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Tristan Ahtone

@tahtone.bsky.social
1.2K followers 140 following 78 posts

Kiowa. Editor-at-large at Grist. "Fancy and highbrow."

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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
Alleen Brown @alleenbrown.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
100+ pages of WhatsApp chats & emails reveal the details of the propaganda effort waged by Energy Transfer's security contractor TigerSwan against the Indigenous led Standing Rock movement. 10 years later and new details continue to emerge www.hcn.org/issues/58-8/... w/ @drilledmedia.bsky.social
hcn.org
Inside Standing Rock’s propaganda war - High Country News
Standing Rock increased division in North Dakota between Indigenous communities and nearby non-Indigenous communities. Propaganda made it worse.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Read the full investigation: grist.org/indigenous/t... 5 takeaways: grist.org/indigenous/5...
grist.org
The climate movement gave this Texas tribe millions and a global platform. No one checked its story.
How the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe turned family lore into money, media, and a place at the United Nations.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Everyone had a reason to believe the story Mancias told. And somewhere in the years of campaigns and headlines, the question of whether it was true fell away. The story worked, and that was enough.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The @indigenousja.bsky.social warns that once a fraudulent claim is published — especially in Indigenous-led media — other outlets tend to follow without verification.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The tribe has appeared in more than 70 stories since 2016. The two outlets that covered it most closely declined to discuss their vetting, their fact-checking, or their policies for covering unrecognized tribes.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Grist asked the major funders who supported the Carrizo/Comecrudo how they vetted Mancias and the tribe. Several said philanthropists had no business questioning Indigenous identity. Others said funding decisions turned on the tribe's actions, not its ancestral claims.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The short-term gains are real: Mancias and his allies have stymied LNG expansion in South Texas. But experts said they often come at the expense of legitimate Indigenous Peoples, tribes, and organizations.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Parish records indicate that ancestry likely originates in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains of Mexico — not the Rio Grande Delta, the historic territory of the Carrizo/Comecrudo.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Genealogical records trace Mancias' documented Indigenous ancestry to Mexico in the late 1700s — and on his maternal line, not the paternal line his claim rests on.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Mancias has cited the report for two decades, including in federal court, but would not produce a physical copy. Extensive searches of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission found no evidence it exists. Historians described its existence as "improbable."
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
His primary evidence is a single document: a railroad survey report from 1871, describing a massacre of his ancestors 70 years earlier. Grist could not locate or authenticate it, identified multiple anachronisms in its timeline, and historians doubt its plausibility.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Mancias' case reveals an unofficial "shadow" recognition system, one in which environmental nonprofits, journalists, and international human rights bodies support unrecognized, and unverified, individuals and groups in the fight against climate change.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
An extensive review of historical and genealogical records reveals that the evidence underpinning Mancias' claim that he is the hereditary chief of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe cannot be verified.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The campaign succeeded, and helped make Mancias an international climate figure. Over the next several years, he would use that status to bring more than $5 million in philanthropic funding to the unrecognized tribe, and space at the United Nations.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
In 2017, Juan Mancias, the chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, traveled to France to help pressure two of the country's largest banks into divesting from oil and gas projects in South Texas. He cast the fight as a new chapter in a centuries-long struggle.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
🚨 Fresh investigation off @grist.org's Indigenous Affairs desk: The climate movement gave this Texas tribe millions and a global platform. No one checked its story. grist.org/indigenous/t...
grist.org
The climate movement gave this Texas tribe millions and a global platform. No one checked its story.
How the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe turned family lore into money, media, and a place at the United Nations.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Congratulations to @grahambrewer.bsky.social on becoming a 2027 Nieman Fellow. His coverage of Indigenous peoples and tribal nations has been some of the most important journalism in the country. Glad someone noticed. The @apnews.com's loss is Harvard's gain. 👀
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
The forum’s focus on Indigenous health comes as a new study argues that U.N. agencies’ fragmented approach — addressing health, environment, and land rights through separate mandates — has “consistently failed Indigenous Peoples.” grist.org/indigenous/i...
grist.org
Indigenous health can't be separated from environmental health, leaders tell UN
At Permanent Forum, leaders connect climate change, mining, and deforestation to mounting health crisis and demand coordinated approach to land rights.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
At the United Nations this week, Indigenous leaders and advocates are asking: What will it take to force governments to comply with international court rulings that mandate climate action? grist.org/indigenous/a...
grist.org
At the UN, Indigenous leaders tackle how to enforce global climate court rulings
The gap between what international courts say and what governments do is stark.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Hundreds of delegates are arriving at the United Nations this week for the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples. But they arrive against an increasingly hostile global backdrop. grist.org/indigenous/w...
grist.org
War, climate change, and AI: What's at stake at this year's UN Indigenous forum
Delegates are arriving in New York this week for the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples. Amid other challenges, the U.S. has made it increasingly difficult for delegates to secure visas t...
