The US at 250: A Native Perspective is a new series from Your Call that exposes the real history behind America’s founding, from stolen lands to erased stories, centering the voices of the Indigenous peoples who’ve endured for centuries.
As the United States marks 250 years, the Trump administration is whitewashing history by embracing the Doctrine of Discovery, a 15th-century legal principle that authorized European explorers to claim lands already inhabited by Indigenous peoples, effectively erasing their sovereignty and laying the groundwork for the deaths of millions of Indigenous peoples through conquest, displacement, and disease.
During his 2026 State of the Union address, Donald Trump repeated a longstanding myth of frontier conquest, saying, “We carved paths through an an unforgiving wilderness, settled a boundless frontier, and tamed the beautiful but very, very dangerous wild west. From empty marshes and wide-open plains, we raised up the world's greatest cities.”
This frames US history as heroic conquest, erasing the experiences of those who lived on these lands long before settlers arrived. Our series pushes back on this longstanding narrative.
The US at 250 will center Native historians, storytellers, elders, and activists to tell the history and stories often left out of textbooks and media coverage. Our first guest, historian Ned Blackhawk, asks “How can a nation founded on the homelands of dispossessed Indigenous peoples be the world’s most exemplary democracy?”
We will discuss the truth behind the so-called founding of the United States and celebrate the strength and resilience of its first peoples.
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In his new book, White Mountain Apache chef Nephi Craig reveals how, after years of substance abuse issues, he discovered the power of food to heal generational wounds. -
PCRM’s Native Food for Life program works with Native communities to use their ancestral plant-based foods to treat, reverse, and prevent common chronic diseases. -
California has returned over 100,000 acres of land to Native tribes and plans to return at least 7.5 million more. How are tribes stewarding this land? -
The Land Back movement is growing rapidly across the country. California has returned over 100,000 acres of land to Native tribes and plans to return at least 7.5 million more. -
In her new podcast, First America, Rebecca Nagle reveals how the founders’ treatment of Native nations shaped the foundation for American democracy and authoritarianism. -
On Friday, Trump ordered warning signs installed outside of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History due in part to its depiction of Native American history. -
The Land Back movement is growing rapidly across the country. California has returned over 100,000 acres of land to Native tribes and plans to return at least 7.5 million more. -
Fire in the Mountains, a heavy metal festival dedicated to reducing suicides among Native American teens, will take place from July 23-26 on the Blackfeet Reservation. -
As the US marks 250 years of the Declaration of Independence, few know the founders’ grievances over Indian affairs shaped the document. -
Alongside educators from the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, we discuss the history and activism of the state's over 100 distinct tribes.
