Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
@clahchischiligi.bsky.social
Diné.
Indigenous Affairs Editor at High Country News.
Board president at Indigenous Journalists Association.
Rhetorician at Arizona State University.
Indigenous Affairs Editor at High Country News.
Board president at Indigenous Journalists Association.
Rhetorician at Arizona State University.
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Amy Bowers Cordalis’ new book, The Water Remembers, weaves together memoir, historical narrative nonfiction, legal battles and family to tell the story of the largest dam removal project in history.
buff.ly/Ev5kjMH
buff.ly/Ev5kjMH
‘It’s a story of hope’: Reflections on undamming the Klamath - High Country News
A Q&A with Amy Bowers Cordalis about her new book on the multigenerational effort towards dam removal.
www.hcn.org
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Amy Bowers Cordalis’ new book, The Water Remembers, weaves together memoir, historical narrative nonfiction, legal battles and family to tell the story of the largest dam removal project in history.
buff.ly/Ev5kjMH
buff.ly/Ev5kjMH
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Rural Californians living without power.
Coho salmon finding new life.
Indigenous youth finding joy in heavy metal.
The November issue of High Country News captures a West in flux — and in motion.
buff.ly/HYteQGv
Coho salmon finding new life.
Indigenous youth finding joy in heavy metal.
The November issue of High Country News captures a West in flux — and in motion.
buff.ly/HYteQGv
November 1, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Rural Californians living without power.
Coho salmon finding new life.
Indigenous youth finding joy in heavy metal.
The November issue of High Country News captures a West in flux — and in motion.
buff.ly/HYteQGv
Coho salmon finding new life.
Indigenous youth finding joy in heavy metal.
The November issue of High Country News captures a West in flux — and in motion.
buff.ly/HYteQGv
Retired principal ballet dancer Jock Soto (Puerto Rican/Diné) shares his story and how the world can now learn about his time in the New York City ballet through a newly launched digital archive.
By @shaun505.bsky.social for our Indigenous Affairs desk at HCN.
By @shaun505.bsky.social for our Indigenous Affairs desk at HCN.
What inspires Indigenous ballet dancer Jock Soto - High Country News
The dancer seeks to preserve his legacy while educating others about his time on the biggest ballet stage.
www.hcn.org
October 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Retired principal ballet dancer Jock Soto (Puerto Rican/Diné) shares his story and how the world can now learn about his time in the New York City ballet through a newly launched digital archive.
By @shaun505.bsky.social for our Indigenous Affairs desk at HCN.
By @shaun505.bsky.social for our Indigenous Affairs desk at HCN.
Our Indigenous Affairs fellow @chadebradley.bsky.social chatted with higher education Indigenous leaders to discuss how they've been supporting their students and colleagues during turbulent times.
Read what they had to say in the latest piece from our IA desk.
Read what they had to say in the latest piece from our IA desk.
How tribal educators are navigating budget challenges - High Country News
Tribal college and university leaders lean on their resiliency and cultural values in the face of federal funding unknowns.
www.hcn.org
October 14, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Our Indigenous Affairs fellow @chadebradley.bsky.social chatted with higher education Indigenous leaders to discuss how they've been supporting their students and colleagues during turbulent times.
Read what they had to say in the latest piece from our IA desk.
Read what they had to say in the latest piece from our IA desk.
I sat down with @willvh.bsky.social and @theopennotebook.bsky.social to discuss points for reporters to keep in mind when covering communities that are not their own, specifically Indigenous communities.
Grateful to share the pages w/ @mariaparazorose.bsky.social who brings up some important points.
Grateful to share the pages w/ @mariaparazorose.bsky.social who brings up some important points.
“We’re the ones seeking something from this community, so we should be able to compromise as much as we can,” says @clahchischiligi.bsky.social, in this story from @willvh.bsky.social, with @johnvaillant.bsky.social, @ohyeahitscouch.bsky.social and others.
🧪
🧪
Outside In: Covering Communities as an Outsider - The Open Notebook
Plenty of important science stories happen in communities where some people, for a variety of valid reasons, might be hesitant to talk to journalists coming from outside their borders or culture. That...
www.theopennotebook.com
October 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I sat down with @willvh.bsky.social and @theopennotebook.bsky.social to discuss points for reporters to keep in mind when covering communities that are not their own, specifically Indigenous communities.
Grateful to share the pages w/ @mariaparazorose.bsky.social who brings up some important points.
Grateful to share the pages w/ @mariaparazorose.bsky.social who brings up some important points.
