Santorum, who is a senior political commentator at CNN, made the remarks at an event hosted by the conservative group Young America’s Foundation. At least three organizations affiliated with Native Americans have called on the network to fire him.
USA TODAY
Native Americans don t typically see themselves represented on TV, but that narrative may be changing as networks diversify their series with Indigenous voices.
New TV series Peacock s Rutherford Falls (now streaming) will increase Native American representation in media both on- and offscreen. Rutherford, from executive producer Michael Schur ( Parks and Recreation, The Office ), aims to tell stories that go beyond antiquated stereotypes by showing how present-day Native Americans live. It also shows that, as in other underrepresented communities, each member is unique. The small-town comedy stars Ed Helms ( The Office ) and newcomer Jana Schmieding, who is Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux.
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Two years ago, the House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States held a hearing on the murder and disappearance of Native women. Native women are murdered on reservations at a rate ten times the national average; there were more than five thousand reported cases of missing Native women in 2016 alone, and many more cases go unreported. Among the witnesses at the hearing was Mary Kathryn Nagle, the legal counsel for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Nagle, in her testimony, noted that tribal nations do not have legal jurisdiction over non-Natives who commit crimes on reservations. This is one of the reasons, she said, that those who assault or murder Native women are so rarely caught and prosecuted. The Supreme Court revoked that jurisdiction in 1978; it was restored, in 2013, by a new provision in the Violence Against Women Act, which was reauthorized that year. But
Oklahoman
Crystal Echo Hawk, an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, has become a well-known advocate for Native peoples.
Born in Provo, Utah, Echo Hawk, 49, founded IllumiNative, which aims to transform public perceptions and stereotypes of Native people. Echo Hawk currently serves as IllumiNative s president and chief executive officer. The organization was among the advocacy groups that were instrumental in compelling the Washington National Football League organization to change its name and logo in 2020 because it had long been considered offensive.
Notably, Echo Hawk designed and helped lead a two-year, $3.2 million research and strategy-setting initiative called the Reclaiming Native Truth Project, which was completed in 2018. The project has been widely considered as the largest public opinion research and strategy setting initiative ever conducted for, and about, Native Americans.
Three challenges to the status quo
Crystal Echo Hawk joins the show to tell us how her organization IllumiNative is tackling injustice in Indian Country. Plus Senator Jamescita Peshlakai updates us on a new law that will honor Arizona s Navajo code talkers. And Brian Bull tells us how tribes are faring in the Northwest.
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Apr 1, 2021
Native representation in the media is challenging. From actors donning headdresses to athletic teams refusing to give up their names, an organization is providing education to the public about the history of oppression and stereotypes. Crystal Echo Hawk, who is Pawnee, is the executive director of IllumiNative. She joins the newscast to speak on changing the narrative about Native peoples on a mass scale.