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
INA coverage will be driven by a dedicated, on-the-ground reporting team from Whakaata Māori, @indiginews.bsky.social, @Mongabay.com, and @Grist.org. The team will report directly from UN headquarters, bringing frontline perspectives to readers from the global convening. grist.org/updates/gris...
grist.org
Grist kicks off 5th year of collaborative reporting for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Seven newsrooms based in the US, Canada, and New Zealand will work together to cover a range of issues, including the impact of armed conflicts and critical mineral mining.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Do yourself a favor and check out this series.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Enbridge will pay Wisconsin sheriffs for riot suits, training & hours spent policing protests against the controversial Line 5 reroute through an uncapped, secretive deal approved by two counties as Indigenous-led resistance grows. grist.org/indigenous/e...
grist.org
Enbridge paid police to protect one pipeline. Now it wants to do it again in Wisconsin.
The Bad River Band is fighting to stop Line 5 and protect its watershed. Meanwhile, local sheriffs are already tallying the cost of riot gear.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
I haven't been able to get into these and report them out but maybe you're covering this story, and if you are, hopefully this information helps. Let me know if you dig in or if you have questions.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
If you want to see the contracts, service agreements and invoices related to the purchase and supply of dental amalgams, that information is here. www.muckrock.com/foi/united-s...
muckrock.com
Dental amalgam supply chain
Tristan Ahtone made this request to Indian Health Service of the United States of America.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
For instance, if you want to see Indian Health Service's Dental Amalgam Usage Data, that information is available to you here: www.muckrock.com/foi/united-s...
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
There are a total of four requests you are welcome to explore. One returned no documents, one has only partially been completed.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
In 2023 I put in FOIA requests related to the use of mercury-containing dental amalgams. I'm opening up the embargoes on my Muckrock page if you want to pull them down: www.muckrock.com/accounts/pro...
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
🦷 Hey reporters, the Indian Health Service announced it will end the use of mercury-containing dental amalgam in its facilities by 2027, transitioning to mercury-free restorative materials across IHS and tribal dental programs. I've got related FOIAs. Read on. www.hhs.gov/press-room/i...
hhs.gov
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Democracy may die in darkness, but America was built in daylight, and in America, oppression and injustice don’t need shadows to thrive — they need champions. grist.org/indigenous/b...
grist.org
Billie Eilish, stolen land, and the climate cost of America’s dispossession
Returning Indigenous land won't destroy civilization, it could save it.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
“Language is a matter of climate justice.” Most of the world is excluded from the information needed to understand how climate change is reshaping the planet, including people in positions of power. grist.org/indigenous/c...
grist.org
Climate news is written in a language most people can't understand
A new report argues that English-only climate science and disaster alerts are excluding most of the world, and putting Indigenous communities at greater risk.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Trump’s threats have refocused attention on America's relationship with Indigenous peoples: Greenland is 90% Inuit and has maintained its traditions, language and land despite centuries of colonial rule. It's viewed as a model of Indigenous self-determination & sovereignty. grist.org/global-indig...
grist.org
Greenland is a global model for Indigenous self-governance. Trump’s demands for the island threaten that.
Historians say underpinning Trump's talk of national security lies a longstanding pattern of American entitlement to Native land.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
A social media & phone surveillance system ICE bought access to is designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices & their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations. www.404media.co/inside-ices-...
404media.co
Inside ICE’s Tool to Monitor Phones in Entire Neighborhoods
404 Media has obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or t...
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Trump said that the tribe “actively sought to obstruct reasonable immigration policies that the American people decisively voted for when I was elected,” after the Miccosukee's July lawsuit challenging the construction of “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades. grist.org/indigenous/t...
grist.org
The Miccosukee Tribe blocked Alligator Alcatraz. Then Trump blocked a bill to return their land.
After the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center, the White House vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee land and environmental stewardship.
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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 08/01/2026
We've analysed this video of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis frame-by-frame to highlight the positioning of the gun and phone in the ICE agent's hands. Video: @minnesotareformer.com with annotations by Bellingcat
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
#MisplacedTrust grist.org/land-grant-u...
grist.org
Misplaced Trust
The United States was founded with stolen Indigenous land. Public institutions are still profiting from it today.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
#LandGrabU www.hcn.org/issues/52-4/...
