Albert Bender

Albert Bender is a Cherokee activist, historian, political columnist, and freelance reporter. He is currently writing a legal treatise on Native American sovereignty and working on a book on the war crimes committed by the U.S. against the Maya people in the Guatemalan civil war He is a consulting attorney on Indigenous sovereignty, land restoration, and Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) issues.

LATEST ARTICLES BY Albert Bender

Opinion

Following McGirt decision, Oneida Nation case continues string of Indigenous court victories
September 2, 2020 By Albert Bender
The decision is the direct result of the Supreme Court ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, issued on July 9, declaring that the Creek Reservation in that state still exists.
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Opinion

The Lost State of Sequoyah: The Five Tribes’ fight against Oklahoma statehood
August 24, 2020 By Albert Bender
The politics of Oklahoma statehood was a traumatic and bitter pill for all the citizens of the Indigenous republics, which brought to fruition the Sequoyah Statehood Convention Movement.
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Politics

Supreme Court’s earthshaking decision: Eastern Oklahoma is still Indian Country
July 13, 2020 By Albert Bender
The ruling will have effects far beyond the criminal justice system, with possible legal implications for taxation, business and property law, and more.
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Opinion

July 4th: Whose Independence Day is it?
July 7, 2020 By Albert Bender
Who really gained their independence on July 4, 1776?
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Opinion

Trump has turned the White House into the Madhouse
June 30, 2020 By Albert Bender
MLK said some will continue to exist in a state of “conscientious stupidity” or “sincere ignorance.” To which category does Trump belong?
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News

Teen students lead Nashville’s largest ever protest against racist police violence
June 8, 2020 By Albert Bender
Organized by five teens: Nya Collins, Jade Fuller, Kennedy Green, Zee Thomas, and Emma Rose Smith. All 14 to 16, four African American and one white, and all female.
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U.S.

Protests against George Floyd’s murder roil Middle Tennessee
June 3, 2020 By Albert Bender
Several thousand protesters—Black, white, Red, Brown—gathered in Nashville’s Legislative Plaza for the “I Will Breathe Rally."
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U.S.

Will the Supreme Court return eastern Oklahoma to the Five Tribes?
May 8, 2020 By Albert Bender
McGirt v. Oklahoma sits at the top of the Supreme Court docket. It's the Indian law case that will decide whether eastern Oklahoma will be returned to reservation status.
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