Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Donate to our newsroom

Menu

Topics

  • Abortion
  • Politics
  • Education
  • LGBTQ+
  • Caregiving
  • Environment & Climate
  • Business & Economy
View all topics

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.

This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

  • Latest Stories
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Ways to Give
  • Search
  • Contact
Donate
Home

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

Topics

  • Abortion
  • Politics
  • Education
  • LGBTQ+
  • Caregiving
  • Environment & Climate
  • Business & Economy
View all topics

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.

This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

  • Latest Stories
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Ways to Give
  • Search
  • Contact

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.

This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Race

This journalist is pushing back against the erasure of Native American history

Rebecca Nagle's podcast “This Land” and novel “By the Fire We Carry” are grounded in the gaps she sees in education and media. 

A portrait of Rebecca Nagle looking directly into the camera.
"When you look out in the news media, there just isn't enough Native representation, and I think that that creates this prevailing ignorance in U.S. society about Native people and our tribes and the law." (Brittany Bendabout)

Sabreen Dawud

Reporting Fellow

Published

2024-12-17 07:00
7:00
December 17, 2024
am

Republish this story

Share

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Email

Republish this story

Sabreen Dawud is a 2024-2025 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper reporting fellow.

Rebecca Nagle has turned the false history of Native American communities she received as a child into a career of truth-driven storytelling. 

A writer, journalist and author, Nagle is the host of the documentary podcast “This Land” and author of the novel “By the Fire We Carry.” 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Born in Joplin, Missouri, 38-year-old Nagle spent much of her youth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City with her Cherokee family members. She recalls Native history scarcely being addressed throughout her education.

“I remember making ships out of popsicle sticks to celebrate Columbus Day and asking questions that went unanswered. I definitely think my education was lacking when it came to that stuff in public school,” she said.

Her understanding of her family history and culture was primarily taught through her grandmother.

“Growing up, I learned a lot from my grandma. She made sure that we understood that we knew who our family was,” she said. “And then, of course, as an adult you sort of test what your family members told you about your family.” 

Her family’s portrayal of their forebears was mostly heroic, focused on how her “Cherokee ancestors sacrificed their lives for the sake of the Cherokee Nation.” Though she recognizes that her family’s history has more detail and nuance, she has kept their overarching pride and sacrifice close to her.

This passion for history fuels much of Nagle’s work as a writer and journalist. Over its two seasons, her podcast, “This Land,” reflects her will to dive into research and highlight the very stories that were avoided throughout her childhood. 

The first season leads the audience through the case of Patrick Murphy, a citizen of the Muscogee Nation who was sentenced to death for the murder of George Jacobs in 1999. Murphy’s case took an unexpected turn when his attorney challenged his conviction by arguing that he could not be prosecuted by the state of Oklahoma but instead must be tried by the Muscogee Nation. Murphy was ultimately convicted for murder and sentenced to life in prison by the federal court. 

Season two continues the work of purposeful storytelling by detailing the Haaland v. Brackeen Supreme Court case, which challenged the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act’s restrictions on Native children being adopted by non-Native parents. The high court affirmed the constitutionality of the act in 2023. 

  • More from The 19th
    A group of Indigenous women sit in a line, listening to an unseen speaker.
  • For Native American women, stepping into leadership starts with reclaiming their past
  • How four nuns became the first Native American women to serve in the U.S. military
  • The women of the West are making political history — and have been for 130 years

Nagle describes the work she produced on her podcast as a push that led her to writing her novel, “By the Fire We Carry.”

“We made the first season, and I then kept wanting to follow this story and follow those threads, and I felt like I had more to tell and more research to do,” she said. 

“By the Fire We Carry” invites readers through the fight for rightful ownership of Native lands. Deep diving into U.S. history, Nagle highlights the ways in which Native people were forcibly removed from their homes on lands that are now recognized as property of eastern Oklahoma. The history she details provides context to the Murphy case, which she recognizes as a modern-day portrayal of the generations-long battle for Native grounds. 

Exploring how the past has influenced the present and using that knowledge to increase visibility and awareness is a primary reason she has continued to amplify Native stories in her journalism career.

“When you look out in the news media, there just isn’t enough Native representation, and I think that that creates this prevailing ignorance in U.S. society about Native people and our tribes and the law,” Nagle said.

“That ignorance is a really big barrier for progress, and I think that impedes us having better policy in place. That’s one thing that I’m very passionate about: pushing back against that erasure and having Native stories in the mainstream,” she continued.

But she said it can be tricky to get editors to view these stories as newsworthy. 

“It’s almost like if you were writing about women’s reproductive health and your editor didn’t know what abortion was and that’s their starting point,” she said. 

“People who are used to having a [high] level of knowledge and expertise have a hard time when they’re confronted with this situation where their ignorance is kind of daunting. I think some people can have a hard time admitting that.”

Today, Nagle can be found working on an essay series with other Native writers and historians about the history of colonization and genocide against Indigenous people undermining democracy in the United States.  

“You can tell some big lies about tribes and about Native people, and people will believe it because they don’t know that much. I think when you look at history, I can tie every oppressive policy against Native people to the lies that were told to justify it,” Nagle said. “I think so much of history informs our present day and I think we can’t understand one without the other.”

Republish this story

Share

  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Email

Recommended for you

Sacheen Littlefeather holds her speech at the 1973 Oscars.
What the Academy’s apology to Sacheen Littlefeather tells us about Indigenous representation in film
An illustration for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) month designed to capture what it means to be heard in our democracy. Asian families are pictured in the fore and middle ground of the image holding bullhorns with letters (their voices and votes) emanating from them into the White House in the background.
AAPI Heritage Month: Leaving our mark on American democracy
For some readers, a different celebration
A collage depicting Beyonce amongst black country singers including Charlie Pride, Linda Martell, Rhiannon Giddens, Rissi Palmer and more.
With ‘Cowboy Carter,’ Black country music fans are front and center, at last

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Please complete the following CAPTCHA to be confirmed. If you have any difficulty, contact [email protected] for help.

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please email [email protected] to subscribe.

This email address might not be capable of receiving emails (according to Bouncer). You should try again with a different email address. If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].

Become a member

Explore more coverage from The 19th
Abortion Politics Education LGBTQ+ Caregiving
View all topics

Our newsroom's Spring Member Drive is here!

Learn more about membership.

  • Transparency
    • About
    • Team
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Community Guidelines
  • Newsroom
    • Latest Stories
    • 19th News Network
    • Podcast
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Fellowships
  • Newsletters
    • Daily
    • Weekly
    • The Amendment
    • Event Invites
  • Support
    • Ways to Give
    • Sponsorship
    • Republishing
    • Volunteer

The 19th is a reader-supported nonprofit news organization. Our stories are free to republish with these guidelines.