The series presents a comprehensive and thoughtful telling of Nevada’s indigenous peoples’ social, political, historical, and cultural experiences, subject matter that has been historically eschewed in schools. That, combined with Clark County’s fast-growing Native American population and rich history, made this a necessary next step in sharing Nevada’s story with the communities we serve.
Helping tell these stories are Jarrette Werk, Avory Wyatt, and Richard Boland. Jarrette is A’aa’niiih and Nakoda, Avory is Washoe, and Richard is Timbisha Shoshone. All three devote a great deal of their time to Native issues.
Chapter 1 premiered in May and told the story of Native tribes’ decades-long opposition to a Southern Nevada Water Authority plan to pump precious water sources from eastern Nevada to Las Vegas. Chapter 2 focused on the violent history of the “S-word” and efforts to remove the name from a public agency near Lake Tahoe. Chapter 3 tackled the problems facing Native educators and the misrepresentation of Natives in elementary curricula, while Chapter 4 shifted to Native students and the lack of support they receive at our state’s two land-grant universities. The latest Chapter, released on July 27, talks about the indigenous peoples’ connection to their ancestral homelands vs Americans’ concept of “public lands”.
Future chapters will focus on the visual diversity of Indigenous arts, the human rights crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and ongoing efforts by Nevada’s reservations, bands, and communities to revitalize and reclaim their languages and cultures, protect the environment, and fight climate change.