Tomorrow:
🚨 Tomorrow! Indigenous photographers: join us at 11 a.m. MT for tips on freelancing + working with HCN. Free event w/ @tailyrirvine.bsky.social, Bear Guerra & @clahchischiligi.bsky.social
Register here ➡️ buff.ly/ftMGXen
Register here ➡️ buff.ly/ftMGXen
September 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Tomorrow:
High Country News & the @indigenousja.bsky.social join forces next week to host a free webinar for Indigenous photojournalists interested in collaborating with HCN and to learn about freelancing in general.
Join us at 11 a.m. MT, Sept. 23.
Register here: indigenousjournalists.org/2025/09/call...
Join us at 11 a.m. MT, Sept. 23.
Register here: indigenousjournalists.org/2025/09/call...
Join freelance photographer, Tailyr Irvine, HCN Visuals Editor, Bear Guerra, and HCN’s Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sunnie Clahchischiligi on September 23, 2025 at 11a.m. MT for an informative conversation about freelancing and collaborating with HCN.
September 19, 2025 at 8:59 PM
High Country News & the @indigenousja.bsky.social join forces next week to host a free webinar for Indigenous photojournalists interested in collaborating with HCN and to learn about freelancing in general.
Join us at 11 a.m. MT, Sept. 23.
Register here: indigenousjournalists.org/2025/09/call...
Join us at 11 a.m. MT, Sept. 23.
Register here: indigenousjournalists.org/2025/09/call...
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Currently, 42 Western radio stations are considered vulnerable because over 30% of their annual funding is federal. Twenty of those stations serve Indigenous communities in the rural reaches of reservations and Alaska Native villages.
(From @highcountrynews.org)
(From @highcountrynews.org)
Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost
As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.
www.ktoo.org
August 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Currently, 42 Western radio stations are considered vulnerable because over 30% of their annual funding is federal. Twenty of those stations serve Indigenous communities in the rural reaches of reservations and Alaska Native villages.
(From @highcountrynews.org)
(From @highcountrynews.org)
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
The growth of Indigenous language through radio is at risk, along with the rest of public media, but cultural reclamation at large will persevere.
Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost - High Country News
As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.
buff.ly
August 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The growth of Indigenous language through radio is at risk, along with the rest of public media, but cultural reclamation at large will persevere.
"Indigenous radio and media help Indigenous communities engage and grow in their understanding of their language and show them how they can better connect with their culture."
By @chadebradley.bsky.social, from HCN's Indigenous Affairs desk.
By @chadebradley.bsky.social, from HCN's Indigenous Affairs desk.
Native languages need radio, which is at risk of being lost - High Country News
As public media is threatened after cuts from Trump administration, Indigenous radio also face threats to how they preserve and grow language.
www.hcn.org
August 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
"Indigenous radio and media help Indigenous communities engage and grow in their understanding of their language and show them how they can better connect with their culture."
By @chadebradley.bsky.social, from HCN's Indigenous Affairs desk.
By @chadebradley.bsky.social, from HCN's Indigenous Affairs desk.
"For Diné people, sheep are a blessing with responsibilities that link us to the Diyin Dine’é (Holy People). But to the U.S. government, they were an ecological proxy to 'The Navajo Problem.'"
By Christine Ami.
By Christine Ami.
What the presence of sheep means to the Diné - High Country News
How to look at Milton Snow’s historical images of a livestock genocide on the Navajo Nation.
www.hcn.org
August 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
"For Diné people, sheep are a blessing with responsibilities that link us to the Diyin Dine’é (Holy People). But to the U.S. government, they were an ecological proxy to 'The Navajo Problem.'"
By Christine Ami.
By Christine Ami.
Wampanoag writer @josephvlee.bsky.social discusses his newly released book in a Q&A with @shaun505.bsky.social.
Lee's book, Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity, is out today.
Lee's book, Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity, is out today.
Finding your ancestors in the archives - High Country News
Author Joseph Lee explores Wampanoag family history in a new book of memoir and reportage.
www.hcn.org
July 15, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Wampanoag writer @josephvlee.bsky.social discusses his newly released book in a Q&A with @shaun505.bsky.social.
Lee's book, Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity, is out today.
Lee's book, Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity, is out today.
Łingít, Haida and Híɫzaqv people have gathered haaw da.aa and kelp to share, trade and gift. Now, grey whales have joined the harvest. Their presence brings a new pressure — one that both humans/non-humans are learning to navigate.
