Native people have been written out of the American story, but without us you don’t know what happened. This summer the United States will celebrate the 250-year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. When you read the Declaration, you realize it is a list of complaints. The last entry, the climax in our founders’ reasons for rebellion against the Crown, is this: “He has excited… the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” We have been told the Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But what the founders were most angry about in our country’s most famous document was Indian affairs. How did generations of Americans miss this? The first armed rebellion against the Crown was an attack on British forts that traded with tribes. When colonists threw tea into the Boston harbor, they dressed up like members of the Mohawk tribe—not for disguise, but because pretending to be Indian symbolized freedom and rebellion. The founding fathers’ first government failed because Indigenous nations were too powerful; war and diplomacy with Native people is why we have a central federal government. Hosted and reported by Rebecca Nagle and  featuring leading Native historians,  First America unveils  how the founders’ treatment of Indigenous nations—and their resistance—shaped US democracy. The show  does not simply add another blemish to the image of the founding fathers, it reveals the real story of why the colonists rebelled, what kind of government they created, and, crucially, how our current political moment was 250 years in the making.

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Playing Indian | Episode 2
Jun 28, 2026
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…
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Welcome to First America
Jun 05, 2026
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…
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Merciless Indian Savages | Episode 1
Jun 03, 2026
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…
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This Land is Now First America
Jun 03, 2026
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…
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Introducing Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Sep 09, 2024
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…
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Introducing: BY THE FIRE WE CARRY (audiobook)
Sep 03, 2024
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…
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Introducing “Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s”
Jun 30, 2023
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…
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9. Update: Supreme Court Decision
Jun 23, 2023
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…
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8. The Heart Of It
Oct 04, 2021
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…
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7. Before The Court
Sep 27, 2021
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…
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6. Trojan Horse
Sep 20, 2021
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…
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5. Pro Bono
Sep 13, 2021
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…
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4. Supply And Demand
Sep 06, 2021
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…
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3. Grandma Versus The Foster Parents
Aug 30, 2021
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…
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2. Behind The Curtain
Aug 23, 2021
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…
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1. Solomon’s Sword
Aug 23, 2021
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…
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This Land, season 2 (coming August 23rd)
Aug 16, 2021
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…
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10. The Ruling
Jul 16, 2020
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…
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9. Supreme Court Update
Jul 09, 2020
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…
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8. The Next Battleground
Jul 22, 2019
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…
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7. Still Bleeding
Jul 15, 2019
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…
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6. The Postponement
Jul 08, 2019
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.
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5. The Land Grab
Jul 01, 2019
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.
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Update: Surprise announcement from SCOTUS
Jun 27, 2019
In a surprise twist, the Supreme Court announced that Carpenter v. Murphy will not be decided this term.
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4. The Treaty
Jun 24, 2019
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
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3. The Opposition
Jun 17, 2019
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…
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2. The Tribe
Jun 10, 2019
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…
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1. The Case
Jun 03, 2019
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…
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This Land (coming June 3rd)
May 21, 2019
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…
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