Untangling the history of Black rights on Native land

WNYC | Feb 12, 2025

For many Americans, slavery is a white-Black issue: there were white slave owners, and Black enslaved people. But, on this episode we get into another history of enslavement — the fact that some Native American nations also enslaved Black people.


We're joined by Allison Herrera, a journalist who, along with Adreanna Rodriguez, spent almost two years making an audio documentary called Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native Land. Herrera explains how the criminal legal system considers who is and isn't Native, and what that means for the thousands of Black people who are members of tribal nations.

Tribal Justice: The Struggle for Black Rights on Native Land is an Audible Original, you can listen to the full audio documentary here.

Copyright 2025 NPR

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

Why single domestic violence survivors can't get shelter in NYC despite empty beds

The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

What Péter Magyar's Election in Hungary Says About 'Strongmen' Today

Mayor Mamdani says he's balanced NYC's budget

How they handle crises in Brownsville, often without police

YOU ARE ONLINE