass, allows for better wildlife movement across private-public corridors, which is crucial for plants and animals adapting to climate change. Tara Fouch-Moore, the tribe's secretary, highlighted that the project would foster the cultivation of traditional foods, fibers, and medicines while enhancing the landscape's resilience.

The Pacific Forest Trust, which acquired the land over two decades ago to protect it from vacation home development, played a key role in preparing the land for this transfer. After the devastating 2018 Ferguson fire, the trust restored 500 acres, ensuring the land’s ecological health before returning it to the tribe. This project is considered a model for other land reclamation efforts across California, showing how returning land to Indigenous groups not only supports their cultural heritage but also contributes to broader environmental and conservation goals. It also strengthens the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation’s ongoing push for federal recognition, which they have been pursuing since 1982. This partnership exemplifies how conservation and cultural restoration can go hand in hand, benefiting both the tribe and the surrounding environment.

05/31/2026

05/29/2026

We are deeply concerned by reports that Redwood National Park flagged Native books and materials for possible removal or review.

These actions raise serious questions about whose histories are being protected, whose voices are being silenced, and how public institutions fulfill their responsibility to educate honestly and inclusively.

These books are not political threats. They are essential records of Indigenous knowledge, culture, history, and lived experience.

Removing or targeting these works undermines decades of progress toward truth-telling, representation, and respect for Tribal Nations whose homelands include the very landscapes national parks were created to preserve.

Efforts to restrict access to Native perspectives erase context, diminish understanding, and perpetuate harmful narratives that have historically excluded Indigenous peoples from telling their own stories.

ATALM is calling for transparency and accountability in this process. Public lands and public institutions must remain places where diverse histories are acknowledged and where Indigenous knowledge is respected, not censored.

We encourage our members and partners to continue supporting Native literature, amplifying Indigenous voices, and defending intellectual freedom in all spaces where cultural memory is preserved and shared.

Here is a list of the books on the chopping block:

1. We Are the Land: A History of Native California by Damon B. Akins and William J. Bauer Jr.

2. California Through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History by William J. Bauer Jr.

3. We Are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-of-Age Ceremonies by Cutcha Risling Baldy

4. California Indians and Their Environment by Kent Lightfoot

5. Adopted by Indians by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield :

6. Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

7. Women's Prose and Poetry About Nature by Lorraine Anderson Grave

8. Matters: Excavating the Dreams of the Dead in Nineteenth-Century 9. Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers with Spirit by Adrienne Keene

05/22/2026

The first president wanted her back. Ona Judge said no for the rest of her life.
She was born enslaved at Mount Vernon and became one of the women assigned to serve Martha Washington closely. That meant she lived inside the rooms where power gathered, where fine clothing was laid out, letters were written, guests were received, and the language of liberty floated through the air while Ona herself was owned.

When George Washington became president, Ona was taken to the President’s House in Philadelphia. To the outside world, it was the home of the new American republic. To Ona, it was still a place where her body, her labor, and her future belonged to someone else.

Then she learned what was planned for her.

Martha Washington intended to give Ona to her granddaughter as a wedding gift.

A human being. As a gift.

Ona understood what that meant. She could be separated from the life she knew, moved farther from any chance of freedom, and handed permanently into another branch of the family. So in 1796, while the Washington household prepared to return to Virginia, Ona made her decision.

She ran.

With help from Philadelphia’s free Black community, she escaped by ship to New Hampshire. She had no fortune, no protection from powerful men, and no illusion that the Washingtons would simply let her go.

They did not.

George Washington sent people to find her. He tried quiet negotiations. He wanted her returned without creating public embarrassment. Ona was told she might be forgiven if she came back.

She refused.

That is the part of her story that still lands hard.

Ona Judge did not escape into comfort. She lived poor. She worked. She raised children. She lost loved ones. Freedom did not make life easy — but it made her life her own.

Years later, when asked if she regretted leaving, she said she would rather be free than live in slavery, even if she had suffered.

George Washington outlived kings, wars, and revolutions.

But he did not outlast Ona Judge’s refusal.