hcn.org
Land-grab universities - High Country News
Expropriated Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
New research builds on #MisplacedTrust and #LandGrabU by exploring & analyzing historical and ongoing land and resource theft from Indigenous peoples for the benefit of institutions of higher education: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
More Than Morrill: The Intertwined History of Indian Land Dispossession, Arizona Statehood, and University Enrichment
<p>Through the federal government’s university land-grant programs, which began with the Morrill Act in 1862 and continue today, Congress has systematically all
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
The @indigenousja.bsky.social and the UC Berkeley Center for Indigenous Law & Justice are offering a free, three-hour webinar designed to strengthen reporting in federal Indian law tomorrow. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...
poynter.org
Federal Indian law is shaping some of the biggest stories in America. Most journalists don’t know they’re covering it. - Poynter
A webinar from UC Berkeley and the Indigenous Journalists Association offers reporters essential grounding in federal Indian law
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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
Grist @grist.org · 22/10/2025
Want to go to the UN’s biggest gathering of Indigenous peoples? Here’s how. Applications are open until October 31 to receive funding to attend major Indigenous gatherings in New York and Geneva next year. grist.org/indigenous/w... #Indigenous #UN #Climate #Tribes #Environment
grist.org
Want to go to the UN’s biggest gathering of Indigenous peoples? Here’s how.
Applications are open until October 31 to receive funding to attend major Indigenous gatherings in New York and Geneva next year.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations are suing social media giants for their role in the growing mental health crisis for Indigenous youth. The nations argue that using social platforms can replace human interaction and give rise to cyber-bullying, body dysmorphia & suicide. www.kosu.org/news/2025-09...
kosu.org
Chickasaw, Choctaw Nations wage legal fights against social media companies for roles in mental health crisis
The Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations are suing social media giants for their role in the growing mental health crisis for Indigenous young people.
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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 16/09/2025
New UN Commission of Inquiry report reinforces the consensus among experts around Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. As the Israeli govt escalates its assault on Gaza City & destroys Gaza’s remaining civilian infrastructure, states have a duty under Genocide Convention to act.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Understanding federal Indian law means better reporting under the Trump administration. We want to know what issue(s) you're most interested in. Click here: mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#in...
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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
Alleen Brown @alleenbrown.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
My new massive piece on the Energy Transfer v. Greenpeace trial includes never-reported details of the settlement ET offered GP. It would have thrown the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe under the bus. For @grist.org and @drilledmedia.bsky.social grist.org/project/indi...
grist.org
Standing Rock was an Indigenous-led movement. Why did Greenpeace take the fall?
The inside story of how Greenpeace stood with water protectors — and got hit with a $666 million court judgment.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
In March, a jury ordered Greenpeace to pay $666 million to the companies behind the Dakota Access pipeline. But Indigenous leaders, water protectors, activists, and court records agree: Greenpeace played a bit part in the Standing Rock movement, at best. grist.org/project/indi...
grist.org
Standing Rock was an Indigenous-led movement. Why did Greenpeace take the fall?
The inside story of how Greenpeace stood with water protectors — and got hit with a $666 million court judgment.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida joined environmental groups on Tuesday to sue the federal and state agencies that constructed an immigrant detention center known as the “Alligator Alcatraz” and located in the Everglades National Park. grist.org/indigenous/a...
grist.org
A tribe in Florida joins the fight against the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigrant detention center
The Miccosuki tribe alleges that both state and federal agents failed to conduct an environmental review of what the camp would to the Everglades.
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Reposted by Tristan Ahtone
High Country News @highcountrynews.org · 18/06/2025
Excited to announce that the #landgrabu investigation at @highcountrynews is posting a correction. It's a little unusual for reporters to get excited about corrections, so check this out ⬇️
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Amid a current trade war with China, proponents for Oak Flat are scratching their heads at conflicting national security interests: “Resolution Copper is a major threat to U.S. national security given China’s significant financial influence over BHP and Rio Tinto.” grist.org/indigenous/o...
grist.org
The transfer of a sacred site to a copper mine is delayed once again
An Indigenous religious site in Arizona has been granted a delay, as advocates hope to stop Trump's plan to turn it into a copper mine.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
More than 17,000 acres around the Klamath River in Northern California, including the lower Blue Creek watershed, have returned to the Yurok Tribe, completing the largest landback deal in California history. grist.org/indigenous/i...
grist.org
In California's largest landback deal, the Yurok Tribe reclaims sacred land around Klamath River
More than 17,000 acres around the Klamath River in northern California,have returned to the Yurok Tribe, completing the largest landback deal in California history.
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Tristan Ahtone @tahtone.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Mining, including the extraction of transition minerals, leads every sector in attacks on environmental & human rights defenders. 40% of those killed were Indigenous, a reflection of the fact that more than half of all critical minerals lie in or near Indigenous land. grist.org/indigenous/i...
grist.org
Indigenous land defenders face rising threats amid global push for critical minerals
The past decade has seen “a consistent, sustained pattern" of violence against Indigenous people who oppose corporate human rights abuses.
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