Melanie Henshaw

1 month ago | salemreporter.com | Melanie Henshaw

A tribally backed bill that could simplify the jurisdictional patchwork in Oregon Indian Country was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek on May 22 after sailing through the state Legislature. Passed unanimously by both legislative chambers, the new law will create a formal process for tribes to petition the state for the reversal of a 1953 federal law as it applies on tribal lands within the boundaries of Oregon.

1 month ago | investigatewest.org | Melanie Henshaw

A tribally backed bill that could simplify the jurisdictional patchwork in Oregon Indian Country was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek on May 22 after sailing through the state Legislature. Passed unanimously by both legislative chambers, the new law will create a formal process for tribes to petition the state for the reversal of a 1953 federal law as it applies on tribal lands within the boundaries of Oregon.

1 month ago | underscore.news | Melanie Henshaw

Cody Whiterock was running for his life — the Bureau of Indian Affairs police had come for him again. He’d been drinking at a friend’s bunkhouse on a farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, south of Boise, but the farm’s owner wanted him out and called 911. When BIA police came, Whiterock did what he’d done before — he fled in his car, a BIA officer confronting him at gunpoint.  But this time, his car became stuck in the snow.

1 month ago | opb.org | Melanie Henshaw

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details of police violence. Cody Whiterock, a 39-year-old father of two and citizen of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley Indian Reservation, died when he was shot and killed by a Bureau of Indian Affairs police on March 2, 2024. Courtesy of the Whiterock familyCody Whiterock was running for his life — the Bureau of Indian Affairs police had come for him again.

1 month ago | investigatewest.org | Melanie Henshaw

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic details of police violence. Cody Whiterock was running for his life — the Bureau of Indian Affairs police had come for him again. He’d been drinking at a friend’s bunkhouse on a farm in Owyhee County, Idaho, south of Boise, but the farm’s owner wanted him out and called 911. When BIA police came, Whiterock did what he’d done before — he fled in his car, a BIA officer confronting him at gunpoint. But this time, his car became stuck in the snow.