Writes @amyromer.bsky.social, in collab w/ @indiginews.bsky.social
Writes @amyromer.bsky.social, in collab w/ @indiginews.bsky.social
In Sitka, Łingít fishers share herring harvests with a surprise influx of grey whales - High Country News
An unprecedented whale surge in Alaska waters has changed how humans interact with a vital yaaw fishery.
www.hcn.org
July 7, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Łingít, Haida and Híɫzaqv people have gathered haaw da.aa and kelp to share, trade and gift. Now, grey whales have joined the harvest. Their presence brings a new pressure — one that both humans/non-humans are learning to navigate.
Writes @amyromer.bsky.social, in collab w/ @indiginews.bsky.social
Writes @amyromer.bsky.social, in collab w/ @indiginews.bsky.social
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
No matter the distance, helping one’s Indigenous community during a disaster is possible.
buff.ly/AqLVoHO
buff.ly/AqLVoHO
When wildfire hits your doorstep - High Country News
A Diné writer confronts how to offer a hand from far away as tragedy strikes on the Navajo Nation.
www.hcn.org
July 3, 2025 at 9:01 PM
No matter the distance, helping one’s Indigenous community during a disaster is possible.
buff.ly/AqLVoHO
buff.ly/AqLVoHO
As the Oak Ridge Fire on the Navajo Nation continues, those who live away from the reservation might feel a sense of urgency to help.
Here is a little something for those who live away from home and are feeling a sense of guilt or helplessness.
You are not alone.
Here is a little something for those who live away from home and are feeling a sense of guilt or helplessness.
You are not alone.
When wildfire hits your doorstep - High Country News
A Diné writer confronts how to offer a hand from far away as tragedy strikes on the Navajo Nation.
www.hcn.org
July 3, 2025 at 6:57 PM
As the Oak Ridge Fire on the Navajo Nation continues, those who live away from the reservation might feel a sense of urgency to help.
Here is a little something for those who live away from home and are feeling a sense of guilt or helplessness.
You are not alone.
Here is a little something for those who live away from home and are feeling a sense of guilt or helplessness.
You are not alone.
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
As of July 1, the Oak Ridge Fire on the Navajo Nation in Arizona burns nearly 10,000 acres as hundreds are forced to evacuate. Earlier this year, we wrote about how tribal wildfire programs in the West are underfunded and overburdened.
www.hcn.org/issues/57-5/...
www.hcn.org/issues/57-5/...
How the feds abandoned reservations to burn - High Country News
Tribal wildfire programs are underfunded and overburdened.
www.hcn.org
July 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
As of July 1, the Oak Ridge Fire on the Navajo Nation in Arizona burns nearly 10,000 acres as hundreds are forced to evacuate. Earlier this year, we wrote about how tribal wildfire programs in the West are underfunded and overburdened.
www.hcn.org/issues/57-5/...
www.hcn.org/issues/57-5/...
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Protests over the sell off of public lands were hard loud and bipartisan at a gathering of the Western Governors’ Association
Protests greet Western governors in Santa Fe - High Country News
After a bipartisan outcry, Senate proposal to sell public lands is blocked for now.
buff.ly
June 25, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Protests over the sell off of public lands were hard loud and bipartisan at a gathering of the Western Governors’ Association
The tribe’s mobile clinic serves its members and drives to the Lovelock Paiute and Yomba Shoshone reservations, covering a territory of about 200 miles. It can treat any member of a tribe in Nevada. They serve about 2,000 patients, averaging about 20 patients each month.
Shared by KUNR Public Radio
Shared by KUNR Public Radio
The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe is bridging Nevada’s healthcare gap - High Country News
A new mobile clinic serves 2,000 Indigenous patients.
www.hcn.org
June 25, 2025 at 7:25 PM
The tribe’s mobile clinic serves its members and drives to the Lovelock Paiute and Yomba Shoshone reservations, covering a territory of about 200 miles. It can treat any member of a tribe in Nevada. They serve about 2,000 patients, averaging about 20 patients each month.
Shared by KUNR Public Radio
Shared by KUNR Public Radio
"Hopi have our own word for wolves, Kwewu. Much like wolves, we have now been confined to a remnant of our original lands, fenced in with arbitrary lines that do not represent our deep history, knowledge and kinship to the land."
By Clark Tenakhongva
www.hcn.org/articles/whe...
By Clark Tenakhongva
www.hcn.org/articles/whe...
When we harm wolves, we harm ourselves - High Country News
Anger over these wild creatures shows a lack of perspective.
www.hcn.org
June 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
"Hopi have our own word for wolves, Kwewu. Much like wolves, we have now been confined to a remnant of our original lands, fenced in with arbitrary lines that do not represent our deep history, knowledge and kinship to the land."
