First America
First America is a podcast that reexamines American history from an Indigenous perspective, challenging the traditional narrative of the nation's founding. Hosted by Native voices, it explores how Native peoples have been systematically erased from the American story, and how their presence and resistance shaped key events like the American Revolution. The podcast uncovers overlooked historical facts, such as the role of Indian affairs in the Declaration of Independence and the use of Native imagery in colonial protests. It aims to restore Indigenous people to their rightful place in the country's history.
Episodes
Land, Not Liberty | Episode 5
Did you know that foreclosure was invented as a way to take Native land? Free, Indigenous land once built the American dream. But the mechanisms our government used to take it are now robbing everybody. With the help of Nick Estes (Lakota), Michael Blaakman and K-Sue Park, Rebecca tells the story of how our founding fathers used Indigenous land to bail out the early republic. And how their decisio
Military Might | Episode 4
After America won the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army was disbanded. After the abuses of British soldiers, the founding fathers didn’t want a big standing army. That small, disorganized military then went off to fight Indigenous nations and lost. Rebecca talks with George Ironstack (Myaamia) about how a 15-year war with the Myaamia Nation forever changed both countries. In the United
It Happened Here | Episode 3
The American Revolution wasn’t just a fight for liberty. It was also a sprawling conflict with Indigenous nations over who would control the continent of North America. And to stake out their claim, the United States was willing to commit genocide. Rebecca talks to Maggie Blackhawk (Ojibwe) about how our country’s early treatment of Native Americans is the root of authoritarianism in t
Playing Indian | Episode 2
Did you know that when colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor they dressed up like Native Americans? Rebecca goes to Boston with historian Phil Deloria (Dakota descent) to try and understand Americans’ obsession with playing Indian. In the early republic, pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and helped the colonists form a new, national identity. From boyscouts, to new agers, to sp
Welcome to First America
Welcome to First America: the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for Pushkin+ subscribers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Merciless Indian Savages | Episode 1
We’ve all been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. According to our founders, in their own words, what they were most upset about was Native Americans. How did we all miss that? Rebecca sits down with historian Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) to talk about how hunger for Indigenous land drove the
This Land is Now First America
The This Land team is back with a new show! Stay tuned for First America, the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. Dropping June 22nd, with early episode releases for Pushkin+ subscribers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Introducing Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
The police tell us they are here to protect us. But what if their original purpose was something else altogether? Peabody Award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika takes listeners on a journey to uncover the hidden history of the largest police force in the world – from its roots in slavery, to rival police gangs battling across the city, to everyday people who resisted every step of the way. As our
Introducing: BY THE FIRE WE CARRY (audiobook)
BY THE FIRE WE CARRY, the new book by Rebecca Nagle, is a powerful work of reportage and American history that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation’s earliest days, and a small-town murder in the 1990s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Native rights to that land more than a century later Before 2020, American Indian reservations ma
Introducing “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s”
Episode 1: The Police Officer and the Priest: One night back in the late 1970s, an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pulled over a suspected drunk driver. When he walked up to the vehicle, he came face-to-face with a ghost from his past: a residential school priest. That officer was journalist Connie Walker’s late father. What happened that night on the side of the road compelled her to
9. Update: Supreme Court Decision
Last week the Supreme Court made an historic ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act. Rebecca Nagle takes us inside the courtroom to break down the decision, how we got here, and what it all means.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8. The Heart Of It
While we wait to see whether the Supreme Court takes the case, we attend a ceremony run by a program that helps Native adoptees reconnect with their tribes. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-
7. Before The Court
As the case heads to the Fifth Circuit - the last stop before the Supreme Court - we go inside the courtroom to hear the arguments and the decision. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-investigators/
6. Trojan Horse
We know which law firms and think tanks are bringing these lawsuits, but no one has been able to figure out who’s funding them—or why—until now. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journa
5. Pro Bono
The fight against the Indian Child Welfare Act is much bigger than a few custody cases, or even the entire adoption industry. We follow the money, and our investigation leads us to a powerful group of corporate lawyers and one of the biggest law firms in the country. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resour
4. Supply And Demand
The private adoption industry has been fighting against the Indian Child Welfare Act the longest. We learn why by following one couple’s journey to adopt and their mixed feelings about the process. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https
3. Grandma Versus The Foster Parents
The Brackeens aren’t the only ones suing to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act. So are Danielle and Jason Clifford, a foster couple from Minnesota. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://crooked.com/resources-for-journalists-inv
2. Behind The Curtain
The Brackeens' case would have been a normal adoption dispute, but then one of the most powerful corporate law firms in the United States took it on and helped the couple launch a federal lawsuit. Show Notes This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists & Investigators https://croo
1. Solomon’s Sword
ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued. Show Notes: This Land website https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/ Resources For Survivors https://crooked.com/resources-for-survivors/ Resources For Journalists
This Land, season 2 (coming August 23rd)
ALM – as referred to in court documents – is a Navajo and Cherokee toddler. When he was a baby, a white couple from the suburbs of Dallas wanted to adopt him, but a federal law said they couldn’t. So they sued. Today, the lawsuit doesn’t just impact the future of one child, or even the future of one law. It threatens the entire legal structure defending Native American rights. In season 2 of This
10. The Ruling
The Supreme Court has ruled, delivering a historic decision on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle talks to the lawyer who argued the case at the High Court, Native law professors, scholars, and journalists to break down the significance of this decision and share what it means to the future of Muscogee (Creek) Nation and all Five Tribes.For a transcript of this episode, plea
9. Supreme Court Update
Today, the Supreme Court made a historic ruling on the reservation status of Eastern Oklahoma. Rebecca Nagle is here to break down the decision, talk through the implications, and hey, celebrate a little. Because this win -- it’s huge.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
8. The Next Battleground
A murder case sparked an investigation into the treaty rights of five tribes. But another case -- a simple case about an adoption -- could actually dismantle America's tribes as we know them. For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
7. Still Bleeding
Tribes are asking that the Supreme Court keep the promises that it made to them, because what's lost when those promises are broken is much more than just land.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
6. The Postponement
The Supreme Court punted a decision on Carpenter v. Murphy to the next term. What does this mean for the tribes?For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/thisland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
5. The Land Grab
The geography of this country was reshaped in the late 1800s and depending on who tells it, it's either a story of good intentions...or one of outright theft. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Update: Surprise announcement from SCOTUS
In a surprise twist, the Supreme Court announced that Carpenter v. Murphy will not be decided this term. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
4. The Treaty
A Cherokee leader is murdered in 1839 for signing a treaty with the United States, but the promise he died for was broken. Learn more: thislandpodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
3. The Opposition
There are some very powerful groups set against Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Who are they? What's their motivation? And what arguments are they using to win their case in Court? Learn more: thislandpodcast.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2. The Tribe
Muscogee (Creek) Nation's reservation spans 11 counties across Eastern Oklahoma. This land is now at stake, and the tribe’s legal team headed to D.C. to make its case in front of the Supreme Court. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1. The Case
The Supreme Court is about to make a decision that will determine the future of five tribes and nearly half the land in Oklahoma, and it all starts with a murder on the side of the road in 1999. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This Land (coming June 3rd)
An 1839 assassination of a Cherokee leader. A 1999 small town murder. Two crimes collide in a Supreme Court case that will decide the fate of one man and nearly half of the land in Oklahoma. Hosted by Rebecca Nagle, Oklahoma journalist and citizen of Cherokee Nation, This Land traces how a cut and dry homicide opened up an investigation into the treaty rights of five Native American tribes. Tune i