By Clark Tenakhongva
www.hcn.org/articles/whe...
By Clark Tenakhongva
www.hcn.org/articles/whe...
Defunding public media would hurt stations across the U.S.
The data show that stations serving rural and Indigenous audiences in the West would be the hardest hit.
Here’s why, by the numbers.
By @annierosenthal.bsky.social & @chadebradley.bsky.social
The data show that stations serving rural and Indigenous audiences in the West would be the hardest hit.
Here’s why, by the numbers.
By @annierosenthal.bsky.social & @chadebradley.bsky.social
What defunding public media would mean for the West - High Country News
Data show that rural, tribal and Western stations would be the most impacted by Trump’s attempt to cut CPB funding.
www.hcn.org
June 9, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Defunding public media would hurt stations across the U.S.
The data show that stations serving rural and Indigenous audiences in the West would be the hardest hit.
Here’s why, by the numbers.
By @annierosenthal.bsky.social & @chadebradley.bsky.social
The data show that stations serving rural and Indigenous audiences in the West would be the hardest hit.
Here’s why, by the numbers.
By @annierosenthal.bsky.social & @chadebradley.bsky.social
“To be able to wear our regalia, especially during graduation ceremony, which is so many years of hard work being put into a single five-second walk across the stage — it’s so important."
By @shaun505.bsky.social & Bella Davis, in partnership w/ @nmindepth.bsky.social
By @shaun505.bsky.social & Bella Davis, in partnership w/ @nmindepth.bsky.social
Class of 2025 leads the way for Indigenous graduation regalia - High Country News
High school graduates are the first to walk with the protected right to wear cultural attire after the state of New Mexico passed legislation this spring.
www.hcn.org
May 27, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“To be able to wear our regalia, especially during graduation ceremony, which is so many years of hard work being put into a single five-second walk across the stage — it’s so important."
By @shaun505.bsky.social & Bella Davis, in partnership w/ @nmindepth.bsky.social
By @shaun505.bsky.social & Bella Davis, in partnership w/ @nmindepth.bsky.social
"Heartney’s pro-Trump statement felt abrupt and out of place to attendees. It echoed messaging from right-wing think tanks, which use economic development, job creation and even so-called protection as Trojan horses for resource extraction."
By @btoastie.bsky.social
By @btoastie.bsky.social
Trump admin speaker at UNPFII met with silence - High Country News
During a discussion on the rights of Indigenous women at the United Nations Monday, a U.S. representative made a statement so strange you could hear a pin drop afterward.
www.hcn.org
May 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"Heartney’s pro-Trump statement felt abrupt and out of place to attendees. It echoed messaging from right-wing think tanks, which use economic development, job creation and even so-called protection as Trojan horses for resource extraction."
By @btoastie.bsky.social
By @btoastie.bsky.social
"Tribal wildfire fighters are stretched to their limits... Long-term federal land mismanagement and climate change have caused the number and intensity of reservation fires to soar. About 7% of the 4 million acres of tribal lands in the country burned between 2010 and 2020."
By Lachlan Hyatt
By Lachlan Hyatt
How the feds abandoned reservations to burn - High Country News
Tribal wildfire programs are underfunded and overburdened.
www.hcn.org
May 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"Tribal wildfire fighters are stretched to their limits... Long-term federal land mismanagement and climate change have caused the number and intensity of reservation fires to soar. About 7% of the 4 million acres of tribal lands in the country burned between 2010 and 2020."
By Lachlan Hyatt
By Lachlan Hyatt
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
Big news! For the fourth year in a row, High Country News is teaming up with Indigenous-led and allied newsrooms to cover the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) — the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders and advocates.
buff.ly/Rb7xMEd
buff.ly/Rb7xMEd
Grist organizes international pooled coverage of the 2025 UNPFII
High Country News, Mongabay, ICT, APTN, Whakaata Māori, IndigiNews, Osage News, the Associated Press, and Grist will report together and share their journalism among newsrooms.
buff.ly
April 9, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Big news! For the fourth year in a row, High Country News is teaming up with Indigenous-led and allied newsrooms to cover the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) — the largest global gathering of Indigenous leaders and advocates.
buff.ly/Rb7xMEd
buff.ly/Rb7xMEd
Reposted by Sunnie R. Clahchischiligi
📣 Starting now, @HighCountryNews will provide free digital access to all of our reporting to any federal employee, including those who have recently lost jobs due to government layoffs. 📣
March 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
📣 Starting now, @HighCountryNews will provide free digital access to all of our reporting to any federal employee, including those who have recently lost jobs due to government layoffs. 📣